My First Draped Bust Cent!

[Erik in NJ]

Obtained permission to hunt a private property which has a house on it from ca. 1890. Did a random walk yesterday and only found a 1934 Merc and 1957-D Rosie both part of pocket spills containg multiple wheats. I also found some horse tack: a buckle and a ring as well as an interesting carved lead item which I think was some sort of weight and an cool brass relic that I thought was cabinet hardware (yet to post these). Oh, and the only period coin was an 1864 IH cent. I was convinced the front yard had been filled.

Went back this afternoon for a quick 2 hr. hunt and decided to grid a smaller area. I got a nice silver signal that turned out to be a 1930 Merc. Second good signal was a bit odd...shallow (4") but hit with a sweet sound on my Explorer SE Pro. Low and behold out pops a nice large copper. I couldn't tell what it was, so put it in my pouch and continued. Next good hit turned out to be a very large copper token by Hyvis Motor Oil....a little smaller than a half dollar! Then another Merc (1941) and finally just before I left a beautiful button about the size of a dime with a floral motif and full shank. Backmark says "Rich Gold Color".

I was very anxious to find out what the copper coin was as I had a feeling it was something good. On rinsing it with dish soap and water I could see a right-facing female bust--turns out is my first Draped Bust Cent (looks to be 1800), a bit worn, but I can clearly see the bust and wreath! This was a first for me so it was quite exciting...I have found older coins in this country, but this is my oldest American coin!

 

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[Erik in NJ]

When I was polishing pinball parts I added about a tablespoon of the liquid (it came in a sqeeze bottle and I believe said polishing something or other on the label) to the crushed walnut shells. The paste is good for hand polishing items to remove a thin film of corrosion. I think you can get some samples from the company for a buck or two. Thanks for the heads up on Amazon...Flitz is good stuff. I think you can get a pretty large vibratory tumbler for about $20.

Erik, did you use the liquid or paste form of Flitz?

 

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[granthansen]

When I was polishing pinball parts I added about a tablespoon of the liquid (it came in a sqeeze bottle and I believe said polishing something or other on the label) to the crushed walnut shells. The paste is good for hand polishing items to remove a thin film of corrosion. I think you can get some samples from the company for a buck or two. Thanks for the heads up on Amazon...Flitz is good stuff. I think you can get a pretty large vibratory tumbler for about $20.

This is the cheap tumbler I'm looking into:
Rock Tumbler, 3 Lb. - Save on this Rotary Rock Tumbler
Do you know of a better one?

 

[Ace350]

This is the cheap tumbler I'm looking into:
Rock Tumbler, 3 Lb. - Save on this Rotary Rock Tumbler
Do you know of a better one?

I recently bought the dual tumbler from Harbour Freight for the same price with a coupon I found in the Sunday paper.
It does work well and doesn't leak.

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet

 

[Erik in NJ]

A rotary tumbler (I bought a pretty expensive one from a detecting site several years back ~ $125) and the plastic vibratory bowl tumblers are very different in the way they work. I think it's good to have both. For the crushed walnut shells with the Flitz you will need a "vibratory tumbler."

Looks like they have changed a bit since I bought mine and are priced a bit higher than I recall. Here's a cheaper one:

Smart Reloader New SR787 Vibratory Dream Tumbler 110V VBSR005-20-01 | eBay

Be careful with the Harbour Freight stuff -- they sell a lot of cheaper Chinese manufactured items. I, personally, would not buy anything by "Chicago Tools" (that's a low end Chinese make that HF carries), but others may have had luck with this brand.

 

[granthansen]

A rotary tumbler (I bought a pretty expensive one from a detecting site several years back ~ $125) and the plastic vibratory bowl tumblers are very different in the way they work. I think it's good to have both. For the crushed walnut shells with the Flitz you will need a "vibratory tumbler."

Looks like they have changed a bit since I bought mine and are priced a bit higher than I recall. Here's a cheaper one:

Smart Reloader New SR787 Vibratory Dream Tumbler 110V VBSR005-20-01 | eBay

Be careful with the Harbour Freight stuff -- they sell a lot of cheaper Chinese manufactured items. I, personally, would not buy anything by "Chicago Tools" (that's a low end Chinese make that HF carries), but others may have had luck with this brand.

Cool... I never considered a vibratory tumbler. Can you tell me what you think the difference is?

I'm enjoying this thread!

BTW, Amazon has the above Dream Tumbler, free shipping too! Same price.

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks nsdq! Sorry, I didn't reply earlier--I didn't see your post until now. Thanks for the kind words!

holy cow them be dang good finds like the draped it be purrrty

 

[Erik in NJ]

A rotary tumber is often used for polishing rocks (very pretty and smooth when tumbled) and can be filled with aquarium gravel, water, and lemon juice to clean up dirty clad coins so they look like change again--it can also be used to remove the green crud off of copper coins (IH cents, wheats, etc...don't put valuable coins in there) like that IH cent I'm soaking in vinegar...probably best not to add the lemon juice as it will remove all the patina (like the vinegar is now doing!). The drum turns quite slow. A vibratory tumbler, vibrates at a very high speed in a "random orbit" with very small, but fast vibrations. I believe they are often used for polishing metal parts. Both machines have different types of media that can be added. Flitz and crushed walnut shells work very well and will polish rusted items to a high gloss again. I have polished state quarters for someone to almost a mirror shine after a few days--it's pretty cool. The vibratory tumbler yields a finer, gentler polish in my opinion than a rotary drum tumbler. Both have their uses but are quite different.

Cool... I never considered a vibratory tumbler. Can you tell me what you think the difference is?

I'm enjoying this thread!

BTW, Amazon has the above Dream Tumbler, free shipping too! Same price.

 

[oldsalty19]

 

[Erik in NJ]

 

[Wldbil]

Congrats on the first and the nice finds...

 

[Erik in NJ]

Thanks Bill!!

Congrats on the first and the nice finds...

 

[detroitdigger]

I found one of those hi vis motor oil tokens as well, the exact same one you found, I found mine at a closed down amusement park in a suburb of Detroit. HH,Eric

 

[fmerg]

nice finds the lc beats the one that my son found from the same year
and is much better then my 1805 or 06

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi DD...it's a cool token with a lot of writing on the back. At first I thought it was some sort of game, then I realized that it was the guidelines for when to use their various products. In Googling the company I see that a few others have found them too. It's probably the biggest token I've ever found! Post a pic of yours if you get a chance. Best, Erik

I found one of those hi vis motor oil tokens as well, the exact same one you found, I found mine at a closed down amusement park in a suburb of Detroit. HH,Eric

 

[Erik in NJ]

Hi Frank! I'm sure you'll find many more nice ones! This was a treat for me as it's considerably older than the area in which I was hunting. Talk to you soon!

Best, Erik

nice finds the lc beats the one that my son found from the same year
and is much better then my 1805 or 06

 

[strateloss]

Awesome draped Bust Cent! Nice find!!