Help with an old nickel

[AugustMoose87]

So I was going through my Grandpa's coin collection for my mom, just to get an idea on what was there and how much it might be worth.

One of the real nice finds was a 1869 shield nickel



As you can see, there is something of a black tarnish on it. From what I have read, lots of people use Hydrogen Peroxide to clean up coins they have found detecting... Is this something that would help this nickel, or is this something that I should just leave as is?

Thanks!!!

 

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[enamel7]

Leave it be. That is probably natural toning and you want that. To remove it is to "clean" the coin, thus dropping the value. Nice and shiny doesn't necessarily mean more value, especially on older coins.

 

[enamel7]

As is I would say it's at least a $25 coin.

 

[pong12211]

I agree it looks like natural toning to me also I would advise against cleaning it. Also it looks to be in very nice shape. As for the value I would recomend looking in the redbook and going from there. Trying to judge a coin in a picture in my opinion is tough. Best of luck.

 

[AugustMoose87]

Thanks guys. That was kind of my thought, but I thought I'd get some second opinions.

 

[Mackaydon]

It's fine as is; no need to fix what isn't broken.
Don...

 

[Duke]

Don't ever clean anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!