1864 2-Cent Piece - First one I ever found

thekise

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Virginia
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Minelab Equinox 800, White's Eagle
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Metal Detecting
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Found at old farm/park this morning about 8 inches down (a couple of square nails in hole as well....)
Any way to clean the black off without damaging coin??
 

Upvote 55
Nice find, I soak them in Worcestershire sauce and check them every couple of hours then rinse them good.
Thanks for the tip - Will give it a try - the Virginia red clay really does a number on copper/bronze coins!!

Does the Worstershire work on Large Cents and "V" nickels as well??
 

Thanks for the tip - Will give it a try - the Virginia red clay really does a number on copper/bronze coins!!

Does the Worstershire work on Large Cents and "V" nickels as well??
It does pretty good on the coppers, only thing that works for me on the shield nickels and v nickels is fine steel wool but I just want to see them not sell them.
 

very nice !
 

Wow - lot's of detail there - it's in better condition then most - congrats on your first one ! :occasion14:

If you choose to do so, be VERY CAREFUL of how you clean the coin - it can easily be ruined !
You will loose most or all the details on the coin if you remove ANY of the heavy green patina.
The safe way - is to soak the coin in Olive Oil - it will take some time to loosen the crud - about a week to a month.
Take the coin out every few days and remove the loose material with a wooden tooth pick.

Good Luck !
 

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What a fantastic find...especially given that there were nails in the hole. You always have to dig those funky VDI's!
 

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Found at old farm/park this morning about 8 inches down (a couple of square nails in hole as well....)
Any way to clean the black off without damaging coin??
Nice find...love the detail on old coins... I'm certain somebody will help you with cleaning advice if they haven't already...the coin looks like it will clean up well...
 

Wow - lot's of detail there - it's in better condition then most - congrats on your first one ! :occasion14:

If you choose to do so, be VERY CAREFUL of how you clean the coin - it can easily be ruined !
You will loose most or all the details on the coin if you remove ANY of the heavy green patina.
The safe way - is to soak the coin in Olive Oil - it will take some time to loosen the crud - about a week to a month.
Take the coin out every few days and remove the loose material with a wooden tooth pick.

Good Luck !
Thanks for the Olive Oil tip - will try both that and the Worcestershire sauce on regular cruddy pennies first as a trial run - may leave the older/rarer coins as they are.

It seems that here in Virginia soil a sort of "black crust" forms around some coins. It is actually Black. Detail can still be seen on coin, but the lighting and/or view angle must be right.

So soaking/removing it hopefully would remove the "shell" without destroying the coin.

The detail on the Date Side is not as clear and I so far cannot determine if it is a Large or Small Motto variety (I see both were made when looking on the Internet.....)

Happy Hunting!!!
 

Great find! I've never heard of the Worcestershire sauce trick- been an olive oil or boiling hydrogen peroxide person myself, but please show pics if you try it- would love to see the results- GL!
 

Great find! I've never heard of the Worcestershire sauce trick- been an olive oil or boiling hydrogen peroxide person myself, but please show pics if you try it- would love to see the results- GL!
Will do IF I decide to do it - will look into the boiling hydrogen peroxide as well - all kinds of tricks!!
 

Great find! I've never heard of the Worcestershire sauce trick- been an olive oil or boiling hydrogen peroxide person myself, but please show pics if you try it- would love to see the results- GL!
If you have any pics of ones you've done (before and after) I would like to see them to see the results!!
 

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