First hunt of 2013 nets a beautiful 1692 Irish Half Penny!!!

[Wes-N-VA]

Got out on a beautiful winters day in SE Virginia and found some nice relics. Got into a very early 1800's house site and found more 20th centry stuff than 19th centry, but then came along a solid 80 signal on my T2SE with the 5" coil. Out pops a beautiful 1692 Irish Half Penny Very nice way to start off 2013. The standing liberty was on the surface as is. What a fine day indeed. Thanks for looking and head over to youtube to see the live digs under wesnvirginia. Thanks and HH! The standing liberty is 1927 and the barber dime is 1912.

 

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[Wes-N-VA]

Thank you both for your comments. How do I keep the coin from drying out? Do I put some type of oil on it to keep the moisture content on the coin? Thanks again and I do appreciate your assistance and also to Crusader.

The coin needs no cleaning as the Patina is spot on, a damp cotton bud is all it needs, just to remove the last bits of dirt. But you do need to stop the coin from drying out, it's the damp soil conditions that keeps the patina.

SS

 

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[Wes-N-VA]

Thanks, it would be my first!

That is a stunning coin and in great shape. I think I smell a banner find...

 

[Silver Searcher]

Thank you both for your comments. How do I keep the coin from drying out? Do I put some type of oil on it to keep the moisture content on the coin? Thanks again and I do appreciate your assistance and also to Crusader.

Well I use a small amount of Olive Oil, and wrap it in tissue, this deepens the Patina, outhers use Museum grade wax, it's up to you really. There are plenty of tips on outher threads, but that is what I do with my romans, and any coppers that are good enough to save.

SS

 

[CRUSADER]

Well I use a small amount of Olive Oil, and wrap it in tissue, this deepens the Patina, outhers use Museum grade wax, it's up to you really. There are plenty of tips on outher threads, but that is what I do with my romans, and any coppers that are good enough to save.

SS

Agreed, its a kind of personal choice. (I like museum wax, which is expensive but can be reversed later if needed)

Best thing to do is read the cleaning section & speak with Don in SJ:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/members/1728.html
who has cleaned loads of these successfully.

Also test different techniques on similar but less important coins to see the effect & judge if you like it.

 

[dirtdigger1581]

Great hunt Wes! That Irish half penny is stunning! I vote BANNER!!!

 

[dgaughan]

wow That ha penny is in fantastic shape congrats and hh

 

[steelheadwill]

That is one super nice Coppa! Very rare to have that full legend, and Irish to boot!!
Banner nod from me
I got a 1699 (mistake. I think it was a 1694, the year wasn't visible but.. ) Brittania, about all that's left is the bust and 'et maria'
Yours looks really well detailed, Copper that old is SO hard to find in good shape.
SS and Cru supplied great preservation info,
Congrats on the Fantastic Recovery!!!

 

[birdman]

Wes that is an awesome hunt!

 

[Wes-N-VA]

Thanks for the comments! Always nice to hear from the guys up north you find the "Coppa" more than we do down here in the south. It is a dandy and I have been showing my neighbors real relics not the T.V. shows that they watch and think thats how we act. I did jump tho when I saw what it was, lol It was brief! Thanks again!

Wes

That is one super nice Coppa! Very rare to have that full legend, and Irish to boot!!
You get a banner nod from me.
I got a 1699 Brittania, about all that's left is the bust and 'et maria'
Yours looks great in the pix and just needs a little more careful dirt removal IMO,
SS and Cru supplied your preservation info
Fantastic Recovery!

Congrats!!

 

[Wes-N-VA]

Thanks for the comments! Always nice to hear from the guys up north who find the "Coppa" more than we do down here in the south. It is a dandy and I have been showing my neighbors real relics not the T.V. shows that they watch and think thats how we act. I did jump tho when I saw what it was, lol It was brief! Thanks again!

Wes

 

[JT1080]

Wow! That's really cool! Grats

 

[baspinall]

Wow! That's a real beauty! I found a 1600's Irish last year and it's toasted. Very nice coin.

 

[Don in SJ]

I was looking at records of my son's finds and saw that he has a 1692-94 W&M Irish Halfpenny, but in typical bad shape and a hole thru it where the last two digits of the date would be.

He also has a 1686 James II Irish Halfpenny.

I got lucky enough to get a 1680-84 Charles II Irish Halfpenny a couple years ago, I believe Jim in SJ also found one about a year ago, so the older Irish coins are in this area for sure.

Your 1692 is a bit more scarce than 1693, which is the most common year, remember Crusader mentioned about it would be nice to see the coin cleaned up to see if it has any of the known errors, which is even more desireable, I think this is one error you can look for without much trouble: if your "A"s in GRATIA have no cross bar in the A, than it would be one of the more rarer ones, if not, still great on the condition of your find, it just is way above normal.....

Check out this website: Catalog of Irish Milled Coin Prices 1692-1760

Don

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

That's a sweet coin Wes. Great detail and patina. I've only seen one other coin like that dug around here, and it was my hunting partner Chuck who found a 1693 Irish Halfpenny 10 years ago in the field surrounding a c1705 homesite in a rural area north of the Mattaponi River. His wasn't in nearly the same shape as yours, but a lot of the detail still remained. Here's a couple pics I took back in 2003 right after he found it. Not sure if it ever got cleaned properly or not. Again, nice find!!