Small coin spill of Barbers and a 1916 Mercury

[lenmac65]

I searched a mill site this past Friday that dates back to at least the 1850s. I was getting skunked other than a couple harness buckles when I got an interesting high tone fairly close to the road. I dug the hole and pulled a 1916 Mercury with no mint mark😖. I rescanned the hole, and found the 1912D Barber dime. I scanned again, and got the 1909D Barber quarter. Nothing after that, but I was still pretty happy. These coins came out of the ground very tarnished. I don’t usually clean silver with anything but a little distilled water, but these were pretty bad. I tried electrolysis on the two Barbers, but I must have cooked them too long or rubbed too aggressively with baking soda, as they are too shiny now. I soaked the Mercury in a foil lined bowl with water and baking soda. It is still too dark, but looks more natural. Happy hunting!

 

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[oldmxrat]

I think your clean-up job made for some great looking coins. Nice score, congrats!

 

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[jewelerguy]

that '09-o barber quarter is a key or semi-key date. only 712,000 minted. Awesome find!

 

[lenmac65]

Well done fellow Mass hunter! It's amazing we've been gifted with such a great winter!! What are the chances that the 2 Barbers would be D mints and the Merc not- of course if it was a 17, it would've been a D- perhaps the next 16 Merc will be the one- GL!

Thanks! It has been a great winter weather wise for detecting. Usually at this time I am scrounging for soft ground in the woods or looking for beaches where the tides have washed away the snow. As for the D mints, when I saw the Barbers were both Ds, I was hopeful I had uncovered a pocket spill from a visitor from out west and that I could have a rare Mercury. I knew it was a longshot, but one can dream. Good luck out there!

 

[lenmac65]

The best silver cleaner I’ve found is a red tube of crest optic white, the grainy kind. Use your fingers instead of a brush. If it’s good enough for your teeth….

Thanks! It is always good to have options. Usually silver comes out needing very little care; these ones were unusual for sure.

 

[lenmac65]

that '09-o barber quarter is a key or semi-key date. only 712,000 minted. Awesome find!

Thanks! I wish this was an O mint mark. I double checked and believe it is in fact a D. You have given me another coin to look for😁.

 

[Fumunda/tones]

I searched a mill site this past Friday that dates back to at least the 1850s. I was getting skunked other than a couple harness buckles when I got an interesting high tone fairly close to the road. I dug the hole and pulled a 1916 Mercury with no mint mark😖. I rescanned the hole, and found the 1912D Barber dime. I scanned again, and got the 1909D Barber quarter. Nothing after that, but I was still pretty happy. These coins came out of the ground very tarnished. I don’t usually clean silver with anything but a little distilled water, but these were pretty bad. I tried electrolysis on the two Barbers, but I must have cooked them too long or rubbed too aggressively with baking soda, as they are too shiny now. I soaked the Mercury in a foil lined bowl with water and baking soda. It is still too dark, but looks more natural. Happy hunting!View attachment 2069111View attachment 2069112View attachment 2069113

That's awesome! Great finds. HH

 

[jewelerguy]

Thanks! I wish this was an O mint mark. I double checked and believe it is in fact a D. You have given me another coin to look for😁.View attachment 2069542

sure looked like an 'O' at first, but you're right it's a 'D'

 

[lenmac65]

sure looked like an 'O' at first, but you're right it's a 'D'

Easy mistake, as my original picture was not real clear in that spot. By the way, Homer is possibly the greatest cartoon character ever, and certainly my favorite 😁.

 

[scruggs]

3 silvers is a GREAT day!

 

[detectorguy]

Great finds for sure. Could have been a D

 

[CTXAgGetter]

I searched a mill site this past Friday that dates back to at least the 1850s. I was getting skunked other than a couple harness buckles when I got an interesting high tone fairly close to the road. I dug the hole and pulled a 1916 Mercury with no mint mark😖. I rescanned the hole, and found the 1912D Barber dime. I scanned again, and got the 1909D Barber quarter. Nothing after that, but I was still pretty happy. These coins came out of the ground very tarnished. I don’t usually clean silver with anything but a little distilled water, but these were pretty bad. I tried electrolysis on the two Barbers, but I must have cooked them too long or rubbed too aggressively with baking soda, as they are too shiny now. I soaked the Mercury in a foil lined bowl with water and baking soda. It is still too dark, but looks more natural. Happy hunting!View attachment 2069111View attachment 2069112View attachment 2069113

