A weekend of firsts

[Indianametal]

I have always had no luck finding Mercs, its always either a barber or Rosie. Last week I was thinking on it and decided I was in too old of spots to really maximize my chances. So I seeked out permission at a house that was a Speakeasy back in the day. Wouldn't ya know it I found a merc. Unfortunately it was the only coin of a 2hr hunt. Tons and tons of scrap aluminum in that yard. I know its gonna have some goodies but its gonna take a lot of cleaning.

The merc was a great start to my weekend having been another first marked off the list. Saturday I met up with my neighbor at an old church he recently got permission. While the signals were slim, I did manage two more firsts, a 1885or6 shield nickel and an undated SLQ.

 

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[Argentium]

Very nice finds ! - I'm still waiting patiently for my SLQ.

 

[mikefromIllinois]

Congrats on your first finds. The shield nickel can not be 1885 or 86 because they were not made after 1883.

 

[Indianametal]

Very true, I could of swore the book said they ended in 86 and figured the 86 I was seeing was the last two digits. Must be the middle two then. That would make it my oldest coin to date. The coin is worn smooth to the touch so I am afraid any type of cleaning will make it fully unrecognizable. Right now you can see the shield and clearly see the 5.

 

[g-olden years]

Nice finds & sounds like more waiting for you soon! I treasure my one & only merc! Andi

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Nice SLQ save there ! Am at zero silver quarters so far this year, just haven't managed to get my coil over one it seems !

 

[beez0404]

Very nice finds. Why not try soaking your shield nickel in some boiling peroxide and see if you can pull a date? Your next one will have more details so go for it.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Nice silver finds! Congrats!

 

[Indianametal]

As suggested I did a peroxide boil this morning. While the overall effect left it unchanged I was able to see the date while it was soaking 1867 clearly showed up in tiny bubbles. The date was so clear in the boil I was surprised when it came out looking the same as when it went in.