There was the uncola and now the undoctored

A law of physics says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This sometimes holds true in numismatics.

Collectors and dealers worry about the impact that coin doctoring has on the hobby. They are right to worry. The purpose of coin doctoring is to deceive.

However, one of the things I have learned in Boston is that there already is a cottage industry undoctoring coins that have been treated with putty.

I understand that the putty, which can give coins a nice frosted look when new, is easily removed and there are dealers who are doing this and returning coins to a more natural state.

Now this process cannot create pristine coins, but collectors who live in a world of “what you see is what you get” are more able to evaluate a coin that has been undoctored.

Of course, other forms of coin doctoring can be destructive of original surfaces, so not everything done to a coin can be undone.

However, partial good news is better than no good news at all.