Noob finds - tesoro compadre

[EnigmaKing]

Third time detecting. First time at a historic site...pre-revolutionary war era on through civil war era.

Thin brass cartridge with a U, handmade chain (all links are different sizes, very mallable metal), a pull knob (brass I think but how do I tell?), and a coin.




I know the coin is trashed, but judging from the site history and how deep I found it, I would love to know what it might be. Given the condition, is it possible to clean this at all. It is a tiny bit larger (and I mean tiny) than a modern penny. Or maybe it is a modern penny?

Thanks

 

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[granthansen]

Congrats. Welcome to the forum and hobby. For cleaning, I suggest soaking overnight in soapy water and then toothpick it clean. See if that cleans it up. Then put some peroxide in the microwave for about a minute and plop it and watch it fizzle. You can keep in for an hour or so. Take out, rinse with soapy water (some will tell you distilled water) and toothpick more. Repeat process till all crud is off. It may clean up very nicely. If you measure it and tell me the mm diameter, it'll help ID it, if US coin.

 

[dig kzoo]

Welcome! Nice finds,

 

[Wildcat1750]

You're off to a nice start...welcome to the forum!

 

[corben1120]

Great finds, that is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak

 

[Metal Magnet]

i love it. your passion will see you through here. hot peroxide does wonders for copper. keep at it.

 

[Whatacoin]

It wouldn't hurt to attempt to clean it. Use the strategies as said above me and good luck!

 

[hamiddetecting]

Welcome and nice finds

 

[EnigmaKing]

Grant,

Sorry but I don't have calipers, but if you took a lincoln penny and traced it with a dull wooden pencil, that is about how big it is...really just a hair bigger than a lincoln.

 

[granthansen]

It's probably a wheat penny. All pennies are 19mm except for wheats, which are 19.5mm. I still say plop it in hot peroxide then take a toothpick to it. Nothing to lose and you may get some detail out of it. Otherwise, your search stops here :-)

 

[John Boy]

Your finding some great things for sure.congrats.

 

[EnigmaKing]

Thanks all, I'm giving it the peroxide now.

 

[granthansen]

Thanks all, I'm giving it the peroxide now.

Cool. I'm very interested to see how it goes. Generally what I do is... I put in hot peroxide for an hour, take out and use a toothpick to scrape off any loose crud, then re-heat the peroxide and plop it back in. I've kept in overnight sometimes... it's pretty mild stuff from what I hear from friends. After you take it out the second time, run under water, then toothpick scrape again, and see if you make anything out. When not in peroxide soak it in mild soapy water to prevent it from drying out.

Good luck... and update with pic!

 

[srcdco]

It's probably a wheat penny. All pennies are 19mm except for wheats, which are 19.5mm. I still say plop it in hot peroxide then take a toothpick to it. Nothing to lose and you may get some detail out of it. Otherwise, your search stops here :-)

I don't know where you got your measurements, but the diameter of the cent hasn't changed since the first small cents were minted in 1856. They are 19.05mm. Only the thickness and composition has changed. Wheat cents are the same size as bronze Indian Head cents, Lincoln Memorial cents, Lincoln Centennial cents, and Lincoln Shield cents. If they were larger, we wouldn't still be finding them in rolls.

Scott

 

[granthansen]

I don't know where you got your measurements, but the diameter of the cent hasn't changed since the first small cents were minted in 1856. They are 19.05mm. Only the thickness and composition has changed. Wheat cents are the same size as bronze Indian Head cents, Lincoln Memorial cents, Lincoln Centennial cents, and Lincoln Shield cents. If they were larger, we wouldn't still be finding them in rolls.

Scott

Hey Scott, I have an app called Coin Book Pro that I use as a reference. It's been very helpful many times. However, it could be the app is wrong!

 

[granthansen]

I don't know where you got your measurements, but the diameter of the cent hasn't changed since the first small cents were minted in 1856. They are 19.05mm. Only the thickness and composition has changed. Wheat cents are the same size as bronze Indian Head cents, Lincoln Memorial cents, Lincoln Centennial cents, and Lincoln Shield cents. If they were larger, we wouldn't still be finding them in rolls.

Scott

Well, here's something interesting... I've checked various sources of all pennies, and some list them as 19.05mm (notice .05 as opposed to my original .5) and some list as exactly 19mm. Either way, not noticeable by the naked eye. So if Noob's is slightly larger, it could be crud build up, warping, or maybe something else? Hopefully an ID will be revealed.

 

[EnigmaKing]

It is an Indian! I've put it through the hot hyrodgen peroxide 3 times, distilled H20 and have been toothpick cleaning. when it is wet and under a mag glass I can see the obverse details and the date looks to be either 1888, 68, or 86. I believe it will be eventually readable to the naked eye because the info is still there. the head side I haven't worked on as much but it looks to be in sad shape.

But here is the problem. when I take it out of the peroxide and quickly put in like two ounce of water with a drop or two of dish detergent, it is fine. but one I take it out of the water to try and work on it, it quickly rusts and/or oxidizes (greens) up and the small details become unreadable/disappear.

Right now I have it sitting in distilled water/soap. Is there a way to stabilize it/what do I do now?

PS: part of the problem is I don't have a hands free mag glass, so I can't work on it under a glass so it is taking me longer. I'm running out to buy a hands free mag right now.

Advice appreciated. My goal is simply to clean it up enough so it is identifiable to the naked eye and keep it from corroding further.

 

[granthansen]

OK... so... take this as MY experience as some may disagree. I had a similar issue with my 2 cent coin, and this really helped get rid of the green/rust crud.

Make a little paste of baking soda and water. Just a small amount. Then gently massage/rub your coin and you should see that crap come right off. Then soak again. You may have to repeat the entire process many times: peroxide, soak, baking soda rub, soak, etc. Go gently with the rub as it's an abrasive, but it worked like a charm for me.

Oh, and CONGRATS ON THE INDIAN! They're one of my favorite coins!!!!

 

[recondigger]

After you dry it off you could also try put a small dab of olive oil on it

 

[granthansen]

After you dry it off you could also try put a small dab of olive oil on it

I would say that's a final step. Once you put olive oil on it, your cleaning is done! I'd wait for the very end to do that... else you can try beeswax.