Bad day turned into Big Silver, 1892-s Barber Half!

[Damon64]

Went out to one of my old spots in the woods that has some history to metal detect. I've been all over this place many times and it's kinda dried up as far as finds lately. I spent hours detecting and had nothing to show, not even a Memorial cent! I was ready to pack it in about 1:45 pm when I decided to take a rest and set the coil down. I set it on a spot I had been over before. For some reason the V3i started screaming like it was over an aluminum can. I think the VDI was about 89, so I decided to pinpoint it, and it was showing 2.5 to 3 inches down.
Gotta be junk...I better dig it. I cut a plug and a dirt clod rolled out. The edge of a silver coin was showing. I thought, "Cool! A silver quarter! -Probably a Washington." I broke the clod away and it revealed an 1892-s Barber half!!! My best coin find ever! Sweet!

I didn't rub it, and carefully placed it in my fleece jacket pocket by itself. I got home, called my brother to tell him about the find and he looked it up and told me it was the first year Barber Half, and being an "S" mintmark, this coin is worth a least a few hundred bucks or more!!!
I didn't clean or even wash the coin off, it's just as it came out of that clod. If you guys think this coin is worth slabbing/appraising, I'm open to any advice. Any ideas about cleaning would be cool too. I haven't done a thing to it, I don't want to ruin it.

 

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[SilverPirate]

Awesome find! I would have it graded then it would go in my coin book to stay. Congrats and HH!

 

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[Damon64]

Nice find !
Cleaning, I'd just soak it in warm water for a few minutes, then give it a shake in the water, If a little bit of dirt remains around the letters, I'd leave it, but if you want while still wet a little q-tip is fine.

Slabbing, with return shipping your looking at 100 bucks, save your money it's a VG coin, "LIBERTY" must be fully visible to make "F" And if you want to watch one sell in a true auction, here is one just a tad better than yours, liberty is nearly fully visible.

1892-S Barber Half 1/2 Dollar - *Fine* - Key Date coin, San Francisco (HI021916) | eBay

Good advice, I did just as you said with the warm water soak and it came out nice. A little bit of the wet Q-tip lightly touched here and there got the rest of the dirt off. Thanks!

 

[bountyhuntergirl86]

Beautiful coin! Still looking for barber she's hiding somewhere.. :-)

 

[Dirt.Hound]

Wow that is a beauty! Huge congrats! Definitely have it graded and slabbed. As for cleaning, give it a soak in distilled water with a bit of mild dish soap and gently clean it with a qtip or ladie's makeup brush (dabbing, not brushing). You just wanna get the dirt off and leave the patina as is. It won't take much to clean that though... it already looks really good!

edit: nevermind, I see you already cleaned it!

 

[Showtime2385]

Congrats, Nice silver!