A big first for me, 1873 seated Half Dime

VTColonialDigger

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[I put the date wrong in the title, the half dime is an 1872]

I searched a cellarhole today with a friend. I wasn't finding much until the end when I dug this awesome 1872 Half Dime! :hello2:

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1873halfdimeback.webp

This is a really exciting find for me as it is my first seated coin, first half dime and first 1800's silver coin. I try to focus on searching mostly early sites, Colonial-early 1800's, so it makes sense that I haven't dug one before. I am currently trying to get the staining to go away with lemon juice, but I'm not having great luck. Any suggestions other non-abrasive cleaning techniques for silver coins would be greatly appreciated!

VTColonialDigger
 

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Congrats on your first seated. Last year of the half dime. Ive got a bunch of the earlier half dimes(1830s-50s) but later ones like that never show up on here. The shield nickel had really caught on by then
 

Really nice half dime. Sorry, I can't suggest another cleaning method.
 

1873 or 1872, either way you scored a nice half dime. Congratulations! :occasion14:
 

Checked off a whole lot of firsts with that little beauty- Congrats!
 

Welcome to a very exclusive club! You might try an ultrasonic cleaner.
 

I wouldn't do anything to her , she's beautiful just as she is...
 

Congrats on your first Seated coin. I personally do not clean any of my silver coins (other than to water them off). I put them in a 2x2 holder, and label it. I like to remember the coins the way they came out of the ground.
 

Thats a bucketlister for me.. Congrats.
 

Very Cool! Congrats!
 

Congrats on your first seated. Last year of the half dime. Ive got a bunch of the earlier half dimes(1830s-50s) but later ones like that never show up on here. The shield nickel had really caught on by then
Thank you, the shield nickel had definitely become more popular by the late 1800's, my friend who got permission to this site has pulled 2 or 3 shield nickels out, whereas this is the first Half Dime that has been found at this cellar hole.

Really nice half dime. Sorry, I can't suggest another cleaning method.
Thanks, it was a thrill to find!

1873 or 1872, either way you scored a nice half dime. Congratulations! :occasion14:
Thank you, I was really tired when I posted last night so I put 1873 instead of 1872 :laughing7:

Checked off a whole lot of firsts with that little beauty- Congrats!
Thank you, I certainly did check off a whole lot of firsts! I have been wanting to dig a seated coin for a long time!

Welcome to a very exclusive club! You might try an ultrasonic cleaner.
Thanks, I have a friend who has one of those ultrasonic cleaners, I would have to do some research as to how effective they are.
 

I wouldn't do anything to her , she's beautiful just as she is...
Thank you, the tarnish is cool, but think that I am going to just use a little more lemon juice on it and see if I can get the tarnish color to fade a little.

Congrats on your first Seated coin. I personally do not clean any of my silver coins (other than to water them off). I put them in a 2x2 holder, and label it. I like to remember the coins the way they came out of the ground.
Thanks, I definitely agree with you that it is great to remember the coin the way it came out, and if it was covered all over with that tarnish, I would not have touched it, however there is just something about that stain that just makes me want to clean it.

Thats a bucketlister for me.. Congrats.
Thank you, a seated coin was something I have long wanted to find. I hope you find one soon as well!

Very Cool! Congrats!
Thank you!


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!
 

That's a beautiful little coin there! Big congrats! One method you could try is the baking soda boiling water aluminum foil method. It's non abrasive and I've had varying results with it. You can do the process and then use a cue tip to gently wipe / roll on the surface of the coin. Sometimes the tarnish will come off. I'm not sure if that would count as non abrasive though.
 

Great find congrats! :occasion14:
 

Thats a great coin good job my Friend youve earned that one.
 

Wow! Good work. 3 bucket listers in one, that had to feel good. Way to go!
 

That's a beautiful little coin there! Big congrats! One method you could try is the baking soda boiling water aluminum foil method. It's non abrasive and I've had varying results with it. You can do the process and then use a cue tip to gently wipe / roll on the surface of the coin. Sometimes the tarnish will come off. I'm not sure if that would count as non abrasive though.
Thank you for the kind words, and thanks for the cleaning idea. I considered that idea of cleaning, but I think I am happy with the way it came out after cleaning it with some lemon juice, the stain isn't gone but enough where I can see the details better.

Thank you!

Great find congrats! :occasion14:
Thank you very much!
 

Thats a great coin good job my Friend youve earned that one.
Thanks, I've wanted to find a seated for a very long time, so this was a great way to end the 2019 digging season!

Wow! Good work. 3 bucket listers in one, that had to feel good. Way to go!
Thank you, I was really excited when I saw the little silver it the dirt and realized what it was!
 

Awesome! A bucket list coin for me. Those things are so small I think any machine would be hard pressed to hit hard on one at a depth greater than 6" I actually purchased a worn half dime that I use to for testing purposes and I keep hoping to find one at an old site.

Great Find!
 

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