Rubbing freshly dug coins

B

Billinoregon

Sr. Member
May 3, 2012
483
211
Sweetwater, TX
Detector(s) used
Tesoro DeLeon
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
How many times have you caught yourself rubbing the dirt from a freshly dug coin with your thumb and fingers -- or seen others do it in detecting videos? I know this is nearly an automatic reflex as we are eager to see the details of our targets. I also know that many, if not most, dug coins have only marginal numismatic value. That said, a numismatist would cringe in horror at this practice, as rubbing so abrasive a medium as soil across the face of a coin can only degrade it, no matter what its condition. A coin professional avoids even touching a clean coin with bare hands, preferring soft cotton gloves. From here on out, I am going to make a conscious effort not to attempt to field clean a coin until I can get it to water and use a soft-bristled brush on it.
Just thought I would share this as a "best practice" for the coinshooters among us. Thank you for considering.
 

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After re-watching my recent video of my first silver...a 1943 Merc in great condition...I am guilty of it. But at the same time I am trying to get the date on camera for the viewers. That is what I tell myself anyways.

I pondered it for a while and decided I will probably continue to do it as I am a MDer who digs in the dirt...not a numismatist who wears white gloves. Bad habit or not....99% of the coins I find are clad and the 1% silver or gold coins I ever find are not going anywhere but my display case.

I guess if I found a double eagle or whatever I would hold off on rubbing it. But for most of my finds...I'll probably continue to rub the date. The chances of me finding a coin I would want to have professionally cleaned and graded is pretty rare. Happens often enough on a forum this large...but for it to happen to any one individual the % is fairly low.
 

I have certainly been guilty, mostly because I want to see what I just dug. I'm more careful about now, I try to pull off just enough dirt to identify what type. If it's a Rosy, I will rub the dirt off as there aren't any valuable rosy dimes unless it's a mint strike error and even then it will have to be in almost perfect condition to determine. In other words, I'm not worried about rosies. When it's a merc or barber, I will pull the dirt away from the date to see if it's a key date or not.

The truth is that 99.999% of every silver coin we dig will be worth melt and not a whole lot more, so it's not something to really get upset about.
 

A coin professional avoids even touching a clean coin with bare hands, preferring soft cotton gloves.
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If you're handling your coin collection with gloves, you're not a collector, but an investor. I dig old coins for the fun of it and would never sell any of them. And since most of the coppers and IHC's come out of the ground in rough shape, rubbing them won't really do much harm to them.

Bottom line, it's a hobby for me and not part of my "portfolio". They'll be with me until the day I die, so I'm going to have fun and do as I wish with them.
 

Guys, I appreciate that most of us do this for the sheer joy of finding, and that most of what we find is in very used condition. But I was just looking at the gorgeous SLQ that JD posted, and I would have felt crummy if I put noticeable scratches in it in my haste to see the date, but apparently that's just me. So dig and rub to your heart's content!
 

Billinoregon said:
Guys, I appreciate that most of us do this for the sheer joy of finding, and that most of what we find is in very used condition. But I was just looking at the gorgeous SLQ that JD posted, and I would have felt crummy if I put noticeable scratches in it in my haste to see the date, but apparently that's just me. So dig and rub to your heart's content!
Click to expand...

That's why YOU have to make decisions that are best for you. Most people do not just scrub away at every coin they dig.
 

A simple solution would be to carry a spray bottle with water in it. It should remove most of the dirt to see the date without damaging the coin.
 

I've heard it's not good to rub them too. I agree with GT, that the chances of me ruining a coin is pretty slim, especially where I hunt. Most of the time tho, I don't need to know right then what the date is, so I put it in a container in my pouch, and I clean them later. I'm just thrilled at the time to find a coin. The time I'd spend rubbing the coin, is time I should be beeping.:icon_thumleft: They'll be the same coins when I get them in the house to clean them.

And if I did find a special coin and rubbed it when I found it, I'd have to go in and change my draw's, when I should be beeping!
 

Rob, a spray bottle and toothbrush would come in handy for this, all right.
 

Personally, I have no intension of ever selling my found coins so I really don't care what a numismatist thinks about how I treat them. If I want to see what it is I rub it. Case closed.
 

Until you try carrying a spray bottle everywhere. From personal experience, they are bulky, leak and break often. Small drink bottles like the "bug juice" ones will last a season, if you have a large pouch to carry it in.
 

Rubbing coins is not a good idea. As stated above, use some of your drinking water to clean them with a cloth, no tooth brush. When home, soak in warm water. I am a coin collector, who may sell coins to pay my expenses, including my metal detector. Good hunting and good luck.
 

Off subject.... what about horseshoes! I rub the hell out of them. Even one's from our founding fathers horses. Don't ask... I just know!
 

I agree with Billinoregon. i don't rub my coins .In fact look at my thread started yesterday in "Today's Finds" . I feel this way ; the coins I love to dig have usually been buried for 200 years and just finding them is a thrill and I take the responsibility of owning and preserving them seriously. I display my finds not by category but by the site they were found. I try to research and find out who lived at the homesite. By looking at it this way each find was a personal item and gives it life. I am being a bit philosophical but that's how I feel. And as a coin collector rubbing a coin , especially in some of the ways described on this forum is insane. In a recent post a guy found a beautiful reale with great patina and made it look like a fake coin you buy for a buck at a coin shop after he was done. So my two cents ;go easy on your old coins. A wheat penny found in a park is one thing , a Mass copper found a colonial cellar hole is quite another.
 

I only rub the shoes off the front feet, rear shoes - to much poo :laughing7:
 

I've always thought that a coin was much easier to clean as it comes out of the ground damp. It seems like once they have dried and become encrusted, they are harder to clean. So, for the last several years I have carried a pill bottle full of water in my pouch. I then drop my coin or find into it until I get home. Often (when I remember) I put a denture cleaning tablet in the bottle for the ride home. Both seem to make cleaning easier. Right or wrong, good or bad, that's what I do.
 

nothing wrong with spit!! it's what I use
 

If I was consistently digging 200 year old coins or any coins of X value...I would probably use a bit more precaution. But when 99.9% of my finds are clad....and then the silver I find is basically melt value......it is hard to tare the whole "don't rub" advice as concrete. (I realize advice is never concrete)
 

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