First Flying Eagle Cent!

[mangum]

Hello all! Went out to an old home place built in 1881 today(2 houses there prior to that) Got my first Flying eagle cent! Looks to be 1857. I thought it was an Indian head until I got it home & lightly cleaned. From what I've been reading its hard to clean/restore these. Any ideas would be great. I also got 21&42 wheaties, a 34 merc, a coin that's toast, 2 late 19thc shotgun shells & an ornate brass or copper something. Also found (not pictured) something with the owners great grandmothers name on it, which I was happy to return. My buddy that came with me found a 54 Washington quarter and a 1917 buffalo. Thanks for looking & HH!

 

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[granthansen]

Welcome to the FE club!! Congrats. One of my favorite coins.

 

[nsdq]

sweet finds

 

[wheatfinder13]

Great job

 

[Elliott Ness]

Great finds.

 

[WHADIFIND]

Hello all! Went out to an old home place built in 1881 today(2 houses there prior to that) Got my first Flying eagle cent! Looks to be 1857. I thought it was an Indian head until I got it home & lightly cleaned. From what I've been reading its hard to clean/restore these. Any ideas would be great.

Great job and welcome to the club of those who have found one of these rare coins!

Unfortunately, I've found that when these get that red-ish corrosion on them, they very rarely clean up. They just start showing more and more pitting. I would just get it to a decent display state, and it doesn't look bad now, then seal it and leave it alone.

How did I get to know this? Well, I have been extremely blessed as I have found 5 of these over the years. The one I use for an avatar pretty much came out of the ground that way. I've tried to improve the others, to no avail.

Just enjoy the moment and the memories for years to come!

Congrats!

HH!

 

[mangum]

Glad I'm finally a member of the club! Considering they were only made a few years, that's pretty sweet! I have one of these that was passed down to me in great shape, how awesome to find one detecting!

 

[SilverPirate]

Great finds, keep it up!

 

[mangum]

Great job and welcome to the club of those who have found one of these rare coins!

Unfortunately, I've found that when these get that red-ish corrosion on them, they very rarely clean up. They just start showing more and more pitting. I would just get it to a decent display state, and it doesn't look bad now, then seal it and leave it alone.

How did I get to know this? Well, I have been extremely blessed as I have found 5 of these over the years. The one I use for an avatar pretty much came out of the ground that way. I've tried to improve the others, to no avail.

Just enjoy the moment and the memories for years to come!

Congrats!

HH!

That's a sweet one you have as your avatar! Great condition!

 

[WHADIFIND]

That's a sweet one you have as your avatar! Great condition!

Oh my yes! I know that now. After seeing some of the others that have come up. This one is very special to me. There was a major fire at this place so I've always wondered if this coin hadn't become very hot at one point. Sort of heat treated in a way.

There's a better picture of it at this link http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/my-best-finds/291333-some-very-past-finds.html?

If you look closely, you can see that some of the lettering is missing. Melted? I don't know and don't care. I'm just happy I found this one.

HH!

 

[Tenspeed]

Great finds Josh!! That should do great on the board tomorrow night (I sure don't have anything to challenge it!).

 

[MNcoinhunter]

Congrats on the FE ... still need to find one of those.

Those old coppers can be tough to restore. I would just coat it in beeswax and leave it be.

 

[cti4sw]

What about an olive oil soak? I've heard about ppl doing that to coins, never tried it myself but would it hurt the coin?

 

[granthansen]

What about an olive oil soak? I've heard about ppl doing that to coins, never tried it myself but would it hurt the coin?

I soaked mine for about two weeks. I do believe it helped bring out the detail in the back. However, I've heard differing opinions. Once you soak it though, that's the end of your cleaning process. Nothing to do after that. I've also heard good things about beeswax but haven't tried yet. I did do a few short peroxide baths prior to olive oil. Very short.

Here's pics:

Before Olive Oil:


After Olive Oil:




I didn't want to risk continued damage so I didn't really toothpick it much.

 

[DaleGM]

that one of many still on my bucket list....... awesome find mangum

 

[JimDon]

Amazing find Josh. I can't believe you found one. I would bet a small percentage of MDer's have found one. You are absolutely KILLING it.

 

[detroitdigger]

Very cool that you found a flying eagle, I'd love to find one of those, still hoping to find oneHH.

 

[WildDigger]

Awesome find.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Great find Josh, congrats!!!

 

[spitfire55]

..Great finds