Some serious questions

[CREEKGEEK]

Ok so here it is. The first picture is my 1813 large cent when it was first found. I could tell there was some nice detail under the crud and learned of the hydrogen peroxide method of cleaning. The second picture is after a few treatments with the peroxide. I took the coin to a local dealer who had no clue it was cleaned, but offered 10 bucks and said due to being in the ground and corrosion its not worth much. In my eyes with research ive done this coin could easily be xf to au condition which should fetch a hefty bounty. The question is should i continue the hydrogen peroxide cleaning? I stopped because i was scared to damage the patina. But after hearing what the dealer said and the dealer not noticing the cleaning done to it i feel it might be worth more if it didnt look like it came out of the ground. I know this is a touchy subject and normally i dont sell my finds. But money is tight and for the right price i could let her go. Any help would be appreciated.

 

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[creskol]

It will always have the "Environmental Damage" look. Leave it as is.

 

[Sandman]

Leave it as it is........

 

[CoilyGirl]

I say leave it as well. Too shiny coins never hold as much value(personal value I mean) I don't think as those that have the natural look.

 

[ack]

Did you tell him you found it in the ground. I would not tell that part of the story.

Sent from my iPad using TreasureNet

 

[testing123]

agreed to leave as-is. Be happy it came out that nice!

 

[Greylock]

I wouldn't go any farther I think you'll regret it

 

[HutSiteDigger]

Use this to determine value: Liberty Cap Half Dollars - US Coin Prices and Values

Digging LC's are really kewl and special. however - dug they just don't bring the value you that you think. I have a whole jar filled with dug LC's and have sold lots to friends,dealers and also give them away for gifts. (They make really good gifts) always check your price guide to determine.

 

[swamp yankee]

Great find! Don't go any further w/cleaning it tho' as there's no way it will get better. You're lucky you only lost this much detail! You found a great piece there,I'd get a "direct fit" or "air tite" holder and put it in to use as a pocket piece/good luck piece! Now's the time to hammer the hunting spot to find the sisters too,good luck and HH...

 

[WHADIFIND]

Leave as is, and that is from one who's unafraid to clean a coin.

Your coin, like anything else, is worth whatever someone will pay.

I've stated before, the "real" collectors, the ones who have an excellent collection of very rare coins. Can NOT have dug coins come along and ruin their collection's value by seeding the market. If they have a one of a kind coin that's worth a mint, they HAVE to have a way to delineate between your coin and theirs. Why of course!!!! OURS can NEVER be worth as much as theirs! After all, we lowly peons dug our coins up and from WHERE? THE DIRT!!!! Therefore, ours is environmentally damaged and so cant be worth more than 10 bucks. Find enough of them though and theirs ain't quite so rare anymore, now are they.

If you need the money I would inquire of a few more people who might want to purchase a perfect representative of an old, historical coin.

VERY nice find by the way!

HH!

 

[jewelerguy]

In my eyes with research ive done this coin could easily be xf to au

the details of the coin may be strong and clear enough to make you assume it will grade xf to au, but all of the surface of the coin suffers from slight pitting due to natural corrosion from being buried in the soil for so long (environmental damage). I would imagine that if if were professionally graded, it would be called either VG or a low Fine rating with 'details' for the environmental damage

 

[CREEKGEEK]

Thanks soo much everyone for the advice!! I guess ill have to leave as is and perhaps an ebay visit later.

 

[wetrock]

Congrats on the 1813, yours is in really great shape all things considered. I would leave it as is for now and let the buyer (if you sell it) decided what to do with it. While peroxide is usually safe on copper that hasn't corroded too much, you don't want to clean it to the point that it starts to loose it's patina and look too bright.

There are two varieties of the 1813, the S292 (distant star) and S293 (close star). The distance of the 13th star from the 3 in the date is what it refers to. I always have trouble telling from just the obverse of the 1813s as to which it is. It's easier to tell looking at the reverse. Both of the 292 and 293 are about the same rarity wise, and should pull about the same price in that grade/condition. If you post a reverse image I could tell you which it is.

