One of those days

[Jdett411]

Ever have one of those days when ya just can't do anything right?.....well today was NOT like that for me!!!! Still very new at shallow water, 4th time out in the water. Today I learned ALOT about my Excal ll, also got a great settings tip from another guy I seen out today. Tally: small hand full of clad, 1951 quarter, first ever merc 1944, 4 wheaties, nickel 1941 and 1944. 2 silver rings, silver necklace with 2 pendants (1 silver 1 fake) and my first ever BIG OLE GOLD RING ( only 10k) But Gold is gold. 1 question about cleaning the silver, would putting it in sterling jewelry cleaner be a bad idea?

 

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[digging440yrs]

GREAAAAAT !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[birdman]

Killer! The 44 nickle should be a silver war nickle. Nice gold!!

 

[capt-zero]

Jewelry cleaner souldn't hurt it any, depending on the cleaner. I perfer a mild cleaner like Wright's silver cream. As long as the jewelry or antique piece isn't an art work or high quality piece, it was probably polished on a regular basis anyway, so a gentle polishing souldn't hurt silver. This does not apply if the item is only silver plate. There is some controversy about this, so use your own judgement.

 

[SilverPirate]

Awesome day, congrats!

 

[dig kzoo]

I use a shampoo called malibu 2000 antioxident for cleaning silver. great finds! HH

 

[Jdett411]

Both rings are stamped sterling, when I try to clean them by using the chemical 10 sec " dip " solution, they're still that heavy grey color. Both rings appear to be old so they prob been in the water quite awhile. What is a better process to shine them back up?

 

[capt-zero]

That 10 second dip is a very strong acid solution and will remove some of the silver. You should never use it as it will damage your silver. There are a number of good quality silver polishes available at any hardware or jewelry store. Not sure what you mean by that "heavy grey" color. However, not everything marked as sterling is sterling. There is a lot of fake everything.

 

[Joshr29]

Very nice finds. Don't forget that your 44 nickel is 35% silver most likely. HH

 

[Jdett411]

Look at the picture of the pendant and the 2 rings. They're grey, sure fake silver could be stamped sterling still. But we can all agree that the 1951 quarter is silver, but it's very dull/grey still compared to the Merc. How do I make the quarter and rings ( if they're

 

[Jdett411]

Look at the picture of the pendant and the 2 rings. They're grey, sure fake silver could be stamped sterling still. But we can all agree that the 1951 quarter is silver, but it's very dull/grey still compared to the Merc. How do I make the quarter and rings ( if they're real) have shine. Tried the chemical " dip" and I tried the foil,hot water, baking soda on the rings and quarter. Still new and learning about all this.

 

[mangum]

Congrats on the gold! I'd rather dig a gold ring than a merc any day!

 

[capt-zero]

I still suggest you invest in a good silver polish (generaly less than ten dollars) and dispose of that dip and never use it again. I prefer Wright's silver cream, as I mentioned earlier. It is a very gentle polish and will not damage your silver. It does require more elbow grease though. Most collectors frown upon cleaning silver coins. However both of your coins' value lie in their silver content instead of their numismatics, so it probably wouldn't hurt their value to clean them. If you find a good condition "key" date I would hold off on cleaning it until you talk to the experts. There are many people who frown upon cleaning antique silver, such as bowls, trays, ect. My feeling in the matter, is that these things were polished regularly by their original owners and so what's the harm (if done conservatively)? Some exceptions could be, cast silver statues, cane handles, or other items that could be construed as fine art. Also, as I mentioned earlier, do not polish antique silver plate.

I restore furniture and frequently antique artifacts and I always try to maintain the integrity of the item I'm working on. Always try to do less instead of more. However, a good rule of thumb is that you not do anything to an item that cannot be undone.

 

[Jdett411]

Thanks much Capt, ill definitely pick some of that cleaner and give it a shot.