Update on that Indian Head Cent

[WHADIFIND]

Well, I've worked a bit on that 1882 IH I posted a couple days ago. I'll not weigh in on whether or not one should clean their coins as I never figure to "value" them in dollars. Don't get me wrong though, I do feel there is a responsibility to every finder. These ARE pieces of history we work so diligently to bring back into the light of day. So, if it's a rare coin or just a particularly good example of one from a long ago era. I will do my level best to not "devalue" the coin by cleaning. I'd do the least possible and just seal it up. My avatar should indicate that aspect.

Now, with all of that said, view along the path of a coin that came back from the dirt.

Here is what it looked like when found:






Just barely recognizable as an indian head cent.

Then, working with some hot olive oil and a bit of peroxide and a toothpick, here's what it turned into:





It begins to reveal.









Not too terrible, eh?



Now, I must ask, when you bring out your finds to show people what you do in your spare time, which coin would you want to show?

This one:



Or this one?



Knowing, of course, that the second one is absolutely worthless! According to the experts, because; it has been "CLEANED!!!!"

I know my answer.

I'll try a bit more but the easy stuff has been pretty much cleaned.

HH!

 

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[DFW_THer]

Great post. Thank you.

 

[got2dig]

Well the experts don't have it you do, and I have to see what I have got to. Very Nice clean up. And to the experts look at this one. HH

I love the Green but if I can't read it then I clean it.

 

[WHADIFIND]

Well the experts don't have it you do, and I have to see what I have got Tto. Very Nice clean up. And to the experts look at this one. HH

I love the Green but if I can't read it then I clean it.

Well, for me, even that's a little too strict a rule. Of course, I know what you're saying. But, one wants to be careful. Just because I can't read it isn't quite enough of a reason to bring out the Brillo pads. LOL

After all, if you can't read it, you wouldn't know it was an 1856 Flying Eagle cent! At least, not until you've "ruined" the piece.

I'm very careful and I NEVER rub the dirt into the coin in the field, (sic - sandpapering). Especially, if I can't identify on sight. carefully wrap it up in a soft cloth and put it in a baggie until I get home. As long as I haven't cut the coin in two by digging! LOL

Thanks!
HH!

 

[TNGUNS]

Wow....great job on the clean up.

 

[WHADIFIND]

Wow....great job on the clean up.

Thanks and yeah, this one did clean up nicely. BUT, I want to be clear about one thing. I recognized that this one might would clean up pretty well. That's because of my many, many years of seeing different conditions that coins come out of the ground. There are few that will clean up like this one. If I didn't recognize that this one had a great deal of detail lying just below the surface of this type of crust, I wouldn't have even tried.

It's NOT a good idea to just think any coin can be cleaned up. Just that SOME of them, given the right conditions, might.

This is not specifically aimed at you, of course. Just hopefully out there for those who are new and getting the wrong idea.

Thanks for the comment!

HH!

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

WoW..that cleaned up Nicely!!!!

 

[cjon455]

here is how i "ruined", cleaned my coin. It was already kinda ugly so i was curious how i can make it nicer, i like the results. And of course i would never do this to a key date, or something decent

 

[mariposagold]

I like cleaning my finds. I have lots to learn about the proper cleaning of coinage and appreciate to open discussion about the topic. Usually only try to determine the date and have not cleaned the vast majority of my coins. And, I concur, if it's not a Key Date, then, it's not a big deal. The Enjoyment of showing your finds to others is one of my favorite things about this hobby.

Nice cleaning job WHADIFIND

 

[WHADIFIND]

I like cleaning my finds. I have lots to learn about the proper cleaning of coinage and appreciate to open discussion about the topic. Usually only try to determine the date and have not cleaned the vast majority of my coins. And, I concur, if it's not a Key Date, then, it's not a big deal. The Enjoyment of showing your finds to others is one of my favorite things about this hobby.

Nice cleaning job WHADIFIND

Isn't that a little bit of what this hobby is all about?

"Hey, hey, hey, look what I found!!" LOL

Semi-seriously, what would you rather show, a corroded disk and tell them all about how you proved that it was a colonial coin dating back to 1750. Or, show them a coin that they can read it for themselves. LOL

Thanks for the comments!

HH!

