Value of found coins?

[Hunterhound]

Guys,

First off, I haven't found any coins yet; I wish I had though I have a couple questions about the value of silver/copper coins I might find while detecting. The reason behind these questions is that I'm also getting into coin collecting as well.

If I find coins, especially silver ones, I will likely want to keep them for my collection and not worry about selling them. As such, I would like to clean them so they will look nice to display. However, I know that cleaning coins is a no-no for numismatic value. So, for my questions.

1. Are coins found while detecting really worth much unless they're gold or extremely rare silvers? As the coins will be so worn or damaged and far from mint state, I can't imagine even rare date coins will carry much value after being found in the ground but I could be wrong.
2. If I clean a common date silver I find in the ground, will cleaning the coin hurt the value of the silver in the coin (i.e. the melt value)? I imagine common date "junk" silver coins will not be a concern other than the silver value in the coin so I just want to make sure the value of the silver will not be an issue should I have to sell my coins in a pinch.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

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[Silver Simon]

1. Your best bet if find an older coin is to avoid rubbing it, clean it carefully and check if the date/mint is one of value. Even poor condition coins of these years carry value. The oldest coin I've found was an 1865 IHP, and it shows very little wear, and the details are still sharp, so it is possible that you find coins in great shape.

2. I clean my "junk" silver because I like it to look nice and shiny. Definitely check the date before you do, but there really isn't a measurable silver loss from cleaning them.

 

[cudamark]

I've found many old coins in AU condition. You need to carefully, and without cleaning, determine the date and mint mark of the coin first. Then you can decide it is something too valuable to clean or not. If it's a common coin and has no collector value, cleaning it won't change what it's worth.

 

[luvsdux]

I'd like to see a knowledgeable opinion on the value of a good clean collectible coin versus the same coin after being in the ground for some years and left as found or only cleaned enough to determine what it is.
luvsdux

 

[cudamark]

Less for sure but there are too many variables to give an exact amount or percentage of difference. The degree of environmental damage and eye appeal will be the big factor in this.

 

[luvsdux]

"Less for sure" was my thought and precise enough for me.
luvsdux

 

[shufflr]

An old coin is going to look pretty much just like it did when it was lost. Most old coins found look so worn because back in the day coins stayed in circulation for decades. Not at all unusual to find old coin spills with coins in them minted decades apart (ie Barbers found with Mercury's or Walking Liberty's or Merc's with Rosies)

 

[Iron Patch]

Too many variables and you're going to get a million difference answers based on what everyone has in their heads. In some cases cleaning a coin can kill the value, and other cases increase it.... and then you have everything in between.


The big mistake MANY on here make is they are so stuck on what is said in the regular Numismatic world, because in that world cleaning a coin will almost always be a negative because they are not dug. The detecting world is a whole other story, and the same general rules don't apply. What does apply is the question whether the coin should be cleaned, and if so, how. BTW... almost all dug coins do in fact require cleaning because just removing the dirt is a form of cleaning.

 

[oakhunter27]

I clean all my coins because im keeping them myself so it don't matter