1802 One Cent Piece! Holy crap...now how do i clean it???

Scrappy

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Mar 6, 2014
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I was giving up my hunt for the evening, and scanned on my way back and pow!

I'm new to coins hunting and metal detecting. I know better than to clean it with anything harsh (my grandfather ruined early 1800 half dollars that way), but I'm so proud that I want it cleaned.

My earliest prior to this was a 1967 quarter so this blew my socks off. I danced around like a kid again;)
 

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In case you did not know, large cents are not only identified by dates. They are also identified by varieties within the date of mintage. Your coin likely has enough detail to have the variety identified. Even though the 1802 large cent had a pretty high mintage (3.4 million), there were roughly 20 varieties of the 1802 coin. Some of these varieties were quite scarce. With any luck, some of the pros on this site may be able to help identify it. Congratulations!

That's pretty cool. I checked the red book and they didn't really mention varieties. What would this coin be considered in grade? ..not that I would ever sell. It's more to show the wife that my detector was a legit purchase.
 

I read it is illegal to Metal detect the parks in the New York Metro area, I always thought it would be amazing to MD some of those tiny little triangular parks that were formed when the cow trails became the monikered (as opposed to numbered) streets of the East village .
Do you know if anyone ever tries to get away with it, Do you ever seer covered holes in the parks in any of the Burroughs or Manhattan?
 

I read it is illegal to Metal detect the parks in the New York Metro area, I always thought it would be amazing to MD some of those tiny little triangular parks that were formed when the cow trails became the monikered (as opposed to numbered) streets of the East village .
Do you know if anyone ever tries to get away with it, Do you ever seer covered holes in the parks in any of the Burroughs or Manhattan?
To much garbage in the city. I know people who got arrested for picking dandelions
 

Thats what I figured, New york has ARMIES of cops, thousands and thousands of them, 10 on each block kind of thing, I was just wondering if the MD laws are heinously enforced.
 

I'd put it at Fine detail, according to the Red Book: F-12 Fine Hair over brow smooth; some detail showing in other parts of hair.

Here's a good site for LC varieties: Large Cents
 

I love it 1967 to 1802 !!!!!!!!!!!! that is hysterical - decent job of cleaning , she was obviously dropped in really sharp condition.
 

Normal reverse in Fine retails for $190.

Yours is not stemless, but it could be the "1/000" variety, which in Fine retails at $220.

On eBay they go for about half of retail, sometimes a third.
 

I would not use olive oil. I quit using it as it darkens the coin consideradly and there is no way to reverse it. Use mineral oil. It is a bit slower but does not darken the coin.

As to value you can not go simply by condition of the detail. A coin may have xf detail but do to pitting and corrosion it is basically a filler as far as numismatic value goes. Unless it is a rarity it is not worth more then the "good" value at best.
 

I would not use olive oil. I quit using it as it darkens the coin consideradly and there is no way to reverse it. Use mineral oil. It is a bit slower but does not darken the coin. As to value you can not go simply by condition of the detail. A coin may have xf detail but do to pitting and corrosion it is basically a filler as far as numismatic value goes. Unless it is a rarity it is not worth more then the "good" value at best.

Yep everything he said... However I like using a little Vaseline and then dabbing the excess off.
 

Great Find! Just the other day you mentioned on one of my posts how you have never found any coins older then the 1950's. Way to stick with it! Well now you have found a coin old then any a lot of others have found including myself. :icon_thumleft:
 

Here is a site for values and any coin minted in the USA ever. You have to go to the NGC research tab first, then scroll down and pick NGC Coin Explorer, then scroll down and pick the coin you are looking to research, then it will give you the different dates to pick from, then you can scroll down to get values and different varieties. I'll put the site link in first, then the link to your 1802 second.

Coin Certification Company - Numismatic Guaranty Corporation | NGC

1802 1C MS Coin Sales | Draped Bust Cents Coin Market | NGC Coin Explorer

Or it could be this.
1802 NO STEMS 1C MS Coin Images, Prices and More | Draped Bust Cents Coin Gallery| NGC Coin Explorer
 

Congrats on a great find! You can gently rinse it w/ water and the soak in olive oil.
 

Wow! Very nice cleaning job. What method did you use? For it's age that has some great detail. Whatever you do, don't EVER clean a coin in one of those homemade electrolysis rigs. When I didn't know any better, I once cleaned an 1800's 2 cent piece and fried the detail right off the coin.
 

I would not use olive oil. I quit using it as it darkens the coin consideradly and there is no way to reverse it. Use mineral oil. It is a bit slower but does not darken the coin. As to value you can not go simply by condition of the detail. A coin may have xf detail but do to pitting and corrosion it is basically a filler as far as numismatic value goes. Unless it is a rarity it is not worth more then the "good" value at best.

Agree 100% with the olive oil comment. It will definitely darken the coin and significantly impact its appearance, and the result is irreversible. Mineral oil is a good substitute as are various waxes. Of course, if you could get your hands on some Blue Ribbon Coin Cleaner that would be by far the best option for cleaning and preservation, but that product is impossible to find now as it hasn't been made for years. I did see one bottle for sale recently on ebay, and it went for $114 for just 2 ounces.
 

great coin :occasion14: you don't often see the fraction. I would throw it in olive oil.Worked great on my kg's
 

wow holy use olive oil vs not use olive oil thread lol
Totally! It should definitely be renamed "To Olive Oil or not to Olive Oil" ...that is the question... But should it be Extra Virgin or regular Olive oil? First cold press? A blend? Lol. In all seriousness I appreciate everyone's input on the subject above.
 

You did a great job cleaning it! I would leave it alone now and be happy with the way it looks. A little Vaseline might be okay, if it starts to look dried out.
 

That cleaned up nicely. Congratulations... you still have a few more years to get those tricky in-between items. :laughing7:
 

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