We had a string going a couple days ago about cleaning vs not cleaning chips. Each of us just offering some preference, no real criticisms of the others. History and natural condition w mold highlights vs. visual sharpness and uniformity across collection -- things like that. I also offered that a buyer may get a dirty chip a bit cheaper due to perceived buyer condition risk, etc.

Anyway, mail came today and I had just filled a hole with a somewhat common Nevada inlay fractional -- one from 1970 and with some nice design and color appeal. Arrived dirty as shown on ebay -- no problem with the seller on that. In fact, if the seller is reading this, a great packaging job for this low-end chip. The chip is TCR D ($10-$14) and C&W has it as R4 $5/$7/$10. I paid $3.99 shipped. The chip will barely stand on end.

I opened the envelope and got this.

Being a cleaner, I scrubbed a bit with mild soapy water, and wound up with this.

Again, no criticism of either side here, and much of what I like about the hobby is the history and the lore, but chip beauty (color, design, etc.) is also important to me. Maybe a middle ground on a really dirty chip like this would be to wipe down with a moist rag, taking off the accumulated surface dirt while letting the deeper grime retain the character some collectors like.

Anyway, thought the newer collectors might find this helpful.

Happy chipping!