Barber half

[sideshowbob]

I stopped by a small park in a little town after chasing down a job lead. I only had about an hour to to test it out, but I found out its gonna be my new stomping ground. My bounty hunter quicksilver picked this up about a foot down. At about 6" I was hitting quite a bit of rock. I eventually popped it out in clump of dirt/rock. I hate getting my blade that close to any of my treasure. After a short bath in my sonic cleaner, I can see a nicked it just a little on it back edge . Just a slight shave. Still, it's my first barber anything and I still can't stop grinning. I believe it has white paint on it, as well as the obvious discoloration. Anyone have a bright idea if I should clean it and how? Thanks for checking it out

 

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[sideshowbob]

I broke out my loop on my new little friend and discerned that there isn't any paint on it. It's the patina playing off itself. The dark spots are playing with milky white silver can turn. Going back to that spot tomorrow for an all day extravaganza. I...cannot...wait!

 

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[BuckleBoy]

I don't ever like cleaning coins with an abrasive. Take it to a jeweler or coin shop and ask them to "dip" the coin. It'll look beautiful, will still qualify as cleaned, but won't be scratched to death.

I keep mine as-dug. My personal preference by far, since they would be worth less polished with baking soda than they are as-is.

Regards,

Buck

 

[sideshowbob]

I'm good with patina. I don't need it to be shiny as long as I get dirt off. Paint would be a deal breaker though. The only dipage my stuff gets is a short bath in my ultrasonic cleaner to get the foreign matter out of it crevices. The patina is its history, its battle scar.

 

[treblehunter]

Any coin that I would find that might be valuable,I would not even use soap and water. They look at coins with a micro scope, micro scratches decrease value. I'm not qualified to tell you what to do with your coin, just if it was mine, I'd be talking with a coin dealer.

 

[sideshowbob]

Thanks Th. I just may go do that. Should I take possible valuable coins to a dealer when it's caked in dirt though? How could they determine it value without discerning what's beneath the crud? Wouldn't they have to put it some water and things too, same I? I mean absolutely no disrespect btw . I'm very careful how I handle any of my recoveries and reluctant to put them through much more than some distilled water to see some detail. My ultrasonic cleaner may have been a little too much, but I limit that to about 20 seconds a time. Thank you again, all your comments and advice go a long way.
Oh and buckleboy, your video had me salivating. Fantastic recoveries!