 

[fishstick]

Nice job on the cleanin! If u dont no wat u got u mite as well clean it. U never no wat it mite b.. HH

 

[Jarl]

Nice job WHADIFIND! You're hired...no wait, I already ruined mine..nevermind. LOL! My first Indian Head(this year)was an 1887 and after I removed the green layer, there remained a whitish layer deeply imbedded into the pits of the coin. At this point I could clearly read the date and enough of the discerning details, but...is that ever enough for a novice? Unfortunately, no. I then removed the whitish layer and PRESTO...I could not read the coin even with a 10x magnifier I didn't give in though, so, I came to terms that the coin was never going to be beautiful and tried to 'back up' the process. I took some white acrylic paint and dabbed it on the coin, then rubbed it off gently in attempt to emulate the layer I should not have taken off. It worked, well enough. To a more novice individual than myself, (is it possible)they can read it and usually go...'cool', and that is enough for me. My 1902 with fine details found a week later made up for the aforementioned woes. GL & HH!

 

[WHADIFIND]

Nice job WHADIFIND! You're hired...no wait, I already ruined mine..nevermind. LOL! My first Indian Head(this year)was an 1887 and after I removed the green layer, there remained a whitish layer deeply imbedded into the pits of the coin. At this point I could clearly read the date and enough of the discerning details, but...is that ever enough for a novice? Unfortunately, no. I then removed the whitish layer and PRESTO...I could not read the coin even with a 10x magnifier I didn't give in though, so, I came to terms that the coin was never going to be beautiful and tried to 'back up' the process. I took some white acrylic paint and dabbed it on the coin, then rubbed it off gently in attempt to emulate the layer I should not have taken off. It worked, well enough. To a more novice individual than myself, (is it possible)they can read it and usually go...'cool', and that is enough for me. My 1902 with fine details found a week later made up for the aforementioned woes. GL & HH!

Yep, that's what I was alluding to, it's not just the technique of cleaning. It's also being experienced in a wide range of corrosions and being able to recognize what coins might lend themselves to being cleaned up a bit. The hard fast rule of NEVER clean does have it's base in some solid reasoning. The troubles you had are evidence.

I almost NEVER try to remove even the green patina. The coins display just fine, (for me), with the patina.

Keep looking, there will be some wonderfully kept coins coming in your future.

Thanks!

HH!

 

[flyinryan2]

I'm very careful and I NEVER rub the dirt into the coin in the field, (sic - sandpapering). Especially, if I can't identify on sight. carefully wrap it up in a soft cloth and put it in a baggie until I get home. As long as I haven't cut the coin in two by digging! LOL

Thanks!
HH!

I have found that keeping the copper coin or flat button dry and just rubbing the dirt off (using a toothpick on the hard stuff) works the best. When useing even water all detail seems to wash away with the dirt. Great clean up on that IH, ive tried olive oil and peroxide on the crusty coins but with no success. But like you said if it does not have the detail under the crust then cleaning it will not help.

 

[WHADIFIND]

Final update. Ok, that's as clean as I dare try to go. But, like I said, there is a bit of art in figuring out what ones will clean up. Below are samples of some that I decided to just leave alone, (barring a bit of a wash, maybe a light brushing). ALSO, there are 4 examples of ones where I was still learning about NOT cleaning some coins. They are all IH's.

Thanks for peeking!

HH!

 

[steelheadwill]

Nice work on that cookie
The only circumstance in which 'properly' cleaning a coin might result in it Losing Value is if it is to be sold.
My goal is to give as much eye appeal to my coins while retaining their old and dug appearance.
not always an easy task.
100% agreed that each coin has its own cleanup potential, evaluation is key.
Liked the white paint 'undo' technique, wish this was as easy to accomplish with coins as it is in photoshop

 

[WHADIFIND]

Nice work on that cookie
The only circumstance in which 'properly' cleaning a coin might result in it Losing Value is if it is to be sold.
My goal is to give as much eye appeal to my coins while retaining their old and dug appearance.
not always an easy task.
100% agreed that each coin has its own cleanup potential, evaluation is key.
Liked the white paint 'undo' technique, wish this was as easy to accomplish with coins as it is in photoshop

Yeah, the paint was a neat trick. Better than my idea of trying to just fill in the pits with a spot welder. LOL

Thanks!

HH!