1788 vermont copper

[rodarian]

It's the only state copper i have ever found but, i'm thinking of selling it. Can someone please tell me what a fair market value is for this coin? It's a 1788 vermont, ryder 20. That's really all i know about it. It's not graded so just judging by my pic, what's a close guess to it's value? Sorry for not having more info on it. It looks better irl then it does in the pics.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

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

[huntsman53]

It appears that the coin is a Very Good to possibly Fine but heavily Porous and has the appearance that it spent way too much time in a Hydrogen Peroxide bath. If so, then the coin would benefit from a quick bath in Acetone, rinse with cold water, dry and then let it soak in Mineral Oil for a day or two. The latter will likely highlight additional details that are not quite visible due to the pinkish of the metal. Based on the possible grades, I would think that you could possibly get $250 to $400 for the coin. Again, the Mineral Oil may bring out some more details which could also help it fetch a better price!


Frank

 

[rodarian]

It appears that the coin is a Very Good to possibly Fine but heavily Porous and has the appearance that it spent way too much time in a Hydrogen Peroxide bath. If so, then the coin would benefit from a quick bath in Acetone, rinse with cold water, dry and then let it soak in Mineral Oil for a day or two. The latter will likely highlight additional details that are not quite visible due to the pinkish of the metal. Based on the possible grades, I would think that you could possibly get $250 to $400 for the coin. Again, the Mineral Oil may bring out some more details which could also help it fetch a better price!


Frank

I just dug it out of the ground last sunday. All I did to it was wipe the dirt off on my jeans a little, no soaking in anything. Should I still use acetone and then mineral oil? Thank you for your advice, Frank.

 

[huntsman53]

I just dug it out of the ground last sunday. All I did to it was wipe the dirt off on my jeans a little, no soaking in anything. Should I still use acetone and then mineral oil? Thank you for your advice, Frank.

Yes, I believe a quick bath in Acetone will arrest the small amount of verdigris on the coin, then the Mineral Oil will stabilize and preserve it as well as bring out some more details. The ground must be very acidic where the coin was found to strip much of the patina or toning and leave it somewhat pinkish like raw Copper.


Frank

 

[rodarian]

Thank you, Frank. You've been very helpful and I will do as you have instructed. I'll post pics in a few days of the coin after I perform the operation.

Thanks again,
Rod

 

[l.cutler]

First, I can't be sure from the pictures, are you sure of the variety? Actual value would be tough to estimate, it really depends on how it cleans up. From what I see, I don't see it going much over $100 and quite possibly less. While the detail looks pretty decent, I am afraid there may be a fair amount of damage from the corrosion.

 

[Iron Patch]

First, I can't be sure from the pictures, are you sure of the variety? Actual value would be tough to estimate, it really depends on how it cleans up. From what I see, I don't see it going much over $100 and quite possibly less. While the detail looks pretty decent, I am afraid there may be a fair amount of damage from the corrosion.

I took a quick look and think he is right, and with a listing of scarce, I agree, not a whole lot of value. Along the way I seen an interesting story of a Ryder 37 going on ebay last year, started at .99, and the seller having no idea what a rarity it was. Sold for $29,000. Was not a sharp example either, but only the 2nd to come up in a lot of years. I can rule out he does not have a Ryder 37... I made sure of that one! (shares the obverse though)

 

[kingskid1611]

If I had found it then I could only say that to me it would be priceless. I don't have any coins from 1700's.

 

[rodarian]

First, I can't be sure from the pictures, are you sure of the variety? Actual value would be tough to estimate, it really depends on how it cleans up. From what I see, I don't see it going much over $100 and quite possibly less. While the detail looks pretty decent, I am afraid there may be a fair amount of damage from the corrosion.

At that price, i'll just keep it. Thanks for the comment. I'm pretty positive it's a ryder 20.

 

[rodarian]

I took a quick look and think he is right, and with a listing of scarce, I agree, not a whole lot of value. Along the way I seen an interesting story of a Ryder 37 going on ebay last year, started at .99, and the seller having no idea what a rarity it was. Sold for $29,000. Was not a sharp example either, but only the 2nd to come up in a lot of years. I can rule out he does not have a Ryder 37... I made sure of that one! (shares the obverse though)

I saw that same write up. I was both shocked and amazed. The guy didn't even know how rare his coin was. I bet that was a pleasant surprise.

 

[Iron Patch]

I saw that same write up. I was both shocked and amazed. The guy didn't even know how rare his coin was. I bet that was a pleasant surprise.

For sure, and the funny thing is you can be sure there's some incredibly rare varieties in some junk buckets, but because of the condition the finder didn't think much of it.

 

[coinman123]

I'm thinking $100 at most in it's condition.