My first IH / 1800s coin.

[BladeRunner2019]

My first IH / 1800's coin.

I found this at a school yard this past weekend. It's not an old school. (Built in 50's or 60's) I have pulled a ton of clad from the field but the only old coin I ever found there was a 1950's wheatie. I was shocked when I pulled this out of the hole. Considering about half the wheats I get are toasted I'm surprised it's in as good as condition as it is. NC soil is ROUGH on copper. I just dry brushed it with a toothbrush.

1898 IH

 

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[BigWaveDave]

nice recovery!

 

[DiggerGal]

Wow! That is really nice! Only dry brushing? That is amazing!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice Indian Head find.

 

[BladeRunner2019]

Wow! That is really nice! Only dry brushing? That is amazing!

I was afraid to use any water on it. I have cleaned some wheats with water and pretty much washed away all the detail.

I know it's not worth much but I didn't want to mess it up.

 

[DiggerGal]

I was afraid to use any water on it. I have cleaned some wheats with water and pretty much washed away all the detail.

I know it's not worth much but I didn't want to mess it up.

I have done the same thing! Lol, I'm going to do the dry brushing from here on out! The color that it still has is great! I read in your post that the soil where you are is harsh so that being considered, it is an amazing find! I would think it would be close to black or completely patina over.

 

[Scrappy]

IH's most always survive better than wheaties 40 years their Jr. Congrats on breaking into the 1800's! It's strange to see a guy facing left with spiked hair after all those wheats right?!

Continued success and go get some 1700's now!

 

[Ahab8]

IH's most always survive better than wheaties 40 years their Jr. Congrats on breaking into the 1800's! It's strange to see a guy facing left with spiked hair after all those wheats right?!

Continued success and go get some 1700's now!

That's actually Lady Liberty wearing a native headress.
Great find! The Indian heads are much more resilient that most coppers. I hp the crap out of those babies. They're very hard to hurt

 

[dirtlooter]

love those IH, congrats of breaking 1800s

 

[BladeRunner2019]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Argentium]

Nice job finding your first ! and the cleaning went well (I'm hoping for my first in 2015)

 

[cjon455]

That's a nice indian!, nice to break into the 1800s!
I still remember my first 1800s coin, 1870 ih, then when I finally got into the 1700s I nearly had a heart attack lol!!

Good luck out there!

 

[park pirate]

Congrats on your first IH nice one...

 

[treblehunter]

That's actually Lady Liberty wearing a native headress.
Great find! The Indian heads are much more resilient that most coppers. I hp the crap out of those babies. They're very hard to hurt

I start out with just a dry toothpick after a dry brush, then soak them in distilled water over night, if there is stubborn dirt I'll hydrogen peroxide the crap out of it. I have a few of them soaking in light oil. Indian Head Cent's are one of my favorite finds. I agree with Abe, they are very tuff, just like Carolina Tom, fastest way is HP, I just like tinkering with them.
Congrats on a nice one!

 

[sandchip]

Shweet IH!

 

[pepperj]

Nice going on the IH and a little soaking in HP would help it out as like others have said this coinage seems to be pretty tough.
Sort of interesting the different metal compositions used but theres many years of mintage that the same composition were used.
So if there's a huge difference in condition for coinage that was minted between 1864-1942 and 1946-1962 it would be from environmental as fertilizers, soil, years of been exposed. If the IH was deeper it might have escaped most of the man made fertilizers applied to grass and crops.
Now that you've taken off the newer clad you might be surprised at some nicer older keepers that are hiding a little deeper.
We all tend to forget just because a place dates to something that's in the 50's or 60's doesn't mean that the site wasn't used before for another purpose. I've found a 1790's coin at a 1890's school site and this goes for homesteads as well, folks walk over the lands well before something is built.
Slow down and dig deep, best of luck on the return hunt.

 

[SGT Claddy]

congrats on the IH always nice to see them coming out of the ground

 

[beez0404]

Beautiful IH penny. Welcome to the 1800s!

 

[Carolina Tom]

Very nice find my man. My first 1800s coin was an IHC too. My hands were shaking when I saw that headdress on a jade green coin. Killer feeling, huh? Hope you find some more! GL&HH.

 

[Hondo]

Just got my first IH last summer in a spot I thought had been hammered to death. Still one of my favorite finds! Yours is very nice, congrats on a great recovery!!