Does the word FUGIO excite anyone?? 1787!!! 1st penny by Benjamin Franklin

[olas13]

Happy turkey day everyone! Well I headed down to the beach today to go surfing but the swell died down so I bagged that idea.On my way past the beach I noticed the town had started a project that I had been waiting for them to begin so I could do some detecting there.Used to be a few casinos on this ground. After about a half hour I was digging a good signal and happened to look to the side and noticed a round object sitting on top of a flat rock. I reached down and picked it up and there was a 1912 V nickle!! great!! after another 20 min. of detecting I got a very loud signal and dug down about 6".Out popped a large round disc.I lightly rubbed off some of the dirt and the first thing I saw was 1787!!very clear.Well needless to say I was very excited. here are some pre cleaning pics enjoy!!
Not sure now that I have read about it that I will even attempt a cleaning myself.Its soaking in olive oil right now.
Any suggestions?

OK here we go. Wow lots of comments, Thanks all.Here are the best pics I can get with my camera.First thing I can say is that being in the air it has now begun to turn green.The first pics I posted look much better than now.The color was nice and even. It is what it is. Here is a pic for size and weight. Also some more of the reverse.
the reverse says states united around the circle for sure. I took it to my local coin dealer today and he did a couple of tests/checks and says it is the real thing.
Went back this am to search around some more and don't you know the trucks werre dumping gravel on top already.
My next stop was to find out were they took all the soil that was taken out, which resulted in permission to dig through a mound of dirt 15 feet tall 30 feet long.(got a 1898 v nickle in the first 15 min ath the pile.)IN the usual poor condition that those coin get from being in the ground.I'll be back at it tommorrow.Also some pics of the dig site and some bottles from the hole.Enjoy!

p.s. the pics didn't show up so I,m starting a new post to do the follow up, thanks.

 

[Derek752]

Congrats Olas !! Fugios are SWEET !! Looks like a pointed ray variety. During my metal detectin career I've had the luck of finding 2,a club ray which I had ANACS grade and sold it and one same as yours,pointed rays

Find more !!

HH
D.

 

[EDDE]

Re: Does the word FUGIO excite anyone?? 1787!!! 1st penny by Benjamin Frankli

what is the size and weight of the coin

 

[Merf]

A Faaantastic find----That is a sweet looking coin.

 

[Wasabi]

Olas,
That is the first time that I have ever seen a coin like that.
Congrats, it is definately a keeper.
WOW!

 

[Old Dog]

Congrats ,

Not often but every once in a while someone finds a coin on my want list.
The Fugio is one.

Dream coin too

Get with Buckle Boy and see if he can help you figure out a peroxide solution that will clean that surface.

Congrats again,

OD

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Re: Does the word FUGIO excite anyone?? 1787!!! 1st penny by Benjamin Frankli

Awesome coin, congrats!!! I would not clean it. HH, Mike

 

[desertfox]

Right place, right time, two nice finds. Congrats on the FUGIO a one in a million find! Don't clean it and get it out of that oil........Happy Hunting

Desertfox

 

[l.cutler]

Beautiful! Congratulations on a great find. I would get it out of that oil right away and give it a gentle rinse in soapy water.

 

[CRUSADER]

Why the hell would you want to soak it in olive Oil, it looks great already. What is the obsession people have with cleaning

 

[Dman]

Great find. Wheres the V- Nickel.
Dman

 

[cjprice]

Re: Does the word FUGIO excite anyone?? 1787!!! 1st penny by Benjamin Frankli

CONGRATULATIONS! That is a tremendous find. Thanks for sharing it with us.

~Chris
Cape Coral, FL

 

[bootstrap vinn]

Pretty sweet coin Olas,great detail for a dug copper!! I think that one is on everyones wish list. I've never really been much of a beach hunter but my mindset is turning slowly but surely.Erosion or man moving the top layer aside can really turn up some spectacular old artifacts!That coin looks great the way it is and cleaning it can only decrease the value but of course,it is your find so whatever makes it more appealing to you.Congrats man,that is sweeeet! Bootstrap

 

[Colonial KirkPA]

Why the hell would you want to soak it in olive Oil, it looks great already. What is the obsession people have with cleaning

I agree. I never CLEAN my coppas!

