Indian Heads

[Icewing]

I was just going over some of my dug coins and happened to notice that the greener the Indian Head cent, the less it weighs. I know the green doesn't really stand out in this pic the way it does while you are holding them in your hand. Anyway, the really green toned ones weigh as little as 2.7 grams (my scale has no 1/100 gram). The heaviest of the bunch weighs 3.0 grams.

1: Does the green tone have any effect on their value?
-Doesn't matter, I think they are beautiful.
2: Is it common for lost Indians to lose weight?
3: Is that one on the top left worth anything? It sure looks like an 1888/7 to me.

These are the ones I found in 2016.

 

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[port ewen ace]

shoot pics in outdoor light with a white background. the '02 may have a die crack. try a GENTLE rub with wet baking soda & SOFT toothbrush to remove the dirt. yours are better than many dug IH's

 

[enamel7]

Those coins already appear to have been harshly cleaned. No way they came out of the ground like that! Scrub away!

 

[fistfulladirt]

Use the Vasoline/q-tip method to remove the gunk. No peroxide/v olive oil, ugh.

 

[Icewing]

Ok here is where you are all going to flip your lids. I doubt I'll ever sell them, if I do they will never be like the shiny ones you see in the coin shops anyway. So I do my best not to really dig into the patina but after 100 years in the ground, I don't think my nylon scrub brush under warm water is a big deal. They are currently soaking in mineral oil and will stay a few more days. I was mostly just curious if anyone else had noticed their Indians being under weight? A Q-tip won't do anything for these pennies.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Ok here is where you are all going to flip your lids. I doubt I'll ever sell them, if I do they will never be like the shiny ones you see in the coin shops anyway. So I do my best not to really dig into the patina but after 100 years in the ground, I don't think my nylon scrub brush under warm water is a big deal. They are currently soaking in mineral oil and will stay a few more days. I was mostly just curious if anyone else had noticed their Indians being under weight? A Q-tip won't do anything for these pennies.

Q tip/Vasoline. Mineral oil A+

 

[dejapooh]

Ok here is where you are all going to flip your lids. I doubt I'll ever sell them, if I do they will never be like the shiny ones you see in the coin shops anyway. So I do my best not to really dig into the patina but after 100 years in the ground, I don't think my nylon scrub brush under warm water is a big deal. They are currently soaking in mineral oil and will stay a few more days. I was mostly just curious if anyone else had noticed their Indians being under weight? A Q-tip won't do anything for these pennies.

If your indians are light, you probably scrubbed off a few grams with your nylon brush...