My Two Cents Worth...A gorgeous 1865 Two Center!!!!!!!

Ohio Jerry

Hero Member
Feb 20, 2008
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Ohio
Detector(s) used
Whites DFX
I spent 4 hours last night playing around with overlaying an 1871 map on to google earth and I'm finding that the number of 1800's homesites that are overgrown in the woods is just incredible.
I don't have my gps yet (ordering tomorrow) but tonight i went on an hour long recon mission to see if i could find a cellarhole that is on property i already have permission to detect on and is close to the road.
I studied the map pretty close and had a pretty good idea where it might be but I wasn't in the woods 5 minutes just a 100 yards from where i parked my truck and i found the cellarhole from my 1871 map!! whoo hooo!! :laughing7:
Next was the shocker.I cranked up my DFX,my heart still racing from finding the cellarhole and I hadn't swung for more than 10 feet when i got a strong signal. A steady repeatable 69 VDI ?? I'm thinking a wheatie and out of the hole comes a two cent piece,my first!. I cleaned it enough to see the "2" and waited til i got home to find a date.
It seems like every cellarhole I've detected this year I've come up with a harmonica reed base. No radio,no TV...just the sounds of the woods and the bluezy,haunting sound of a harmonica echoing through the woods..
This civil war era two center is in excellent shape.The cleaning process was gently rolling q-tips soaked in ammonia over the coin. It took some time and a pile of q-tips but was worth every minute of the researching and cleaning!!
Happy hunting,Jerry
 

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Upvote 0
Gorgeous is the only word to use for that coin. WTG I'm going to try ammonia on some of the indian heads I have. HH
JDD
 

Man, that coin needs to be slabbed! That is absolutely gorgeous!
 

I am so jealous of that coin!!!! I have NEVER found a coin in close to that good a condition and of course never one that cool!!!!


Way to go.
 

Jerry,

This is ONLY the beginning, my friend! That map, some work, and some intuition will net you Many, Many more great finds this fall. Just wait till the GPS comes--you'll be cookin with Gas. :thumbsup:

That is one heck of a coin--as Plehbah said it is much better than silver. Tell me a little about the ammonia method. Did you come up with it yourself? Does it only work on coins that have a green patina, or has it worked on anything? I think a lot of what was on that coin in the first place was just dirt--but if any of it was stubborn "crust" then bravo to ya on the cleaning.


Congratulations!


-Buckles
 

There has got to be a coppa waiting for you at that site.

Over the past two years, my group has excavated 7 two-cent pieces at our Colonial sites.

Kyle
 

Thanks so much for all the kind words on my two center. :D
The ammonia cleaning method came from fellow t-net member Mirage and it works great on Indian Heads and large cents too but i must CAUTION everyone that if you get too aggressive with the q-tip it will take that nice green patina right off!!
I learned on some Indian heads that if you want to leave the patina you have to go gently with the q-tips,just rolling them over the surface til they're dirty then get a new one.
This two center's surface is so smooth and near flawless that the dirt encrusted on it came off relatively easy and may even have came clean with just plain water and q-tips.
Again,thanks for the awesome feedback!!!
Jerry
 

Wow, looks like it was dropped a couple days after it was minted! Awesome.
 

WOW!! Sweet two center!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Congratulations.

Steve
 

It may not be gold or really old but this is a BANNER find based just on condition. Get that sucker slabbed!
 

Hmmm...my 1874 nickel looks like its in similar condition to your 2 center before cleaning...maybe I oughta give the amonia a try and see what happens.... did you use straight amonia, or diluted?
 

CowboyKolo said:
Hmmm...my 1874 nickel looks like its in similar condition to your 2 center before cleaning...maybe I oughta give the amonia a try and see what happens.... did you use straight amonia, or diluted?
I used straight ammonia,let me know how it turns out
 

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