Conn and New Jersey Coppers, buttons, and barber dime!

[Z.K.]

1788 Conn copper, 1786 NJ Copper, buttons, barber and merc dimes, + V & buf nickels!

**Edit: So after eating lunch and posting this originally while at a nearby friend's house, I went back to the shade tree spot for another 2 hours and got a few MORE firsts for me, including first V nickel (1902) and Buffalo (dateless), as well as a bunch of wheaties from the teens, a 1940 merc, and a couple of old pocket knives!

I've now cleaned the buttons and coins, and am pretty pleased! Looks like 1788 for one of the two Connecticut Coppers, and a solid 1786 for the NJ! And the buttons have exquisite detail.

This basically ended up as a 6 hour hunt at two target rich areas separated by about 250 feet and 120+ years. Can't wait to go back to the post-colonial site when it isn't so hot! Oh, and yes, that is a fox trap on the upper right of the 1700s collection **

Original Post:
All firsts for me! Found a map of this farming area along the VT-NY border that showed a school and some home sites from the 1830s, and which has been an orchard since the early 1900s. The third signal I dug was the toasted copper without details! All but one button was dug in a line about 8 ft wide and 50 feet long. Just amazing. You should have heard my victory cry when I saw the 1786 on what turned out to be the jersey!!!

Then, to top it off, I go across the field to a shady tree because I'm dying in the heat, and just futzing around in the shade I scored my first barber dime!

I have to give a shout to Scrappy and Vino: we've never met, but your recent hunts have been driving me nuts with envy. I'm not normally a very competitive person, but I really pushed myself on the research this time to try to get on the board like you fellas. YES!!!

So, any advice on whether or not, and how, to restore? I cleaned the KGs I found earlier in the summer following Don from NJ's peroxide recipe, but those came out of the ground unreadable. At least two of these three have real detail, and I don't want to screw anything up. I'm wide open to suggestions.

Thanks for looking, and good luck out there everybody!
Ken

 

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[Vino]

Wow Awesome hunt!!
Glad we could help you out.. lol
By the looks of them, I do see a nice peroxide bath for them.
I would not put them in water though. Great Hunt, and Congrats.
George

 

[Erik in NJ]

Here's my technique for coppers: If the detail is there but slight. Brush the dirt off of them with a dry toothbrush. Then rub them between your fingers until the details appear stronger. If you're still not happy with the results try a q-tip dipped in warm peroxide and gently rub them down. If you start to see detail flaking off do not continue. I use a product called Verdi-Care to hydrate and seal them after that--it's good stuff and can be applied with a q-tip. Lastly if need be immerse the coin in warm peroxide in a small pyrex dish--I use the small ones (2 sizes) you can buy at the supermarkets--this will clean, but darken coppers to a nice chocolate brown You can also melt some purified bees wax and apply and buff off. It will help bring out the detail on the coins. Store them in plastic 2x2s that you can open again, not the ones that lock shut or the crummy paper ones.

 

[pepperj]

Great hunt! Congrats on the coppers, buttons, and the silver it's a day to remember.

 

[Scrappy]

Whooooyah! You did it man, and knocked it out of the park! Glad I could help light a fire under your arse. That's a nice valley up there on the a VT/NY border. Lots of history 'round them parts!

Now go back and make Vino green with envy!

Steve

 

[Don in SJ]

Congratulations on your 1786 NJ copper. Follow Erik's advice on proceeding to remove the crud, not sure how good yours will turn out, but with careful, slow cleaning you will know whether it is improving and if not stop and enjoy as is. Always have good before photos, like you do on this one and if it is so corroded that details come off, at least you have the before photo. Just don't overdo the cleaning. It is the reverse die "J" and there are several Obverse dies that match up with a J reverse (Shield side). But only a few have a straight thick plow beam. Obverse 14,15 and 16 are possibilities, but I did some angle measurements between the plow beam and plow share and feel fairly certain it is the common 1786 Maris 14-J variety. Please PM me with the State and County found in for my survey. Thanks Don 1786 New Jersey Copper - Maris 14-J

 

[Z.K.]

