Guess I had to ruin one to learn my lesson

[Doug H]

Found a king George II early yesterday morning and it was really crusty but you could at least see the top of the head and the II. Nothing was recognizable on the back where the date is. Came home and kept telling myself to leave it alone but I couldn't stand it. I wanted to see if I could at least get a date on it so I commenced with cleaning. Everything I tried, it got worse till I finally tried a quick electrolysis dip which rendered it basically a copper slug. Never again will I try to clean a coin. Anyway, here it is before I ruined it.

 

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[villagenut]

Sometimes less is better.....but at least you know what it is. Nice KG you dug

 

[Doug H]

Thanks village, I'm bummed but I learned. Never again

 

[civil_war22]

Thanks village, I'm bummed but I learned. Never again

The best thing I’ve used, is either a mild amount of lemon juice/water, or vegetable oil for just a little bit of time. You’ll need to watch it because if you leave it in too long it’ll cut a lot of the corrosion off that you want for detail. Look at it this way buddy, you didn’t screw it up. When people see the details of a early copper it is when? When you first dig it up, and rub across the coin. The tiny bit of dirt on the bust, and on reverse can be seen better, but when you wash it they go away. In essence you didn’t screw it up because the dirt gives most people the misinterpretation that they have better detail than they do, and when they wash it or use electrolysis the detail leaves because the dirt was washed off. Take a light, turn the coin at a angle to see if you can get anymore detail from the light reflecting off the details of the coin.

 

[Digger RJ]

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Jason in Enid]

What you learned is that copper is a horrible metal, and many times the only detail left remaining is in the corrosion. Its like a shadow of the original, and once you remove the corrosion, all you have left is an ugly slug.

 

[civil_war22]

What you learned is that copper is a horrible metal, and many times the only detail left remaining is in the corrosion. Its like a shadow of the original, and once you remove the corrosion, all you have left is an ugly slug.

Basically what I said, but shorter[emoji23] Kind of like some women. They are hot as hell with makeup on, but you take the makeup off, and it’s time to hit the hills running.

 

[Doug H]

Thanks civil war, I did ruin it by doing anything to it. I'm getting at ease with it. I just wanted to try to get a date on it. But village was right, sometimes less is more. I'll carry that bit of info as long as I stay in this hobby.

 

[Doug H]

What you learned is that copper is a horrible metal, and many times the only detail left remaining is in the corrosion. Its like a shadow of the original, and once you remove the corrosion, all you have left is an ugly slug.

Man, you hit the nail on the head Jason. Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[civil_war22]

Man, you hit the nail on the head Jason. Couldn't have said it better myself.

I’ve had several old coins, tokens, ID tags, that had little to no detail left, and were all copper, or bronze. Both corrode in similar ways, and both will wipe all the detail off if you use electrolysis. I’ve learned to carry around a in my vest, a package of toothpicks, tiny travel size spray bottle, and a toothbrush. Sometimes cleaning them as soon as you get them out of the ground helps more than letting oxygen hit them again, furthering the corrosion process. I seal mine with a tiny coat of oil.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Still a nice find, congrats! Here in Massachusetts most of our coppers are toasty!

 

[Doug H]

Thanks civil, I have a real, a pistareen, a 1896 barber quarter, and a couple of Indian head pennies that all came out of the ground looking great. Any clad I've found I usually tumble to make it so I can spend it. But this was the first coin I felt the need to try and clean and although I had enough sense not to tumble it, even just rinsing it with soap and water, or wiping olive oil on it, or peroxide dipping...all made it worse. Electrolysis was the final nail in the coffin.

 

[civil_war22]

Thanks civil, I have a real, a pistareen, a 1896 barber quarter, and a couple of Indian head pennies that all came out of the ground looking great. Any clad I've found I usually tumble to make it so I can spend it. But this was the first coin I felt the need to try and clean and although I had enough sense not to tumble it, even just rinsing it with soap and water, or wiping olive oil on it, or peroxide dipping...all made it worse. Electrolysis was the final nail in the coffin.

Yeah some can’t be saved. I’ve got one or two, I’ve put a thin layer of dirt back on them, let it dry, and left it as it was. Funny how a little dirt will raise the details a tad. I have a 1900 Chinese 20 dollar copper coin, it was the same way. I could see the front, but the back was gone, so I picked at it, used olive oil, electrolysis, and gave up. Some you just can’t save. I learned that a long time ago when I was in law enforcement[emoji23]