BDD...Kirk

 

[CRUSADER]

Re: Does the word FUGIO excite anyone?? 1787!!! 1st penny by Benjamin Frankli

Why the hell would you want to soak it in olive Oil, it looks great already. What is the obsession people have with cleaning

I agree. I never CLEAN my coppas!

BDD...Kirk

Good, WE agree

 

[Colonial KirkPA]

Dudes are so clean happy. I don't get it!

BDD...Kirk

 

[Don in SJ]

What is the obsession people have with cleaning

Crusader ( Kirk and the rest who think cleaning is wrong), I'm so glad you made that statement, since one of my pet peeves is that old copper should be cleaned, of course cleaned properly, but to leave dirt on a coin is only going to continue possible corrosive damage to the coin in the future for one reason, and it is our responsibility once a coin is "saved" from the ground to prevent further damage, not allow it to continue.

Using this Fugio as an example, which by the way, it has great detail, but the Reverse side looks nowhere as good as the Obverse from the photo. If both sides were like the Obverse side is, only a light cleaning in distilled water and some gentle picking with a WET cotton swab or toothpick to remove what can be removed would be necessary and a thorough drying to remove all moisture before doing anything else with the coin.

Getting back to why this Fugio needs to have that dirt removed, besides the one reason already stated, the one that I consider rather important is that it must be cleaned to identify the coin! There are over 58+ Varieties of the Fugio Copper and knowing the variety is important, some are very common, some scarce and some very rare! The differences sometimes can be a minute detail that can only be seen on a coin that is not coated in dirt!

It can mean knowing the difference between sending a coin in for grading if a very rare one or just keeping it if a common one since the difference in value can be astonishing! (The difference can be up to thousand dollars or more difference in some coins!)

This holds true for most Colonials, Pre Federal and Federal coppers. It is important to be able to clearly see all the details as possible.

I put this quote in another post a couple months ago and will repeat it here, and the quote comes from a top Colonial Collector in the USA who is also a contributor to the Notre Dame coin website.

"Hi Don. The mantra has always been don't clean a coin or it will lose value. For undug coins this is true. For dug coins this is untrue. The value will increase with judicious cleaning. The coin is the coin whether cleaned or not. The discussion I think centers on worsening the coins value or increasing it. If the value of the coin doesn't matter to you, then there is no need to clean a filthy coin other than to make out what the variety is. If you plan to sell the coin or to have bragging rights, I think some coins are made better with cleaning - that includes halting verdigris. I am not know ledgable enough to say what is and is not a good method for cleaning."


I am not a proponent of using Olive Oil on coppers, especially if any signs of being porous are there, since what has been stated already and I have been saying for years, is that the oil will soak into the interior area of the coin and over the years will then slowly leach out while in your coin holder. Also, for that reason, using Olive Oil on 2 piece buttons is not a good idea either. Olive oil on ancient Roman bronze coins appears to be fine, but on our coppers, unless the surface is intact, I sure do not recommend using it.

I would love to be able to attribute the variety of this Fugio, and let the finder know if it is a common variety or one of the many very scarce or rare varieties. However, the photograph of the reverse just is not good enough to say with any certainty.

Don in South Jersey

 

[bootstrap vinn]

I also agree BUT most of the old coppers that come out os the soil where I am need to have a certain amount of cleaning to even tell what they are. Some of the IHP's come out of the ground so encrusted that they are nearly as thick as a nickle and unidentifyable unless cleaned.That one however doesn't look like it needed much more than a rinse in distilled water. Bootstrap

 

[romeo-1]

Sweet find...now take it out of the olive oil and call it finito!

 

[Colonial Zoyboy]

I don't like to clean my coins anymore than what they look like after coming out of the ground.

During one visit to my uncle's work, John Walter walked in and handed my uncle a few coppas that he had dug along the river. Once my uncle noticed the great condition of the coppas, he asked, "John, did you clean these?" John Walter replied, "Nooooooo."

Now, folks, you know why I don't clean my coppas.

Bone Dry Detecting...zoyster

 

[Colonial KirkPA]

Don, I appreciate your explanation on why you clean your coppas.

One day, John Walter brought some corroded coppas in to show my uncle. My uncle stated, "You should clean those up. You barely see anything." John Walter responded, "PA soil. I don't do nothing more to my coins. It ruins the value if you clean them."

Now you dudes know why I also do not clean my coppas.

BDD...Kirk