Found a beauty in an unlikely place today.

[JmCraz8]

So today I went over to the old locks in damm dating to the 40s and 50s my comfort zone for metal detecting nice and peaceful little park lol I've had hit this place in the past, had found my first silver in this park and a lot of Kennedy halves none silver but still cool to find. Hunted for about 2 hours not really having any luck other than finding a copper penny and a lot of cans, so I tried another part of the park and as soon as I got over there I got a penny to dime signal on my ace 250, the target was about 4 inches down and out popped a 1865 2 cent piece holy moly I was excited my oldest coin to date and first 1800s coin, at first I thought it was a nickel then starting brushing off the dirt and was just amazed, sorry for all the rambling on just excited lol Any ideas on how to clean this coin up without ruining the coin? Thanks, HH!!

 

[ryaan21]

A warm water bath is all I would do, I dug one of these, 1864, and it was beautiful out of the ground. Tried the warm peroxide trick and the green patina started flaking off.

 

[Deep Seeker]

Beautiful find and nice coin. Still waiting for my first.

I would try a hydrogen peroxide bath, in my opinion. Take a small amount and put it in the microwave for no more than 10 seconds. Put the coin in the peroxide for about 25-30 seconds-it will fizz and bubble-then take it out. If it is flaking like Ryan said happened to him, or if it looks like the patina is thinning, then don't leave it in any longer. If it's not, then I would leave it in the peroxide and check it every 2-4 minutes until the dirt is loose and then run it under warm tap water. Do not scratch it and be gentle when holding it in the water.

 

[mjc_lakedweller]

I too would try H2O2. As long as you don't cook it. This is a remarkably clean coin and should come out looking nice. Nice find

 

[Jeff]

Nice find, in very good shape, congrats!!!

 

[jewelerguy]

awesome find you have there. congrats! if it were me, I'd just a use warm water, a soft toothbrush, and some dish soap

 

[jeff of pa]

Awsome Find Congrats !

 

[Wldbil]

Nice find... Congrats

 

[JmCraz8]

Thanks everyone, I'm still in shock to find that in the area of the old locks and damm site, and only 4 inches down, must've been a good luck coin for someone.

 

[cntrydncr1]

that is in very nice condition! congrats

 

[FoundInNC]

WOW! BEAUTIFUL! I would just soak it in dish soap for a few hours and then rinse. If the dirt is still on there, you can MILDLY brush the dirty areas with a soft toothbrush. Beware that cleaning a coin significantly reduces the value. Also, keep in mind that the green on copper is oxide and will come off like dirt. You need to preserve what you can of the 5. It could be a curly tip. One is more valuable i cant remember now.

 

[joeyfresh]

Nice coin. I'd leave it as is.

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Hi JC. I would skip the toothbrush. Here is my method for large cents that coin looks similar to me. Here is how my last large cent turned out that I cleaned up. Check this thread out. "http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/todays-finds/287364-livin-large-w-updated-pictures.html" While not all large cents will benefit from an attempt to clean. I believe that results are proof at least that what I did worked. I first water soak for at least 24 hours. The water i use has no chlorine in it. I think chlorine could be bad perhaps, so city folks should use distilled water. Then I soak in fresh non-rancid extra virgin olive oil for a few hours at least then I use my fingers and nails to rub remove crust etc, all the while closely examining the progress and not just blindly grinding away. When I believe that all the crud that will easily come off without removing the coins details I then move on to the next step. Then I like to use mild soapy water to remove olive oil residues. Then pat dry with paper towel. Final step is to smear some vaseline on the large cent then use a dry paper towel to gently remove the excess. Cannot guarantee you will have the same results I did but maybe this description of my method will give you some ideas to ponder. Happy Hunting! CARM

 

[TommNJ]

Very Nice 2center, Congrats !

TommNJ

 

[Gunrunner61]

Killer find, Warm water and a soft toothbrush....

 

[CoilFisher]

Beautiful! Nice job.
Don't sneeze at the halves-some of us havent found one of those either!

 

[JmCraz8]

Thanks everyone, I managed to get some of the dirt off the coin will keep it like it is, it's in good condition.

 

[NGE]

Now that you've gotten your 2 cents in, here's mine. I use an old Water - Pic, it shoots rapid pulses of water out of the tip, sorta like a mini power washer. Works great for getting all the "dirt" type of crud out of the fine detail, it does not remove the verdigris (green crap) unless it is loose to begin with. Olive oil cannot be totally removed from your coin (it gets very deep into the pores of the coin) try this....after you wipe the excess olive oil off, place the coin between two pieces of white cotton cloth (T-shirt material), put a weight on top of the cloth where the coin is, wait 24 hours, the cloth should be clean, nothing transferred. After all your other cleaning steps, preserve the coin with "preservator's wax" a type of wax that museums use..........nge

 

[Joe88]

What an awesome find!!!
Congrats!!

Joe

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Now that you've gotten your 2 cents in, here's mine. I use an old Water - Pic, it shoots rapid pulses of water out of the tip, sorta like a mini power washer. Works great for getting all the "dirt" type of crud out of the fine detail, it does not remove the verdigris (green crap) unless it is loose to begin with.

Love the "water-pic" idea I will have to check around for one!CARM