"Lady Liberty"

Dirt Player · Mar 11, 2012

"Lady Liberty"

Last Sunday I posted my find "Fist Full of War Nickels" (20 of them in the same hole) that I found in a park estblashed in 1934 that had been skunking me on silver for the past 6 months. I went back this morning to see if I missed any, and while swinging in the same area I got a strong signal on my ACE 250 and thought it was another aluminum can, but it wasn't, it was a "1942 Walking Liberty Half Dollar". I found this about 3 feet from where I dug the nickels, I know there is more, can't wait for the AT Pro. What a great day!

CrazySlasher · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

strong polishing

Gridwalker306 · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

Polished....but nice find!

Dirt Player · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

This was my first silver other than the war nickels, I used silver polish on it. Rather new to hunting for coins, I mostly hit the beach. Is it better to just clean with soap and water and leave the tarnish or patina on?

DMN · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

I suppose cleaning it with silver polish is the finder's choice however, if you want to keep the patina then a soft toothbrush, running water and some dish detergent might be the best for starters. I'm just glad you didn't find anything rare category. Talk to the people in the cleaning/preservation forum here. They can be a lot of help!

Threshold · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

Nice find. Yeah very tricky on the 'rules' to cleaning coins without dropping their value... Awesome piece tho!

mikusek · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

Big silver is always nice...... & welcome too. No silver coins for me yet this year, you are doing good.

matt092079 · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

Good find. The polish kinda makes it look like it's silver plated though...like it would flake off or something.

jewelerguy · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

not many things prettier than a walker in the dirt. great find :thumbsup:

Gridwalker306 · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

Dirt Player said:
This was my first silver other than the war nickels, I used silver polish on it. Rather new to hunting for coins, I mostly hit the beach. Is it better to just clean with soap and water and leave the tarnish or patina on?

I never clean or polish any coins that I find, except low value common coins that are in really rough shape. Polishing, rubbing, toothbrush etc will most certainly significantly reduce the numismatic value of a coin. Some folks let their really nasty coins soak in olive oil for a few months, that is supposed to help (some people even frown on this technique). I made the mistake of rubbing the dirt off of a few of my first coin finds after I dug them up, creating hairline scratches...oops! I find the best way to tidy a dug coin is to run water over it, and blot it dry.

Again, very nice find. Don't worry about polishing your half dollar--it's a very common date and no great loss. Now, if I could only find a Walking Liberty half...

River Hound · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

:congrads. i to use a ace 250 how deep was it and how deep do you find outher coins
very cool find the river hound

Dirt Player · Mar 11, 2012

Re: "Lady Liberty"

danny cordes said:
:congrads. i to use a ace 250 how deep was it and how deep do you find outher coins
very cool find the river hound

I found this at about 5" the same as the war nickels, I know this park has more, it is about 3 acres in an old part of the city I live in. As a beginning coin hunter the ACE is good I spend most of my time on the beach, 4 nice gold rings last year. I am upgrading to the AT Pro to get better depth and hunt some fresh water swimming spots.