Why is restoring and cleaning centuries old paintings considered a good thing, but cleaning old coins and currency is extremely frowned upon?
In: Other
It’s a cultural difference between art collectors and numismatists, but founded on real distinctions between the two. Coins are not unique, so the history of an individual specimen is part of what makes it interesting to collectors. They are also made to be useful. And as a practical matter, cleaning coins often damages them by removing some of the fine details, which cannot be restored in the way that paint can. The history of paintings is also interesting, but the unique expression of the artist is really what’s most important, and they are made to be beautiful, so restoring a painting to the state the artist made it is an improvement.
Latest Answers