Just posted an update, thanks guys for advice and very cool info.

 

[Vino]

Just posted an update, thanks guys for advice and very cool info.

Great job on cleaning. You definitely made the better.
Congrats again.
George

 

[Don in SJ]

With the cleaned photos I tried to attribute the CT copper, they are always a challenge, especially corroded ground founds. My best guesstimate on it, with no guaranteed certainty is that it is a 1788 Miller 16.1-H. 1788 Connecticut Copper - Miller 16.1-H Maybe someone else will give it a go on what variety it is. Don

 

[Z.K.]

More cleaning, more pics!

With Don in SJ's help (what a generous guy!) the 1786 and 1788 look well identified. I think I've id'd the third coin: looks to me like a 1787 Miller 18-g.1.

1786 NEW JERSEY COPPER - MARIS 14-J
Rarity: Very Common
1786 New Jersey Copper - Maris 14-J

1787 CONNECTICUT COPPER -
MILLER 18-g.1
Rarity: Very Rare (says "very scarce" on detailed page, but R-6 "very rare" on main page?)
1787 Connecticut Copper - Miller 18-g.1

1788 CONNECTICUT COPPER -
MILLER 16.1-H
Rarity: Scarce
1788 Connecticut Copper - Miller 16.1-H

And how about these buttons, and other coins? I don't know if this tops my King George spill, but this has been the most interesting, productive, and educational day of metal detecting I've had yet.

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[pong12211]

Great group of finds thanks for sharing and congrats on the success.

 

[Gridwalker306]

Wow man, those coppers are grrreat!

 

[Don in SJ]

I believe the 1787 Miller 18-g.1 is a Rarity 6, very rare from the latest auction catalog of one for sale that I have. Not too uncommon to find a Rarity 6 CT copper due to so many varieties of them. Great finds, anytime 3 State coppers come from a site is reason to celebrate. Don

 

[cjon455]

nice, two state coppers buttons, and silver that's a dream hunt for most!
congrats!

 

[thrillathahunt]

Very impressive finds! Go back there.

 

[Erik in NJ]

You did a nice job on cleaning those coppers given the original corrosion they exhibited. Can you briefly describe what you finally ended up doing? Also what did you apply to the coins in the final pics? Thanks.

PS Nice work on the attribution Don.

 

[Z.K.]

You did a nice job on cleaning those coppers given the original corrosion they exhibited. Can you briefly describe what you finally ended up doing? Also what did you apply to the coins in the final pics? Thanks.

PS Nice work on the attribution Don.

Thanks for the advice and follow up, Erik.

I started slowly with the q-tip and warm peroxide method. When I saw how well the detail was coming through, I switched to a couple of rounds of full immersion in very hot peroxide with a bit more aggressive q-tipping (if that is a verb). I think there is actually more detail to reveal, but I'm reluctant to push my luck at this point.

For the finish I used Hoppes 9 gun oil. That was what someone recommended to me on the first special thing I found two years ago (WWII Victory Medal) and it appears to hold up well. That said, now that I know about Verdi-Care based on your recommendation I'm ordering some.

Cheers

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks Z.K. for the details on the cleaning and I'm glad it worked out for you! I think all three coppers cleaned up quite nicely for you. I just wanted to make sure you did apply olive oil or something like that. I have never used Hoppes 9, but it does reveal the detail well. I buy Verdi-Care from Wizard Coin Supply if you need a source. They also sell the nice Lighthouse plastic 2x2's in various mm sizes (I recommend getting the new ones that open again) for your fine coins.

Based on Don's attribution of an R-6 CT copper and the fact that you found three state coppers in the same hunt that cleaned up nicely, I feel this hunt is well deserving of a Banner nomination

Congrats again on a very fine hunt!

 

[Z.K.]

Yahoo! A banner vote! Thanks Erik! : )

I've got treasure fever after yesterday. I have so much work to catch up on today and tomorrow, it is VERY frustrating that I can't go back out there and dig!

HH