1877 Indian Head Penny WOW !!

[luckysgirl]

Being new to TN and this being my first post of my finds, I am tickled to death to be able to introduce myself
with such an awesome find ! I bought my first metal detector about 3 months ago under the enccouragement of my brother and the fact that I was always fascinated with his hobby. I bought a Whites XLT. It took me a while to get used to it and learn its personality but after a few outings we started getting along pretty well.
It just so happened that 3 weeks ago I was in a yard (without my brother and his advice) when I picked up a signal of a penny/dime about 8 inches deep. I started digging just hoping that my shovel would hold up as I have been through about 4 already when pretty as a picture (and all of 8 inches deep) out pops an Indian Head penny. I started cleaning it off and noticed that it was an 1877 and was excited still not knowing the demand for a coin like this...I was just happy that I found an Indian Head ! I finished digging in the yard and also found a Standing Liberty quarter with no date as it had rubbed away but was just as excited about it....still not knowing what the impact of the Indian Head would do to my brother. I came home and immediately called my bubby all proud of my finds. He informed me that the Indian was a really good find....probably worth about $30.00 and then his research on the penny started......3 days later....7 a.m. I get a phone call from him and needless to say a visit so that he himself may take a look just to make sure I wasnt mistaken....lol...he knows I need glasses. My penny is now soaking in olive oil !

 

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[bazinga]

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions !!
I just got off the phone with a gentleman at Silvertowne and he has asked to see the coin
right away. I will make a post when I return to let you know what he has said.
Wish me luck ......

Good luck over there in Winchester! Hope they can help you out!

 

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[buscadero]

Luckysgirl: I'm glad to see you picked a PNG Coin Dealer! He should know what to do! I hope you make $$$$$$


Joe

 

[JerV3]

Nice coin,

Too bad it didn't come out perfect. It would have been in really nice condition. You can't complain though. I've found so many indians in the hundreds and still haven't got a 77.

HH Jer

 

[Ocean7]

now that's a nice IH find! Congrats!
I agree with lordmarcovan about coin services.
forget ANACS - they'll probably return the coin ungraded!

 

[lucky1777]

Congratulations on your amazing find. I just hope when I find mine it has good detail like yours.

 

[luckysgirl]

Good morning !
Well....I made the visit to Silvertowne and here is what I was told and also some of my opinion.....
My coin was down played big time because it was "dug" which I understand but....I also believe that he used
that against because as he wanted to try and buy it from me very cheap ! He said that it was in "Fine Condition" even before removing the crusty green stuff. I can see the "LIBERTY" starting to come through on the head band even after the short time that it has been in the olive oil. The feather details are strong. He estimated that it was dropped onto the ground about 2 yrs. after it was made. He said that he could get the crusty stuff off and then offered me $175.00 for the coin. I told him it was not for sale !
I think I need a second opinion !!!
Thank you everyone for your input and suggestions !

 

[buscadero]

I guess I was wrong about him! A Dealer is a Dealer! That $175 was ridiculous! If he got the Corrosion off, sell it on ebay!

Joe

 

[lordmarcovan]

$175 is probably not unrealistic as a wholesale offer from a dealer, considering the environmental damage. If you are going to sell it, though, eBay is probably a better bet, since you're likely to get far more for it there.

Why sell it at all, though?

 

[luckysgirl]

I am not going to sell it....at least not right now. I kinda like the idea of having it ! I'm going to continue to let it soak in the olive oil. I'm just not sure how long I can leave it in there. Any suggestions ?

 

[bk]

I've been told the longer the better. Years.
I have had some of mine soaking for years.

 

[West Jersey Detecting]

Better method for cleaning copper coins

Olive oil will soak into copper coins and make a mess, and will actually decrease the value tremendously. I recommend a method which I have used for cleaning large cents as well as Lincolns and Indians.

It appeared a while back in the "Cleaning & Preservation" forum.


http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,39135.0.html

 

[WolfmoonX]

Luckysgirl....
What program were you using at the time you found that?

