1802 One Cent Piece! Holy crap...now how do i clean it???

[Scrappy]

I was giving up my hunt for the evening, and scanned on my way back and pow!

I'm new to coins hunting and metal detecting. I know better than to clean it with anything harsh (my grandfather ruined early 1800 half dollars that way), but I'm so proud that I want it cleaned.

My earliest prior to this was a 1967 quarter so this blew my socks off. I danced around like a kid again

 

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[oney]

Very nice! I love old coppers. You got my oldest beat by 18 years! Congrats and hh

 

[cti4sw]

Heat up a small amount of peroxide in the microwave for about 30 sec. Drop the coin in for about 30 sec per side, and dab dry. Repeat as necessary.

Actually, given the condition in which most coins are dug, they MUST be cleaned to have any numismatic value.

 

[BigWaveDave]

or... leave it alone

 

[cti4sw]

or... leave it alone

Ahem...

I know better than to clean it with anything harsh, but I'm so proud that I want it cleaned.

 

[Vino]

Just like cti said...keep repeating until it stops fizzing....by the look of the coin your going to need alot of dips...In between brush with toothbrush. ..then place in olive oil..you will then see as much detail as u can...the longer u leave in the oil thw better it will get....sometimes 3 to 4 months....good luck...post pic after for us.....Great save by thw way...George

 

[ATpro5]

I Agree, Hot Peroxide Is A Good Method.

 

[treblehunter]

Ha, I love it, 1967 to 1802, sweet. Good work finding that old coin, nice save.

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

Nice early cent. Hydrogen peroxide is the way to go for cleaning.

 

[flatbutton]

Nice large cent! AND you can read the date clearly! Being you first, and this is just my opinion, Personally I wouldn't try and clean it. The first 2 I found were early ones like yours. I tried cleaning them, and pretty much lost the dates and a lot of detail. But that's just me. Anyways, Congrats on a nice early coin!

 

[grasshopper]

I personally try to avoid cleaning coppers unless there are absolutely no details visible. Just keep in mind that there's always the chance that your old coin may come out of peroxide looking even worse than it does now. Just my two cents, but if you're really happy with this coin then I wouldn't risk cleaning and potentially ruining it. Or at least you may want to wait til you have a less old copper to try it on. Drape busts are hard to come by, who knows how long it will be until you find another!

 

[flatbutton]

Nice large cent! AND you can read the date clearly! Being you first, and this is just my opinion, Personally I wouldn't try and clean it. The first 2 I found were early ones like yours. I tried cleaning them, and pretty much lost the dates and a lot of detail. But that's just me. Anyways, Congrats on a nice early coin!

Oh yeah, This was before I had access to all this good info on cleaning and preservation on this site! I think I'll try the peroxide on a couple to see what happens.

 

[curbdiggercarl57]

Not supposed to go from a 1967 Quarter to a killer 1802 Large Cent.
Screws the curve up, big time.
Seriously, it's in the bylaws.
But I'm sure your dancing made up for it.
Kudos!

If you do do the peroxide, I usually put about an inch in a yoghurt container, nuke till its bubbly, (25-30seconds),
and then drop in.

Carl

 

[cti4sw]

Peroxide doesn't react with metal, so any detail lost during peroxide cleaning wasn't really detail at all but essentially dirt that molded into the detail itself while the coin was corroding. You will eventually lose it whether you clean it or not, since it's now out of the ground and will presumably be handled more often once again.

 

[Scrappy]

Cleaned it a little, and as much as I'm willing to do I think. Didn't loose the detail thankfully!

1967 to 1802 - now where do I have left to go? Just kidding...everything in between!

 

[Vino]

Cleaned it a little, and as much as I'm willing to do I think. Didn't loose the detail thankfully!

1967 to 1802 - now where do I have left to go? Just kidding...everything in between!

Perfect. .now coat it with olive oil and leave it go....

 

[flatbutton]

MAN! that one came pretty nice! Did you do the peroxide?

 

[Ahab8]

That coin looks really great for its age. I'd leave it be now and look at it often. One of my first coins last year was a 1757 kg 2. You just never know. Put yourself in the right sites and the possibilities are endless. Congrats on a beautiful draped bust. That's a really great coin for one of your first

 

[terpfan]

In case you did not know, large cents are not only identified by dates. They are also identified by varieties within the date of mintage. Your coin likely has enough detail to have the variety identified. Even though the 1802 large cent had a pretty high mintage (3.4 million), there were roughly 20 varieties of the 1802 coin. Some of these varieties were quite scarce. With any luck, some of the pros on this site may be able to help identify it. Congratulations!

 

[ATpro5]

Nice!!! Came Out Great. Did You Use Peroxide?