I am an EAC member, and can say that what most have mentioned here is correct. I will add that your coin is easily worth more than $10 especially to someone like myself looking for a reasonably priced example of that coin. A quick search of completed 1813 large cent ebay auctions should give you an idea of what they can go for. A dealer who doesn't specialize in large cents probably wouldn't offer you much, as you have already seen but a large cent dealer would be willing to pay a more realistic price. If you are considering selling it, I actually won't mind owning it.

 

[mariposagold]

Keep it and go to some schools and hunt for a Gold Ring. Pound for pound, you'll get more money for the Gold and have less attachment. This coin is way to awesome to part with for it's true value, IMHO.

Or you could sell it to WetRock, who sounds like he knows what he's talking about and willing to give you a fair price.

 

[Gridwalker306]

That's a nice coin, I'd leave it "as is". If I dug that coin, I wouldn't even sell it for $100 bucks.

 

[VERDE]

Great Find NightExplorer!! CONGRATS!! Neat Coin and looks great after your clean!! Pretty Impressive!! Best of Luck and GOOD HUNTING!! VERDE!!

 

[Sovereignelite]

Beautiful coin: Personally I'd keep it ! I just found my first LC (1854) about a month ago it's corroded pitted and I love it.

 

[DirtDodger]

Leave as is, and that is from one who's unafraid to clean a coin.

Your coin, like anything else, is worth whatever someone will pay.

I've stated before, the "real" collectors, the ones who have an excellent collection of very rare coins. Can NOT have dug coins come along and ruin their collection's value by seeding the market. If they have a one of a kind coin that's worth a mint, they HAVE to have a way to delineate between your coin and theirs. Why of course!!!! OURS can NEVER be worth as much as theirs! After all, we lowly peons dug our coins up and from WHERE? THE DIRT!!!! Therefore, ours is environmentally damaged and so cant be worth more than 10 bucks. Find enough of them though and theirs ain't quite so rare anymore, now are they.

If you need the money I would inquire of a few more people who might want to purchase a perfect representative of an old, historical coin.

VERY nice find by the way!

HH!

Sounds like someone has issues with some collectors spending their money the way they CHOOSE. If they choose not to buy dug coins that is their business.
Dealers are in the business to make money they are going to carry what their customers want.

It is illogical to think they worry about coins being dug up will affect the prices or rarity of their coins. Numbers are only one part of making a coin rare.

Example: A 1794 silver dollar for $10,106,875. Mintage was 1,758 yet a unique 1873-CC ‘No Arrows’ Liberty Seated Dime this dime realized $1.6 million.
The dollar sold for more than 5x as much but mintage is more than 1757 more with more than 100 still known.

There is no changing the damage the 'dirt' does to the surface of a coin like this, CONGRADS on a great find!

Details are but one thing that determines a coins grade, surface and other factors play a major factor also.
If a collector has a choice between two coins with identical details and one having the surface damage for the same price they will almost always choose the undamaged surface.
That is the life of a digger.

 

[cti4sw]

TBPH, to me, the term cleaning in regards to coins implies that whatever patina the coin had will be stripped. Removing dirt without removing patina, to me, is not what I'd consider cleaning, but more restoration. Cleaning devalues coins because it strips patina. Restoration shouldn't, because the patina will still be there when you're done.

Just my 2c

 

[cz70pro]

I would leave it as is,it looks very nice. great find. My best large cent was found during a building tear down in Philly.It was buried 2" next to a square nail,that acted as an "annode". It was an 1820/over1819 in amazing condition.I sent it to ngc/ncs to be gradded and slabbed.It came back "genuine- 1820- unc detail- enviormental damage" no mention that it was 1820/1819.I was a little bummed. Thanks.