I was reading someplace that some magicians like tarnishing their coins before performing....Personally, I like using super shiny coins (like real silver coins...but I prefer highly polished coins...Pros and cons of both?? tarnished or highly polished/shiny??

There really isn't a lot of answers here. It doesn't impact the functionality in any way. It can affect the numismatic value (for coin collectors) but you're probably not going to be doing that.

Anything past that is 100% preference. It's not like the debate of coin size, which does have more tradeoffs.



Completely separately, it would really help if you title your posts descriptive names. "Small question" doesn't help potential readers (or future searchers) nearly as much as something like "To polish or not to polish?"

Most of my silver coins are worn looking - it is a natural state for them to be in and I find the patina helps the imagery stand out, especially on particularly soft coins.

My more modern silver coins are more polished at the moment - they had very uneven patina and so the easiest method to make them match was remove patina. I won’t be fussed if they all patina again. I find the polished coins lose definition - they become shiny circles instead of coins that have detail and age.

These had been cleaned and lacked contrast. "Clean" also didn't fit well with the amount of wear on the coins.
I may make another pass to darken further.
The highlights are a bit too shiny but that's because they're new/fresh.

Stage or closeup? .AND. Do you expect the audience to handle the coins?

When handling - old worn coins which have not been cleaned or polished feel soft. Hence the term.