... pointing out how a worn and damaged chip looks once it's cleaned.

Any high-grade coin has virtually lost most of its value after being cleaned.

There was a term "whizzed" I believe, where a coin was buffed in order to look new, but grading experts were able to point this out and saved buyers a lot of money.

The type of material I deal in (Ivory, Mother-of-Pearl and plastic-laminated chips/plaques), I can tell blindfolded if a piece has been tampered with (especially ivory being so soft compared to other material)... but, with the 25¢ chip (original post) shown, I see nothing wrong with cleaning it since it's expected with that level of material. Nothing wrong with it... It's not hurting anything.

Archie had a point and he made it well...

JB