1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...) cleaned pics added

[savant365]

I found my oldest coin to date today, an 1876 shield nickel. Unfortunately I goudged the heck out of it with my digger = me! I am still very happy with it though since it is my first coin from the 1800's. I found it in my back yard that was a 160 acre farm since 18??. It's down to 2 1/2 acres now. The nickel was out in the very middle of the field/yard away from all trees or any thing else. As far as I know it was never plowed or planted but was always pasture. Sheer luck is the only reason I happened to go over this spot. It was appoximatly 7" down, I got a very faint signal and dug a pretty good sized plug. When I rescanned the hole the signal was still a little iffy so I took my smaller digger and stabbed the coin immediatly, live and learn I guess. I have dug pounds and pounds of trash to get this one little coin, I hope the next one comes along a little easier than this one did. Thanks for looking HH, Charlie

 

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[Mr_Mojo_Risin]

Re: 1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...)

Ahh, yes...Live and learn! The important thing its that you found it !

 

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[dugdigger]

Re: 1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...)

congrats on the shield nickel. I know how it feels to hit them too. got the first half right across the eagle, and a few years later got my first barber quarter across the face. i guess it's a good thing I lost my digger. lol thanks for posting

 

[tymcmurray]

Re: 1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...)

Nice coin!!!
Don't even give the scratch a second thought,
there are more to come!!!

 

[ringfinder]

Re: 1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...)

Really nice coin, sorry to see you put a gouge in it. But I would have to say if anyone has been detecting for any time at all, he or she has done the same thing you did. We all have, it's called a learning experience.

I agree with Savant & Neil, use a probe. I also use a Sun Ray probe. In fact I have 5 different detectors and have a Sun Ray Probe on each one of them. After you use a probe, wether it be a Sun Ray or any kind of probe, you will not be able to detect again without one. It will definitely help in finding coins in the hole you dug and hopefully help prevent what happened to that Shielded nickel.

Another thing you might do, is don't wash a coin like a Shield nickel. It will turn real brown and in some cases you won't even be able to read the date. I have found many of these coins in my 23 years of detecting and it's best just to leave them green and dirty. At least that way you can read them.

Best of Luck to you in the future and think real hard about a Probe!!

HH, Ringfinder

 

[christ-first]

Re: 1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...)

scratched or not...it's still a beautiful coin. i have always loved the nickles. good job.

 

[savant365]

Re: 1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...)

Thanks for all the nice posts, I am going to start shopping for a probe today. I think I will start with a good used one first though. Any suggestions on what I should look for? I could probably afford to spend about $50 on one and not tear up my budget too bad.

HH Charlie

 

[Goes4ever]

Re: 1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...)

I have cleaned up some buffalo nickels with vinegar and salt, stir a spoon of salt in the vinegar till it dissolves then just swirl the nickel around for a bit and watch the red disapear, it doesn't take long at all!

 

[savant365]

Re: 1876 shield nickel (got it with the digger too GRRR...)

I have cleaned up some buffalo nickels with vinegar and salt, stir a spoon of salt in the vinegar till it dissolves then just swirl the nickel around for a bit and watch the red disapear, it doesn't take long at all!

That worked pretty good, almost too good. I think I lost a lot of detail by doing it this way. I put a little olive oil on it and it brought some of it back. It's still a neat coin though and the scratch isn't quite as noticeable.

 

[crazyjarhead]

Nice coin despite the scratch. Hope it's not too deep

 

[Goes4ever]

I rather have the coin as it is now than have t red and corroded, I think it cleaned up nicely

 

[savant365]

I rather have the coin as it is now than have t red and corroded, I think it cleaned up nicely

I have to agree, I needed a magnifying glass to see it to begin with but now my camera picks up the details great. I wouldn't sell it anyway so I really don't care what a dealer would pay for it or what it graded after being cleaned.

HH Charlie

 

[Goes4ever]

I rather have the coin as it is now than have t red and corroded, I think it cleaned up nicely

I have to agree, I needed a magnifying glass to see it to begin with but now my camera picks up the details great. I wouldn't sell it anyway so I really don't care what a dealer would pay for it or what it graded after being cleaned.

HH Charlie

I agree with you there, I will not sell any of my dug coins unless it was a key date coin and it could fetch some big $$$

 

[savant365]

[/quote]I agree with you there, I will not sell any of my dug coins unless it was a key date coin and it could fetch some big $$$
[/quote]

Yep, if it was worth 2 or 3 hundred I would probably (most likely) take the cash. But for 10 or 15 bucks...I will just keep it and have a lot of fun showing it off LOL.

HH Charlie

 

[ruccello]

Hey Charlie, nice find! I found my first good coin this year too, it was an 1867 shield nickel! It was worse looking than yours when I pulled it out of the ground. I cleaned it with NevR Dull. What a difference, the NevR Dull did an incredible job. I tried olive oil, peroxide, and this was the only thing that worked. You can look at my old posts to find it to see how well it worked. Congrats again.

Richard

 

[ivan salis]

use a probe and take your time when digging targets -- learned the hard way too

 

[johnnycat]

Heck, don't feel so bad. Look at what I did.