Ever find silver this color?

[Corben]

Found this yesterday at a local park and never encountered silver this color. I thought maybe it was painted on
but paint would have eroded I would think. Looking through a Lupe also tells me it wasn't painted either. I fear
that I won't be able to get any silver luster from it. So before I try any of the traditional methods of cleaning I was hoping
someone else who encountered one like this could give me some advice or tell me why a silver coin would come out of the ground
this color.

 

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[pennyfarmer]

Was it found in Gravel? I have found silver in gravel before and it looks this same way. For some reason soil will protect the silver. For junk silver I usually rub it with a bit of baking soda. Some will cringe at that thought but if it is not worth much more than scrap silver then no harm no foul. Others might have a better idea.

 

[Michigan Badger]

From the photo it looks grainy like a lake find.

Once that thin hard die crust on modern silver coins becomes pitted there's nothing that can be done to restore it.

I've dug silver coins from drier ground and the Barber coins looked almost like the day they were lost. But water or very wet ground is nasty. There's like this natural electrolysis that takes place and just eats them up.

Badger

 

[FL Junkman]

Anyone ever try toothpaste on corroded silver? I dug a dime this week that I thought was clad as it was completely black same as most clad dug dimes which have been in the gound for a while. Before dumping it into the "collection jar", I looked at it with the magnifying glass and could not read the date. But something caused me to rub the date area with my thumbnail and look again and saw 194?. I then wet the coin and hand rubbed it with just plain toothpaste. Most of the black crud came off and it's a 1947. Have some more cleaning to do to it, anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for looking.

FL Junkman

 

[MEinWV]

Welcome,

Your coin looks like it was exposed to salt. It could be from road salt or from fertilizers, since you found it in a park.

I have found many of these silvers and the best way to get most of it off is to soak it in "Clear" ammonia(not the sudsy kind).
This is one of those coins that has lost its true collector value but not its silver value. It is also more special because it is a personal find. I almost always clean them up, with the exception of any rare dates (always leave them as found and let a professional decide what is best).

Unfortunately, Badger is correct! The surface etching has already occured, so even after the ammonia bath it will be better than it is now and you will have to decide if you want to use baking soda or "Zud"(if you can find it). I prefer Zud because it cleans great and rinses clean, without a residue. I find it at some supermarkets. Zud is made of Oxalic acid, which is used to remove rust and other oxides. I use it around the kitchen and bathroom as well. It is similar to "Barkeepers friend".

Good luck! And post a pic if you clean it up.