Awesome day!
On the darkly tarnished silver coins I find, I do a lemon juice soak (5 or 10 minutes), a light thumb rub (with the lemon juice) if the tarnish is stubborn, and then a water rinse. Pat them dry and leave them be after that. (I have never sold anything from my collection and don't plan to. I keep everything I find. I have found a handful of semi-key date silver coins and don't EVER do anything to them but a water rinse.)
Soil conditions (most notably constantly wet soil in my area) are the reason for tarnish. Some silvers here can be so badly tarnished that they look better before cleaning because there is such a thick layer of oxidized silver that might be filling in pitted, oxidized spots underneath.
I try to stay away from abrasives like baking soda or toothpaste because they'll polish a coin every time I try it. On those few finds in my early days that I DID try something abrasive, I was always disappointed.
I HAVE figured out that with aggresively cleaned non-key date coins and stuff I know I will always keep in my collection as stuff I found that is just for my enjoyment... a carefully watched bleach bath will tone a polished silver coin back to dark in just a few seconds or minutes, sometimes. I then do a water rinse (to stop the reaction) and a lemon juice thumb rub on the fields and higher features of the coin. It gives them a lot more eye appeal, taking away the shiny white overall brightness and giving some contrast between raised and lower features of the coin. Again, rinse the lemon juice off.
It would, of course, be unethical to try to pass such coins off as original, untampered coins.
Sorry for the text wall.

 

[SilverDreams]

That's a great spill you found!

 

[ArfieBoy]

Congratulations on the great 3 silvers! Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[lenmac65]

Awesome day!
On the darkly tarnished silver coins I find, I do a lemon juice soak (5 or 10 minutes), a light thumb rub (with the lemon juice) if the tarnish is stubborn, and then a water rinse. Pat them dry and leave them be after that. (I have never sold anything from my collection and don't plan to. I keep everything I find. I have found a handful of semi-key date silver coins and don't EVER do anything to them but a water rinse.)
Soil conditions (most notably constantly wet soil in my area) are the reason for tarnish. Some silvers here can be so badly tarnished that they look better before cleaning because there is such a thick layer of oxidized silver that might be filling in pitted, oxidized spots underneath.
I try to stay away from abrasives like baking soda or toothpaste because they'll polish a coin every time I try it. On those few finds in my early days that I DID try something abrasive, I was always disappointed.
I HAVE figured out that with aggresively cleaned non-key date coins and stuff I know I will always keep in my collection as stuff I found that is just for my enjoyment... a carefully watched bleach bath will tone a polished silver coin back to dark in just a few seconds or minutes, sometimes. I then do a water rinse (to stop the reaction) and a lemon juice thumb rub on the fields and higher features of the coin. It gives them a lot more eye appeal, taking away the shiny white overall brightness and giving some contrast between raised and lower features of the coin. Again, rinse the lemon juice off.
It would, of course, be unethical to try to pass such coins off as original, untampered coins.
Sorry for the text wall.

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to provide such an informative and helpful post. I am definitely going to keep these tips in mind. I am especially curious about that bleach trick for the shiny coins. Thanks again!

 

[sprailroad]

With tarnished Silver coins, if they are not a KEY date, I've always made a baking soda water soft paste, let them sit for just a little while, gently rub between thumb and forefinger, looks nice. Gets rid of tarnish, and every little nick, scratch etc. tells a little story I guess.

 

[lenmac65]

With tarnished Silver coins, if they are not a KEY date, I've always made a baking soda water soft paste, let them sit for just a little while, gently rub between thumb and forefinger, looks nice. Gets rid of tarnish, and every little nick, scratch etc. tells a little story I guess.

Thanks for the tips. I used baking soda paste on the Barbers, but was a little too aggressive, I think, as they came out a bit too shiny for my liking. Next time I will go more gently, as you suggest. Agreed… never on key date coins, which is why I was more cautious with the 1916 dime. Thanks again. Happy hunting!