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Given a choice


Ætheling

Which would you buy?  

25 members have voted

  1. 1. Which would you buy?

    • The cleaned coin
      16
    • The artificially toned coin
      9


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You've been given $500, you have two coins in front of you both priced at $500.

 

Someone is standing behind you with a either a rolling pin, a gun, a bunch of daffodils or any other weapon you care to think of and they're going to make you buy one of these coins. So there's no escaping this one.

 

 

The problem is these two coins are problematic. Lets say they are both EF Bust half dollars, for sake of argument. However;

 

One quite clearly has been cleaned and is bright white.

 

the other is quite clearly artificially toned, whatever colours you want to imagine.

 

 

You've got to buy one, which one would you go for?

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Depends upon the cleaning. If we are talking brillo pad or steel wool or some other harsh method of cleaning, then I will take the AT coin.

 

If we are saying that the cleaned coin has just been dipped white and is otherwise undamaged, then I would probably take it over the AT.

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Depends upon the cleaning. If we are talking brillo pad or steel wool or some other harsh method of cleaning, then I will take the AT coin.

 

If we are saying that the cleaned coin has just been dipped white and is otherwise undamaged, then I would probably take it over the AT.

 

 

Just to illistrate what I am saying:

 

If the cleaned coin looked like this:

 

http://www.stujoe.com/cleaned.jpg

(Obviously Cleaned)

 

and the AT coin looked like this:

 

http://205.232.129.196/lotimgs/coins/20/07/c20071332-a.jpg

(Slabbed as 'Artificially Toned' by ANACS)

 

I would take the AT coin in a heartbeat.

 

But, if the AT coin looked like this:

 

http://www.atcoins.com/images/Picture_197.jpg

('Body Bagged' by PCGS and/or NGC)

 

and the cleaned coin looked like this:

 

http://www.ncscoin.com/images/568973001oAFTER.jpg

('Conserved' by NCS)

 

I would take the cleaned coin in a heartbeat.

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Well, IF (and it's a BIG "if") the AT coin has uncleaned surfaces (in other words, original uncleaned, un-hairlined surfaces) under the toning, I'd take it over the obviously cleaned and hairlined coin. Then I'd dip that puppy, and stabilize it.

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The cleaned one. The artificially toned one could be hiding some defect that the cleaning would reveal. Also, one would need to clean the toned one anyway so why not skip a step :ninja:

 

Lastly, a little heat and eitehr version will tne right back ;)

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Depends upon the cleaning. If we are talking brillo pad or steel wool or some other harsh method of cleaning, then I will take the AT coin.

 

If we are saying that the cleaned coin has just been dipped white and is otherwise undamaged, then I would probably take it over the AT.

 

What he said...

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cleaned, as long as it's not covered in scratches/hairlines

I agree this question really depends on how bad the coin was cleaned...if someone took a buffer to it, I would rather have a AT coin....but a light dip bath is much more prefered to some weird looking AT coin.....seems to be prefered by everyone else too

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I agree this question really depends on how bad the coin was cleaned

 

That was my thinking too.

 

The term 'cleaning' is such a broad term. It encompasses everything from a sandpaper buffing that anyone could recognize to whatever it is that NCS does that can probably not be detected by the majority of people.

 

The you have AT which is a line that is very hard to draw in and of itself. There is obvious AT, obvious NT, and a whole lot of questionable stuff in between.

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I like many would take the cleaned one. Not just because i'm not into colourfully toned coins. But because quite often you have to ask why some coins are AT? What are they hiding...

 

I see AT-ing a cleaned coin as adding insult to injury.

 

In this day and age, they could be hiding nothing. Toned coins of many kinds bring a rather large premium just because of the color. Greed makes 'em do it.

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One quite clearly has been cleaned and is bright white.

 

the other is quite clearly artificially toned, whatever colours you want to imagine.

You've got to buy one, which one would you go for?

 

First , I would consider whether or not the price of $500 for the cleaned coin reflected (pardon the pun) the fact that the coin was cleaned. if so, then in its uncleaned state it would be worth a small fortune. If not, then it would be a real waste of $500.

 

Next I would consider whether the price of the artificially toned one reflected an accurate value for the coin or whether the $500 asked was playing on the `pretty colours' syndrome that some buyers have. If it was an accurate value, then no particular bargain there.

 

In other words, the decision to be made isn't quite as simple as the scenario outlined.

 

Personally, I would settle for an accurately priced `cleaned' coin (that must be extremely rare to command a $500 price tag!) over an accurately priced artificially toned coin with a value of $500. ...but then again, I favour the unusual. :-)

 

Ian

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