Should I clean up the coins?
October 16, 2022 10:34 AM Subscribe
OK, so I am in the middle of the tedious proces of getting rid of all the stuff I have accumulated over the years, mostly because family members have died. For years a paper bag in the middle of my living room has held my granddad's coin "collection".
I've always thought it just contained the contents of his pockets, emptied out into the bag every time he came home from his frequent travels. But I thought I had better check them out before dumping them or giving them to a thrift shop. Some of the coins are pocket contents, mainly UK crowns, half crowns and various values in pence, and a few old Danish øre.
But by far the most are an actual collection. Not in order, not clean, not systematically collected in any way. I suspect they might have been his dad's boyhood collection that granddad just dumped into a paper bag when great-granddad died along with a few curios of his own, like money from when he was in Russia during the Moscow trials, or from when he was in Germany directly after the war. And some memorial coins in silver. All in all, there might be coins for between 200 and 1500 dollars, and they are going to an antique dealer, not the thrift shop. I need cash.
My question is: should I clean them up a bit before going to the dealer? They have been lying in that paper bag for decades and they are grimy.
I've always thought it just contained the contents of his pockets, emptied out into the bag every time he came home from his frequent travels. But I thought I had better check them out before dumping them or giving them to a thrift shop. Some of the coins are pocket contents, mainly UK crowns, half crowns and various values in pence, and a few old Danish øre.
But by far the most are an actual collection. Not in order, not clean, not systematically collected in any way. I suspect they might have been his dad's boyhood collection that granddad just dumped into a paper bag when great-granddad died along with a few curios of his own, like money from when he was in Russia during the Moscow trials, or from when he was in Germany directly after the war. And some memorial coins in silver. All in all, there might be coins for between 200 and 1500 dollars, and they are going to an antique dealer, not the thrift shop. I need cash.
My question is: should I clean them up a bit before going to the dealer? They have been lying in that paper bag for decades and they are grimy.
Best answer: Nope, definitely do not clean them. The patina potentially increases the value.
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 10:50 AM on October 16, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 10:50 AM on October 16, 2022 [6 favorites]
Best answer: Cleaning rare old things is best done by people skilled in the art of cleaning rare old things without damaging them.
Coins in mint condition would certainly be more valuable than coins that have been battered around by being circulated, but the way to get a coin in mint condition is to get it from the mint and then store it in an oxygen-free environment. You can't return a circulated coin to mint condition with elbow grease and polishing. All you get is a cleaned-up battered coin, and if you accidentally polish details off it while trying to clean it up you'd likely lower its value as a collectable.
posted by flabdablet at 10:53 AM on October 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
Coins in mint condition would certainly be more valuable than coins that have been battered around by being circulated, but the way to get a coin in mint condition is to get it from the mint and then store it in an oxygen-free environment. You can't return a circulated coin to mint condition with elbow grease and polishing. All you get is a cleaned-up battered coin, and if you accidentally polish details off it while trying to clean it up you'd likely lower its value as a collectable.
posted by flabdablet at 10:53 AM on October 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks all, that was exactly what I thought, including that I'm probably going to get more like the lower end of my estimate, which is the silver price. But then at least they will find good homes rather than just stand there in the paper bag.
posted by mumimor at 12:57 PM on October 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 12:57 PM on October 16, 2022 [4 favorites]
You might want to run them by r/coins on Reddit before you sell, they can spot any truly valuable coins. And you're better off going to a coin shop than an antique shop to sell them.
posted by mmoncur at 3:44 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by mmoncur at 3:44 AM on October 17, 2022 [5 favorites]
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posted by agatha_magatha at 10:40 AM on October 16, 2022 [12 favorites]