Just realized those Roman coins I cleaned might have lost their value

I spent a whole afternoon scrubbing a bunch of bronze Roman coins I bought at a show in Denver. Used a gentle soak and a toothbrush hoping to get them looking nicer. Turns out collectors prefer the dark green patina over shiny metal. I basically turned $75 worth of coins into something worth maybe $20. Has anyone else accidentally wrecked the value of something by trying to clean it up?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_river2d ago

My buddy did the same thing with an old baseball glove he found at a garage sale (paid $40 for it). He scrubbed off all the "dirt" thinking it was grime, but it was actually decades of oil and character. Collectors pay extra for that worn in look, same as with your coins. It's wild how we're trained to think "clean = better" when sometimes the value is in the muck and the age marks.

william3202d ago

Yeah I gotta be honest that's not quite the same thing though. That glove had functional value from the oil keeping the leather soft and playable, whereas scrubbing a coin actually destroys the metal surface underneath. The patina on a coin is part of the actual metal changing over time, not just surface dirt you can wipe off.