Found a toasted large cent or a colonial copper, but which one is it?

[FreeBirdTim]

After finding about a dozen flat buttons in my current spot, I finally pulled out a big copper coin! Great news, except that it's toasted so bad I can't figure out if it's a LC or a colonial copper! Hydrogen peroxide did nothing to help with the ID. Still impossible to see any real design at all.

Here's the info I can give you when it's compared to the 1817 LC I found last year:

Diameter: 1817 LC is 28.5 mm, this coin is 27 mm.

Thickness: 1817 LC is 1/16th of an inch, this coin is slightly thicker than that.

Weight: 1817 LC and this coin are more than .3 ounces, but less than .4 ounces (junky scale).

Any opinions on what this toasted coin may be? I thought I saw an arrow on the coin, but now I don't really see that any more. Does that help?

Here's the pics right out of the ground. Not much help, I know. Still looks about the same after the HP bath, so I didn't take any "after cleaning" pics.

 

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[david680]

Good find and good luck with the ID.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Thanks! I may try soaking it in olive oil. Not sure if that will help, but it can't hurt.

 

[Vino]

Put in olive oil over nite and tomorrow take a toothpick and scrape it across ..You will probably see something. ..Dont worry about hurting it..
George. ..

 

[vpnavy]

Nice find! Thanks for sharing...

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Put in olive oil over nite and tomorrow take a toothpick and scrape it across ..You will probably see something. ..Dont worry about hurting it..
George. ..

Sounds like a good idea to me. I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

She looks to be quite blank, such as many are.
One thing that would help is cropping the pic down to just the coin before posting, which will make the coin appear as much bigger.
Suit your self, and to each his own I'm just not a fan of oil. No I'm not looking to start a debate on which method anyone uses, and the truth is when you get to this stage in a coins life it doesn't matter much what you do. Ive even taken a pretty flat coin like this one and rubbed it on a piece of very fine 400-600 water paper on a flat surface to get any high points to show up.

This coin many people including don of SJ thought was a NJ copper, as no other detail besides the shield was visible so I rubbed it on a flat surface on fine (very fine water paper, and was able to bring up a few letters in the upper left, which was enough to get a pos. ID it turned out to be 1798 (or 7) conder token.



now-a-days if I can't see any detail at all right of the ground, after many attempts, with all kinds of "treatment" if you can't see at least something with just a bit of a thumb rub, your not going to see majic. I just throw them in a pile, and save my time.



These are mostly blanks, with a couple on top that are idable, but not worth the effort because I already have a better one of.

 

[l.cutler]

It could be an earlier large cent, a flowing hair or a Liberty cap. Try making a rubbing using smooth shiny aluminum foil, this will often let you see detail not visible on the coin itself.

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

I agree with Rick regarding the use of olive oil. Not only is it very slow to work but it will permanently darken the coin which is not appealing in my opinion. Water isn't friendly to coppers either. Good luck.