 

[DigDugNY]

Very nice

 

[luckysgirl]

Luckysgirl....
What program were you using at the time you found that?

I was using just the standard coins program as I have not had my MD long enough yet to really figure out some of the advanced settings but .....when I do......WATCH OUT !!! LOL

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions and input!!

 

[Mainedigger]

Luckysgirl...VERY nice find, CONGRATS!!!! I agree with all those that said NOT to use olive oil...it will seep into the coin and leech back out for years to come ruining any case you may have it in. Cleaning methods area a personal preference, and to wach his own, I usually only use a distilled water soak or heated hydrogen peroxide.I haven;t used the olive oil much, tried it on a large cent, didn;t like teh results and didn;t like the thought that the olive oil would leech back out.....anyway....SUPER find, the 1877's are hard to come by, especially in good shape like yours, WTG!!!! I am trying to get a complete dug set and don't need too many more, but the 1877 is one that has eluded me thus far.

 

[WolfmoonX]

8" on the standard pre programmed coin & jewelry prog?? Thats awsome! Once again..nice find!

 

[desecrator]

8" on the standard pre programmed coin & jewelry prog?? Thats awsome! Once again..nice find!

I've found that 8" or more is not at all unusual for the preset coin program on my XLT with small cents. The machine will respond consistently to coins at this depth, but as with any machine, its about training your ears to recognize these deeper signals.

 

[coinman66]

I am new here but i have been metal detecting for about 18 years. First of all great coin. Second i would remove it from the olive oil. If it were a common date indian i would let it soak, but this is a key date coin. If you want to sell it, i would send it to ANACS and have it graded or put it on EBAY, but i wouldnt take any less than about $1000 for it. From the pics this coin is in extremly fine condition. Congrats on a great find!!!

 

[JDSCOIN]

Hello, Lordmarcovan said...

$175 is probably not unrealistic as a wholesale offer from a dealer, considering the environmental damage. If you are going to sell it, though, eBay is probably a better bet, since you're likely to get far more for it there. Why sell it at all, though?

I see a lot of people giving dealers a bad rap. The reality is that a lot of them are really are quite fair and that most of the things that ordinary coin-collectors learn about coins come from experts who happen to BE coin dealers. True, there are some who have given others a bad name. But what most people don't realize is that dealers TOO take a risk.

Lordmarcovan has come to the defense of dealers before and I think that is because he realizes that they are generally fair, and that they have generally earned what they make because of what they have invested of themselves to acquire the knowledge that they have about coins. Remember that dealers who buy raw coins are taking a chance just as anyone else does. They often cannot tell whether or not a coin is real (genuine) or fake by seeing it only briefly.

I'm not saying that the coin which is being discussed here is not genuine; I do not know. But it is possible that it could have an altered date or any number of other things wrong with it which may not occur to the average person or collector. There are huge risks involved in being a coin dealer just as there are in being a coin owner who wishes to sell their coin/s. But again, most people are not used to thinking about that.

Also, thought it is true that the coin that I have seen here appears to have some nice detail... the fact remains that still a great deal of it cannot be seen. There could even be a HOLE in it where the 'crud' is. And anyone who is a collector knows what THAT will do to the value an otherwise valuable coin. Even without considering that, the environmental damage is there... what remains to be determined is to what extent. There could be a great deal of pitting, etc. Who knows?

I know how everyone wants to be optimistic and imagine the very best about finds like this. That is what makes this all so much fun. However, the majority of the times when such things are found, the reality is often short of what we might hope it to be. We all like to ride the highs and forget about the lows. But the lows are a part of this as well. So let's not forget that while we still hope for the best. Remember, there is always next time if this one does not pan out as we might have hoped. With kindest regards,

JDSCOIN

BTW, I have had several 1877 Indian Head Cents. The last one that I had I gave away to a buddy of mine for his collection. Sometimes it not always about money, but about what we can do to bring some happiness to others. That's something worth remembering too.

 

[whitesid]

awesome find!!!!