1877 Indian. WOW

[NJ Marty]

I havent been out in about 4 weeks due to my busy work scedule but had some time to clean some recent finds (Indians). Me and my dectecting buds have found many indians in this spectacular park ( witch is now banned to detecting). we would get 15- 30 each an outing. My best indian day was 34 and my friend Randy had a 42 indian day. Needless to say we accumulated quite a few, I myself have about 900 from this now off limits park. The east coast is horrible to Indians so I would just place them in a holder for later cleaning, most are common dates but some are the goodies. I would guess this Indian came from one of our May 2008 hunts because it was near the top of my pile of coins to be cleaned. This 1877 came from a 2 sandwich coin find (i always leave my sandwiched coins together till home and I just put a bunch in olive oil for cleaning and when I broke them apart i was sooooo happy to see the elusive date. The back of the coin has that east coast rock hard deposit on it. I cleaned the front of with a toothpick and olive oil an it cam clean quite easily, the back appears to be a much harder job. It has a full liberty and i would like to get it all cleaned up. Are there any professional places to clean this coin and maybe get it slabbed? I dont want to damage the back with my toothpick trick and I have tried 0000 steel wool in the past but this coin is too pretty to try that on. Any ideas on the way to get this coin back to its full beauty would be helpfull. I enclosed a pic of some of my uncleaned indians, what a job I have ahead of me but now I am driven.
NJ Marty

[halfdime]

Amazing! Why is the park now off limits?

[luckysgirl]

WOW!! Congratulatins! I too have been fortunate enough to dig an 1877. I would try the peroxide solution to clean it although some would say just take it to a professional due to its value.
Good Job!

[extractor]

Wow Thats a great find

[DPBOB]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BANNER BANNER BANNER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NJ Marty]

Amazing! Why is the park now off limits?

It is a NYC park,I guess the many many unfilled holes left by other detectorists finally got to the park commision.

[X-Terra70_TreasureHunter]

Hi Great Find

Now your next project is too give that 1877 IHP a good bath in soap & water

Then ship it to NGC & have them too encapsulate it & grade it, it will run you like
$30 which includes Shipping, Insureance & such

http://www.ngccoin.com/

you will need to submite it too them

If it comes back as being VF-20 your lookin @ a $2,000.00 coin

Dave

[NJ Marty]

Hi Great Find

Now your next project is too give that 1877 IHP a good bath in soap & water

Then ship it to NGC & have them too encapsulate it & grade it, it will run you like
$30 which includes Shipping, Insureance & such

http://www.ngccoin.com/

you will need to submite it too them
will NGC clean it also? There is a hard buildup of crud on the back
If it comes back as being VF-20 your lookin @ a $2,000.00 coin

Dave

[treasurefiend]

Man-o-man!!!! CONGRATS!!!!!! And yes, send it in to get Slabbed!!!!

Banner!!!!!!!!!!!!

[finderzzs]

Super congrats, That is the nicest one I've seen. I found one many years ago at an old picnic grove, you had to hold it in the light juuuuust right to read the date, unlike your beauty, Super

[utah hunter]

NGC or PCGS will send it back to you ungraded, and you will still pay the fee. ANACS will grade and put environmental damage, but they won't clean the coin

NCS is a branch of NGC, and the ANA choice for cleaning and grading coins. They can clean it as good as anyone in the world, here is their website address:

http://www.ncscoin.com/

[BuckleBoy]

I would try the peroxide solution to clean it although some would say just take it to a professional due to its value. 
Good Job!

Peroxide method will not work now, since he has already gotten olive oil on the coin. 


NCS is where it needs to go for restoration--and it would be well worth the fee (if they are willing and able to take on the project).




Great find!


-Buck

[tymcmurray]

LOVE those $2000 holes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hogge]

As Buckleboy said, the peroxide bath would not work now. Unless you clean the olive oil off with several scrubbings of soap and water with a "soft" toothbrush. My advice is pay the fee to NGC. With the value of this coin that is your best bet.

[jgas]

2 grand.....Sweeeeeeeet....Banner all the way! Awesome coin! jgas

[Scott (Mich)]

You may want to think about getting it "conserved" before you try to get it slabbed.

Take a look at this place http://www.ncscoin.com/conservation/index.asp

I believe that they are the ones who restored many shipwreck coins to their original state.

Congrats on the key find and good luck.

Scott (MI)

[Falcon]

I would have to just sit there and admire that baby for awhile before doing anything with it. LIBERTY is so clear! Super find and I also would consider NCS for verification, cleaning, and maybe slabbing in an NGC holder. Congrats

[Silverseeker]

Amazing find Marty! You have found the most rare Indian Head...one that most people only dream of finding.

Considering the excellent condition of the obverse, it's definately worth taking your time researching the best way to get the reverse cleaned up. Keep us updated and let us know your progress.

[wagbert]

Good Morning!
Now that is an Indian Head ! That has to be the best condition 1877 anyone has ever pulled out of the ground. I think you are wise in being very careful cleaning it. It probably would be worth investing in a professional cleaning, but I wanted to tell you about some products that are available to clean heavily encrusted coins. I have collected coins for many years, and I was curious about those lots of freshly dug ancients offered on ebay. I bought a few small lots, and for the most part, it's a lot of work, and the end results aren't that great. It's just that it's so much darn fun! The ancient metals crystallize and the edges of the platchet chip off. The metal alloys react at different rates, so there is usually a lot of pitting, or you will have one good side and one bad side. Your 1877 cent doesn't seem to have either of those problems. One seller from Texas, jrmorrow on ebay, offers a line of products that are specifically formulated for particular encrustations. They aren't real expensive either. About $5.95/4? oz. bag, plus small shipping fee. I don't have anything to work on right now, but next time I get a bunch of dirty ancient bronze, I'm going to give this stuff a try. He gets a lot of customers who give good feedback for the products, so it must work.
The 1877 is the key, everyone knows that. I had a f-vf years ago and had to sell my collection to pay bills. I thought I'd just buy one back when I got back on my feet. Well guess what? Sometimes
when you have the money, there isn't anything to buy. When there is, it's going to cost you a heck of a lot more than what you sold a similar piece for. So, after all of these years, I am priced out of the market. Your find was better than about anything else I can think of. You have a real prize. Congratulations!!

[toolman61]

WOW and I mean WOOOOWWWWW!!! 900 Indians, thats place must have been a mint back before it became a park... I don't know anything about coins. But I would trust the advice from all the people on this wonderful site we have! And by God if they say 2000.00 dollar penny then I believe em. Great find!!!! HH Tom P.S. Isn't this the best hobby ever?!!