Big Silver Saved!

[romeo-1]

I know, cleaning silver coins is sometimes frowned upon but with this one I had no choice. For the most part I like my silver coins to look silver. This is the Victorian 50 Cent that I found yesterday as posted yesterday. I had thought it was a large copper and was about to relegate it to the junk coin drawer but a little checking revealed it to be a silver 50 Cent...something I have not found until now! As found, I could not read the date and could discern the barest of details. The iron oxide was extremely tough to remove but when finished I had a nice, somewhat worn, large silver with a clear date! Here are the before and after pics of the find. Thanks for looking!

 

[Iron Patch]

That is MUCH better than most would turn out looking like that. And another big smile to those who say "never clean coins" because you just put that one from zero to maybe as much as $50!

 

[Wldbil]

Wow... Big difference there and yes very worn, but a great coin. What did you end up using to clean it

 

[djm of PA]

very nice considering the condition at the starting point! I also would love to know how you cleaned it if you don't mind sharing that info

 

[CRUSADER]

That is MUCH better than most would turn out looking like that. And another big smile to those who say "never clean coins" because you just put that one from zero to maybe as much as $50!

wow pretty good price for a shot coin

 

[Fish-Gate]

Well done. Good decision in this case for sure. I did a similar thing to a blackened, crusty 1810 almost unreadable bust half. It was 100% better after boiling in baking powder and a light leather rub.

 

[Mr Tuff]

looks tons better!!!!!!!!!!! MR TUFF

 

[Iron Patch]

That is MUCH better than most would turn out looking like that. And another big smile to those who say "never clean coins" because you just put that one from zero to maybe as much as $50!

wow pretty good price for a shot coin

My book that's a few years old says $45 in G condition. Victoria half dollars do book pretty good and this one is one of the lower ones. Besides value, they are tough to find, more so than even an 8 reale.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Way to go on the awesome cleaning!
I'm impressed

 

[CRUSADER]

That is MUCH better than most would turn out looking like that. And another big smile to those who say "never clean coins" because you just put that one from zero to maybe as much as $50!

wow pretty good price for a shot coin

My book that's a few years old says $45 in G condition. Victoria half dollars do book pretty good and this one is one of the lower ones. Besides value, they are tough to find, more so than even an 8 reale.

I can believe that, as its the first I think I have seen on here.

 

[AlabamaRelic]

That is an amazing clean up job.
Vicki has a very attractive nose.
I hope that my 5th wife has a nose like that!

 

[Hunthicks]

That's a pretty big improvement!! Now if only the coppers would clean up like that!

 

[Iron Patch]

That is MUCH better than most would turn out looking like that. And another big smile to those who say "never clean coins" because you just put that one from zero to maybe as much as $50!

wow pretty good price for a shot coin

My book that's a few years old says $45 in G condition. Victoria half dollars do book pretty good and this one is one of the lower ones. Besides value, they are tough to find, more so than even an 8 reale.

I can believe that, as its the first I think I have seen on here.

Even Victoria quarters are tough. Only two in 10 years for me, and a friend has none in about 15 years!

 

[OldSowBreath]

Certainly made the right decision. Now - tell us the cleaning method; I need some practice. - Thanks!

 

[romeo-1]

Thanks for the replies...cleaning is no big secret...just Autosol and some elbow grease. Of course you would never do this with a known valuable coin but for what I started with there really was no debate. The thing I like about Autosol is it leaves no discernable scraping to the silver. I'm sure the scuffs are there under strong magnification but not to the naked eye or low level magnification.

 

[romeo-1]

That is MUCH better than most would turn out looking like that. And another big smile to those who say "never clean coins" because you just put that one from zero to maybe as much as $50!

wow pretty good price for a shot coin

My book that's a few years old says $45 in G condition. Victoria half dollars do book pretty good and this one is one of the lower ones. Besides value, they are tough to find, more so than even an 8 reale.

Yep, I've got two 8 reales and this is the first 50 Cent that I have found from any era.

 

[goldgrubber]

Great job! Nice coin!

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Nice old Canadian silver ! I love the old Canadian coins !!

Keep @ it and HH !!

 

[Deepdiger60]

That is a rare coin for sure and i never seen silver look like that from the ground ,nice clean up Dd60

 

[romeo-1]

That is a rare coin for sure and i never seen silver look like that from the ground ,nice clean up Dd60

The ground where this coin was found is saturated with iron...take a look at this musketball...it looks like it's iron instead of lead and in fact it has a thin layer of infused iron...it coats everything making the signals tough!