Hunting shotgun brass found something much better

[Older The Better]

I went out after work looking for rare shotgun brass the woods. I was doing alright finding brass and a bunch of .22s. I got a good solid hit and I thought man that sure sounds like a penny but I didn’t think much of it because sometimes shotgun brass or casings ring up as pennies. Being in the woods I fully expected more brass but out popped a penny. I figured it was clad because that’s 99% what I find, I assumed it was from my uncle clearing the brush off the road and he probably dropped it while sitting by a brush pile he lit. I wiped it a bit and noticed the wheat stalks and it perked me up a bit never mind finding a wheat penny but upon closer inspection the wheat stalks looked too thick. I cleaned it up some more and saw the badge at the top I couldn’t believe it! My first Indian head! I’d searched 8 different building sites HARD looking for one and here’s one out in the middle of the woods!


It’s in fantastic shape, all I did was rinse it with water and a soft brush. a lot of the coins I find are toast at least on one side. Even though id never sell it I looked up the value and i kind of didn’t know how to grade it, a lot of the grades are focused on detail which would put mine into very fine but mine has a heavy green patina so I don’t know how that affects the grade

 

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[IMAUDIGGER]

That's one of the better Indian head cents I've seen posted here.
Personally I'm still waiting for my first.

My best find was supposed to be a shotgun hull. It wasn't.
Could be a random loss..might be more to it.

 

[Nick79]

Nice indian, congrats! Do u collect the paper shotshell heads?

 

[Older The Better]

Yeah it’s fun to go out and see what pops up. Got a lot of Winchester repeaters but every so often something rare comes up. Today I found two us romax no 10. Haven’t found any of those before and interesting Because they are black powder loads, also uncommon for where I hunt.
I also found 7 Winchester nublacks within a 6 foot area. Every time I checked near the hole another one rang up.

I also found a step for a buggy, overall it was a good hunt

 

[Nick79]

Yeah it’s fun to go out and see what pops up. Got a lot of Winchester repeaters but every so often something rare comes up. Today I found two us romax no 10. Haven’t found any of those before and interesting Because they are black powder loads, also uncommon for where I hunt.
I also found 7 Winchester nublacks within a 6 foot area. Every time I checked near the hole another one rang up.
View attachment 1695679
I also found a step for a buggy, overall it was a good hunt

That buggy step is really cool. I collect shotgun heads too, 1901s come up a lot here. Been saving the best one for every new style. Keep hunting those shells, I'm doing the same haha

 

[Rodbuster209]

Congrats on your first Indian head penny, is it your first1800’s coin? If so congrats on that also!

 

[Older The Better]

Yeah my previous oldest coin was a first year wheat penny 1909 or when ever that was. I mostly hunt a couple miles outside of a small town founded in 1863. so my odds of finding 1800’s coins are much lower than say someone hunting on the east coast... I wish I had a chance at colonial items, but I do get native trade goods

My Favorite Stamps So Far

Robinhood Powder Company 1896 - 1906

WRA Co Star 1884-1894

WRA Co Rival 1884-1897

UMC Star 1884-1890

 

[Nick79]

I like that robin hood, don't have one yet

 

[Duckshot]

Long ago a wingshooter fired both barrels, fumbles in pocket for fresh shells, and as he was doing so a penny pops out of his pocket only to be found ten decades later....

I love it!

 

[releventchair]

Great Indian Head Cent! Congrats.

Nice headstamps all...
Always fun looking new finds up.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice IH cent, congrats!

 

[Older The Better]

Thanks I couldn’t believe that’s where I would find my first 1800’s coin.
I kind of buried my question earlier so I’ll ask again does the patina have a major effect on value if the detail is sharp?

 

[Kace]

Sweet Find!

Your Shell Case Looks Kinda Like Mine!

Kace

 

[Carolina Tom]

Congrats on the nice Indian!

 

[releventchair]

Thanks I couldn’t believe that’s where I would find my first 1800’s coin.
I kind of buried my question earlier so I’ll ask again does the patina have a major effect on value if the detail is sharp?

Depends. If you would never part with it it does not matter.
More Indian Head Cents are ruined by cleaning than by leaving alone.
Yours is exceptional as is.... I would not do anything more to it other than a preservation wax. If that.
Without patina it will be less valuable (depending who you ask) and will also look fake as a recovery.

A coin dealer buying (yuuck) a dug coin expects it to look like a dug coin. No added scratches or varied cleaning results ect..
In that/a dealers opinion (and mine) a dug coin can be worth less than a minty looking one.
But that goes out the window on certain coins too....And those coins should be unmolested beyond the most gentle cleaning. If even that...

Natural (earned by time in environment) on a coin is great if you can still see details AND coin is preserved from damage occurring after recovery.

I've cleaned a couple silver coins recovered that are all mine. With no care for who don't like it now ,or after I'm gone.
Others remain as recovered. With only a very gentle washing and drying.
And I had to ruin a find to begin learning about how to treat them...L.o.l..

 

[Older The Better]

Thanks for the info, I don’t intend to ever sell my treasures but you never know what life brings, if things get dire I like to have a general idea about the value of my things.

As far as cleaning I heard even rubbing the dirt off can hurt them, I went as far as water and a soft brush that’s it, if it was a 1993 Lincoln I’d probably hit it with naval jelly and a wire brush to make it shine but I’m much easier on my better finds