Tag Archives: money

When, If and How to Clean Your Coins

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You can save some coins with MS70 cleaner. Others are a goner. We show two types.

PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride, an additive to plastic that makes it pliable. Problem is, it poisons coins with a green tint that eventually eats away and destroys metal. PVC was used for decades in coin flips. Some you can clean; others are beyond hope. Also, some coins come with grease or ink/contaminant stains are really tough to remove. You can try using MS70 for these, too. But never use Jewel Luster to remove surface metal. That’s a very advanced application, and I cannot share it here, for fear others will destroy their coins.

I have used MS70 coin cleaner on this otherwise desirable 1884-O coin, reverse, which has a stain. It took me three days to eliminate the stain, wetting a Q-tip with MS 70 coin cleaner and simply placing the Q-tip on the stain, It was removed within three days. Now I need the coin to re-tone. Keep this side in mind as I till update later in the year.

For now, let’s look at these two coins with PVC damage:

The green toning is an indication that this might be a damaged coin with PVC poisoning or just a seller’s omission of that for an advantage in bidding.

You can use MS70 to see the true condition of a coin, but please be aware: MS70 sometimes strips coins of their original luster.

This coin is beyond repair as it as eaten into the metal:

This example might be saved:

As such, I won’t use MS70 on the above coin, however, because it is so common and worn. I would save it for another coin, like this one, which has grit rather than PVC poisoning:

It took me three days to eliminate the crud. I dipped a Q-tip in MS70 and left it on the coin for 48 hours. I got rid of the stain, but if I submitted the coin to PCGS now, they would see the cleaning. So I housed this coin in a velvet holder so that it might re-tone one day and hide the cleaning. If it works, I will share that in a later post.

MS70 is a detergent cleaner so it doesn’t remove any metal. However, Jewel Luster, otherwise known as e-Z-est, strips a layer of metal from the coin. Some professionals know how to use this and still preserve a coin for grading. I know how, too. But I won’t share the recipe, as so many coins have been destroyed by amateur processes. I only use this product once or twice a year, and I buy and sell hundreds of coins.

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Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups and across social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.

Betrayal Coin: Ancient Shekel of Tyre

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There are many betrayals in the Christian bible, but none as dramatic and despised as Judas Iscariot’s bribe–30 pieces of silver–to hand over to authorities Jesus of Nazareth. But the current-day betrayal are so many counterfeits.

The description appears in Matthew 26: 14-16:

14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

New International Bible

Known as the Shekel of Tyre, this ancient coin is believed to have been paid to Judas for his historic treachery, making this one of the most collectible (and faked) ancient coins. They date from 126/5 BC to 65/66 AD and should weigh about 14 and 14.4 grams of silver.

These were the trade dollars of that era, struck under the rule of Macedonian, Ptolemaic and Seleucid kings. Coin World has an informative article about the coin along with his history.

Because of that history and association with Jesus, the shekel is considered one of the most desirable ancient coins. That’s why there are so many fakes on the market, from souvenir copies selling for about $15 to outright base metal fakes being sold on auction sites, including HiBid.com. Here’s an example”

Notice that the description, “ancient silver Greek coin,” carries no identifying characteristics, especially weight. Never ever bid on an ancient coin without knowing the weight. Then check to make sure that it is struck, rather than cast in a mold, which modern counterfeits often are.

Here is a terrific article on how to spot counterfeit ancient coins, published on the site “all your coins.”

Ancient coins from Rome and Greece are among the most faked because it does take skill and experience to identify authentic, souvenir and counterfeit samples. Making matters worse, collectors of such coins often prefer them raw, or un-holdered, so that they can feel history in their hand. This creates an opportunity to scam hobbyists who lack numismatic education.

If you want an ancient coin–the Shekel of Tyre will set you back hundreds or thousands, depending on condition–then purchase or bid on one in an NGC holder. Crack it out, if you wish, but always keep the holder label to prove authenticity.

If you like posts like this, subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about types, varieties, errors, grading, bidding and buying in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider buying or gifting the work for a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist blog. Thank you.