The 1829 Large Cent I decided not to clean.

[Silver Dollar]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions on how to clean a large cent. I decided not to clean it at this time. Went to a new site on Sunday that I've been waiting for the corn to be cut. Was lucky and found this 1829 Large Cent and a couple of buttons. Yes I was doing the happy dance after I found it, oldest coin I have to date. I hope I can get the picturers on here.

Thanks for looking.
Jim

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[silverfreak]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions on how to clean a large cent. I decided not to clean it at this time. Went to a new site on Sunday that I've been waiting for the corn to be cut. Was lucky and found this 1829 Large Cent and a couple of buttons. Yes I was doing the happy dance after I found it, oldest coin I have to date. I hope I can get the picturers on here.

Thanks for looking.
Jim

VERY nice Jim.

 

[Evolution]

That coin is in remarkable shape. I wouldn't clean it either. I love the flat buttons too.

 

[Merf]

That LC is a beauty Jim--Congrats on a great find.

 

[halfdime]

I have remorse over every large cent I've cleaned . Leave it as is!

 

[Iron Patch]

I have remorse over every large cent I've cleaned . Leave it as is!

Which was how?

I'd clean it.

 

[romeo-1]

Proper cleaning will only improve the asthetic appeal of this coin. That is a great looking coin which will only benefit from a good cleaning.

 

[Iron Patch]

Proper cleaning will only improve the asthetic appeal of this coin. That is a great looking coin which will only benefit from a good cleaning.

good = proper

 

[Mirage]

Sweet 1829 Large Cent! I would probably leave it as is(other than water and a toothbrush). I found an 1829 LC a couple weeks ago. It would have been better for me to leave the dirt on the coin as contrast. Old "red" nickels can be the same - better with some "dirt" left on.

Bob

 

[Jack(IN)]

Nice coin and it looks good just the way it is!

 

[Don in SJ]

The coin is in good shape and it looks like some cleaning was done, but I would try with a cotton swab and water to remove more of the dirt. A 1829 Large Cent is not going to get hurt by removing dirt that should not remain on the coin anyway. Clean and preserve, apply Blue Ribbon or Renaissance Wax if dry looking.

To those who clean and say they lost detail, well that was because the coin was toast to begin with and the dirt was just holding the original impressions together, and the corrosion underneath the lettering and design will go bye bye, but it was not the cleaning that destroyed the coin, it was already destroyed by the corrosion.

If there is no harsh corrosion on a copper, proper cleaning makes a big difference in looks and making sure the harsh fertilizers that might still be in that dirt are removed to prevent further deterioration over the years.

Nothing wrong with not cleaning a dirty coin if that is a person's decision, but there are many more reasons to clean than not to clean old coppers.

Don

 

[kg6yll]

To clean or not to clean. That is the question. Its up to you I thinks its a great find either way!

 

[SgtSki in MI]

I'd leave it alone for the most part.

For the most part I'd leave it be.....but a soak in extra virgin olive oil probably wouldn't hurt it a bit. If in doubt though, it's best left alone.

Congrats,
SgtSki

 

[BuckleBoy]

I wouldn't recommend olive oil one bit...I already chimed in about peroxide...but if you're choosing not to clean it, I would at least soak it in water to remove the fertilizers and swab it off (thereby removing some more of the dirt in the process).

Regards,


Buckleboy

 

[diamondjim]

I've come to this conclusion: you can always destroy the coin later.

When I first dig a coin like this, I get all excited about it, want to clean it and make it all purdy. But that passes over time...so I put them in my display case uncleaned. I have found that in time the urge to clean passes and I'm happier with the uncleaned coins than I am the cleaned ones.

I know that tempation is there cause you just dug a great coin, but put it away for awhile...you can always clean it later...but give it a chemical bath now, you'll change it forever and have to live with those results.

 

[Iron Patch]

I've come to this conclusion: you can always destroy the coin later.

When I first dig a coin like this, I get all excited about it, want to clean it and make it all purdy. But that passes over time...so I put them in my display case uncleaned. I have found that in time the urge to clean passes and I'm happier with the uncleaned coins than I am the cleaned ones.

I know that tempation is there cause you just dug a great coin, but put it away for awhile...you can always clean it later...but give it a chemical bath now, you'll change it forever and have to live with those results.

Yes, plenty of people clean things that shouldn't be cleaned or hurt a find by an improper method. Some items are great as dug, and a few people just like the stuff looking dug and cruddy and that's ok too.

I find the majority that are not happy with cleaning make one of the mistakes I mentioned above. In the many hundreds of things i have cleaned I can only think of one that was a mistake. If you count water as cleaning I made that mistake many times on items that were best left alone... but I know much better now. Nothing beats experience!

 

[Don in SJ]

I have found quite a few large coppers and there is not one that I would not have cleaned (meaning removing the dirt, not polishing or anything abrasive).
Already explained why, and the other reason is, to find out what it is in a lot of cases and the variety, one particular year coin might be a common one, but in the same year there are varieties worth hundreds and possibly into the thousands.
Even if not concerned about ever selling, then you are the collector and it is your responsibility to preserve the coin for the future to who ever inherits your collection.

Here is a reply I got from one of the top Colonial collectors/buyers and also a contributer to the Notre Dame website, he also has done some metal detecting in recent years with one of the top detectorists in New Jersey.

I asked him for his opinion on cleaning ground found coppers.

Hi Don. The mantra has always been don't clean a coin or it will lose value. For undug coins this is true. For dug coins this is untrue. The value will increase with judicious cleaning. The coin is the coin whether cleaned or not. The discussion I think centers on worsening the coins value or increasing it. If the value of the coin doesn't matter to you, then there is no need to clean a filthy coin other than to make out what the variety is. If you plan to sell the coin or to have bragging rights, I think some coins are made better with cleaning - that includes halting vertrigris. I am not knowledgable enough to say what is and is not a good method for cleaning.

To say not to clean a copper ,well, here are two examples of dirty coppers as found and with what dirt was left on them by the time I got home. Pretty hard to ID the coin in their uncleaned condition, but cleaning sure makes a big difference.

Don

 

[joey]

awsome find!

 

[Trond]

Beautiful coin.

 

[Iron Patch]

I have found quite a few large coppers and there is not one that I would not have cleaned (meaning removing the dirt, not polishing or anything abrasive).
Already explained why, and the other reason is, to find out what it is in a lot of cases and the variety, one particular year coin might be a common one, but in the same year there are varieties worth hundreds and possibly into the thousands.
Even if not concerned about ever selling, then you are the collector and it is your responsibility to preserve the coin for the future to who ever inherits your collection.

Here is a reply I got from one of the top Colonial collectors/buyers and also a contributer to the Notre Dame website, he also has done some metal detecting in recent years with one of the top detectorists in New Jersey.

I asked him for his opinion on cleaning ground found coppers.

Hi Don. The mantra has always been don't clean a coin or it will lose value. For undug coins this is true. For dug coins this is untrue. The value will increase with judicious cleaning. The coin is the coin whether cleaned or not. The discussion I think centers on worsening the coins value or increasing it. If the value of the coin doesn't matter to you, then there is no need to clean a filthy coin other than to make out what the variety is. If you plan to sell the coin or to have bragging rights, I think some coins are made better with cleaning - that includes halting vertrigris. I am not knowledgable enough to say what is and is not a good method for cleaning.

To say not to clean a copper ,well, here are two examples of dirty coppers as found and with what dirt was left on them by the time I got home. Pretty hard to ID the coin in their uncleaned condition, but cleaning sure makes a big difference.

Don

BAAM!!!!!!!!!!