The Power of Olive Oil and a Q-Tip

[Sapper724]

Hi Everyone,
Well, as some of you know, I recently pulled a 1890 Indian Head Penny out of the ground. I just thought I would show you how well it cleaned up after a couple of days. I took many pictures, so some of you can get a good idea of how well this technique works. Hope this helps!

This is the coin right after I pulled it out of the ground, the only thing I did was swipe the front with my thumb to try and find the date.


(The picture where you can't see any detail at all is the back of the coin

Here is the coin after I soaked it overnight, and did a light working with a Q-Tip




Here it is after another 6 hours soaking, and working again with the Q-Tip



And then the final pics, which I took just today around noon. (The golden color was from the sunshine, I couldn't get a good pic with the flash)




I believe these pics were at the end also, out of the light



Some of these pics might have gotten mixed up, if they did, I apologize. You can pretty much see the improvement though in each cleaning, and this was only over the course of 2 days. It's amazing how much it cleaned up. To tell the truth, when I first saw the back of the coin, I didn't think there was anything left to clean up, I figured the image was too worn down. This just shows you that sometimes there is still a good coin underneath all that grime and buildup!

Thanks for checking this out, and Happy Hunting!

Ron

 

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[G.A.P.metal]

Sapper
very nice job on IH.
Gary

 

[RobRieman]

That's very impressive! Great job!
But now your going to have to listen to everyone saying you ruined it because you cleaned it. Lol

 

[Sapper724]

Nope, just olive oil, no harsh devaluation chemicals used. And Indian heads are only worth a couple bucks anyways... Its more sentimental than anything because it came from a family farm

 

[christo000]

Wow man I have heard of using olive oil but hadn't seen it really in action well done. I'll definitely be given it a try now thanks

 

[crazy4coins]

Wow, that's awesome!

 

[rks1949]

Wow man I have heard of using olive oil but hadn't seen it really in action well done. I'll definitely be given it a try now thanks

You have seen it in action! I just didn't say anything about using it.

 

[Sapper724]

Nice Job RKS, I think you were the one that told me about it in the first place. Those Indian Heads sure clean up nice!

 

[christo000]

Lol

 

[EagleEyes]

Nope, just olive oil, no harsh devaluation chemicals used. And Indian heads are only worth a couple bucks anyways... Its more sentimental than anything because it came from a family farm

Hi. I'm new to metal detecting and trying to soak up as much info as possible. Which olive oil did u use? The virgin kind or the regular stuff? Thanks in advance.

 

[Sapper724]

Just regular. Its pretty much all the same stuff. Just let it soak for about 24 hours and then give it a light scrubbing with the qtip.

Are you in the Air Force? If so, thank you for your service. I did 9 years Army myself. Take care and happy hunting! Welcome to TreasureNet!

 

[rks1949]

Nice Job RKS, I think you were the one that told me about it in the first place. Those Indian Heads sure clean up nice!

Yes they do! The green patina never came off mine,but I only soaked it for 2 days,then left it as is. The IH coins are one of my favorite coins.

 

[Sapper724]

Yeah, I had some patina on some of my wheats, that never came off either, which is fine by me, I think it makes the coins look nice!

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

Very nice job, and good info!

Wayne

 

[Sapper724]

Thanks Wayne!

 

[EagleEyes]

Just regular. Its pretty much all the same stuff. Just let it soak for about 24 hours and then give it a light scrubbing with the qtip.

Are you in the Air Force? If so, thank you for your service. I did 9 years Army myself. Take care and happy hunting! Welcome to TreasureNet!

Yep and loving it. Thanks for the info. I'm hoping to get some great finds like you guys on here!! Thanks again !

 

[Jay In NewKen]

First off awesome info! Just found my first IH today and it needs some TLC. Definitely going to try this olive oil bath.Thanks again for this info and HH

 

[treadhead]

Thanks for the tip man!

I've been "experimenting" with a few coin-cleaning methods (Everything from Tarn-X to vinegar & salt on clad) and hadn't seen this one yet.

Thanks again.

 

[Sapper724]

If its just clad use a rock tumbler. If you cant get a tumbler, rig up a peanut butter jar and some fish rocks. Shake and shake. You could also rig up a drill with the jar.

The olive oil seems to work awesome for any wheats or other older coins.

Good luck!

 

[marh415]

Nice job, they look great!