Cleaning Wheat Pennies

[relicdigger3]

Hey guys, I know I broke the code by cleaning these wheat pennies I found metal detecting, but I'm only interested in their historical value rather than their monetary value. Is there any way to bring out the detail in these coins? I really would like the wheat stalks and the 'one cent' to show on these coins.

 

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[Diggin-N-Dumps]

How did you clean them? I've soaked my in oil for a week or so and it helped loosen up alot of the crud

 

[Wildcat1750]

I prefer to use hot hydrogen peroxide on my Wheat Cents and other copper coins. The results are great unless the coin is already pitted from poor soil conditions.

 

[xr7ator]

Those two wheats aren't anywhere near clean. I'd tumble them in my rock tumbler unless you have a rare date.

 

[relicdigger3]

Those two wheats aren't anywhere near clean. I'd tumble them in my rock tumbler unless you have a rare date.

They are 1942 and 1937. No mint marks. I soaked them in lemon juice for 2 hours.

 

[Dozer D]

I clean my Wheaties by soaking them in a small Rx bottle of hot water with a few drops of DAWN liquid soap, shake, set for 2-3 days shaking every now & then, rinse with warm water & pat dry with a paper towel. It removes the oily film on the coin, does not polish them shinny just cleans finger prints etc. Don't know about your coins however, maybe too far gone.

 

[A2coins]

Tumbler with lemon juice and salt no media

 

[PetesPockets55]

Hydrogen peroxide is what I've used for dug coins with lots of soil still on them.
Heating the peroxide sounds like it might help even more and since they are toast anyway maybe even vigorous brushing with a toothbrush while they are wet.

 

[CoinHunterAZ]

Welcome to the forum relicdigger3. I put mine in a bucket with some water and some Tide laundry detergent, and soak them for a week or two. I will swirl them around with a paint stick a several times. Rinse, let dry, and then I apply a very thin coat of olive oil with a q-tip and call it done. I have half of a large coffee can full of wheat cents I have found over the years. Not sure why I keep saving them, but I do...

 

[brianc053]

Do you guys mind if I jump on this thread and ask a cleaning question? I hope not...because here I go.
I found this copper coin today while detecting a farm that dates back into the early 1700's.
Based on the first image I believe it's a large cent. But I can't see anything else that will help with identification because of the corrosion.
I tried white vinegar and salt, and the before-after results are shown below.
The coin is now sitting in lemon juice and salt based on suggestions in this thread (thanks), but I'm not sure it'll take any more of the corrosion off.
Are there any other "aggressive" ways to remove the corrosion? I fear that without removing it I have zero chance of figuring out what this coin is....

Thanks in advance!



Front (I think) before-after


Back (I think) before-after

 

[Dozer D]

Hard to tell if it's even a Coin, maybe a slug.

 

[l2hunt]

electrolysis, and then maybe the tumbler, when satisfied a little olive oil. HH

 

[brianc053]

Quick update on the "mystery item" (coin): I've continued to soak it in lemon juice and salt, and then periodically scrub it with a toothbrush.
I've made progress - I'm highly confident (based on the size, the material [copper] and this image that it's a Large Cent with the bust looking left and with stars all the way around, so it was probably minted between 1816 (when the bust started looking left) and 1839 (because in 1840 they added a deep band around the outside, and this coin doesn't have that).
I'll keep working on cleaning it up and taking pictures in various light conditions.

In this picture it's not perfectly oriented (should be rotated about 10 or 20 degrees counterclockwise) but I still think it's pretty clear there's a bust facing left. Also in different light I can see the stars; I'll try to get a pic of that (though it's easier with the eye).
My coin (with my attempt at outlining the bust on the right):


1817 Large Cent and 1835 Large Cent:

 

[port ewen ace]

lemon juice or vinegar with salt will EAT THE COPPER. hydrogen peroxide and/or 1 minute sessions of electrolysis will be more gentle on the details. lemon juice adds flavor to tuna, save the vinegar for some salad

 

[brianc053]

lemon juice or vinegar with salt will EAT THE COPPER. hydrogen peroxide and/or 1 minute sessions of electrolysis will be more gentle on the details. lemon juice adds flavor to tuna, save the vinegar for some salad

Ace, thank you for your comments. Based on them I pulled the coin out of the lemon/salt mixture. I don't think I did much damage - nature hurt this coin over 150-200 years waaayyy more than I did.
I tried the hydrogen peroxide, which caused bubbling but overnight it didn't seem to make much of a contribution.
Electrolysis, however was incredibly effective. My son and I watched a video on how to do it and then gave it a try (I'm comfortable with this stuff since I have a physics undergrad degree).
Amazing results (relatively speaking - the coin is still badly degraded).
After applying some oil to make it shine here's what I'm able to see:

I'll never get a year off of the coin, but I can clearly see the stars around the outline of the bust facing left.

Sadly the back is completely destroyed by nature:


My best guess - based on the "soft point" of the crown on her forehead and the general shape of the bust - is that this is a Large Cent from the 1820's. For comparison (thanks to this website for the pics: http://www.largecents.net/collection/photoindex.html)


Thank you for letting me hijack this thread and for the comments about lemon juice, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and electrolysis.
- Brian

 

[PetesPockets55]

Nice images and good job on the electrolysis. Congrats.
I was leaning towards the earlier version because of a couple of areas on your images.

 

[brianc053]

Hi - I'm back. My son and I returned to the farm where I found the Large Cent today, and in about an hour of detecting we found a 1909 Indian Head Penny!
Given everything I learned on this thread I only used soap & water and hydrogen peroxide to clean it, and then put some oil on it. This one looks a lot better than the Large Cent (though you can see what the dirt here does to copper coins!)



The back looks pretty good:

 

[PetesPockets55]

Congrats and nice job.
That one looks like it was new when it was lost. Lots of detail still visible even with the corrosion.

 

[enamel7]

I don't know why people keep suggesting putting coins in lemon juice or vinegar. They are acidic and will damage metal.

 

[Owassokie]

Hi - I'm back. My son and I returned to the farm where I found the Large Cent today, and in about an hour of detecting we found a 1909 Indian Head Penny!
Given everything I learned on this thread I only used soap & water and hydrogen peroxide to clean it, and then put some oil on it. This one looks a lot better than the Large Cent (though you can see what the dirt here does to copper coins!)

View attachment 1759519 View attachment 1759520

The back looks pretty good:
View attachment 1759521

Brian,
Just an fyi....The oil trick is meant to be used a little different than you are using it on toasted coins. After washing the coin, take a little oil on a semi-solid surface and lightly brush the raised surfaces of the coin which will bring out the details. Sometimes you'll even get a date when you don't expect it. My favorite way to handle an old damaged coin is to clean the coin (warm peroxide), dry the coin well, and then use my finger to rub some oil from my forehead and lightly brush over the raised surfaces of the coin. This will give your toasted coins the best look. Does that make sense?
OO