Scared to clean this coin.. What would you do?

[nate7394]

Just pulled a major bucket list find today with finding an early variety large cent. When it was first pulled from the ground, you could almost see the date (1796?). Haven't done anything to the coin yet so there is still dirt caked to both sides. Even with the dirt, I can see all the major details which means it's likely in great shape underneath.

In the past I've used olive oil which does a pretty good job on these coppers. Only problem is that the oil makes the coin very dark. Using peroxide is the other method I've used but this seems to be hit or miss with some coins ending up pitted all over. I'm thinking about taking it over to a coin shop to see what they think?

 

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[DigIron2]

Congrats to you, it is a nice one. I would leave it alone personally. The dirt that is left might be helping define it.?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Sheesk you east coast guys have all the luck with early colonials, LC's, etc... Since I'm so green with envy, I'll suggest this method:

You get double sided duct tape. Tape it to the bottom of one of the tires of your vehicle. Drive around the block a few times. The coin will then be guaranteed to be nice and shiny ! Or you can always use a bench grinder or bead blaster, etc....... Now stop making us west coast guys sick !

 

[against the wind]

Sweet find. I don't blame you for taking a careful approach to cleaning that gem.
Congratulations on a really nice find.

 

[nate7394]

Pretty happy with the results! Didn't use the car technique but instead cleaned by letting it sit in boiling peroxide for ≈5 minutes. Pulled it out and scraped with wet q-tips until the surfaces were clear of dirt. The coin got considerably darker but I'll take it.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Cleaned up nice. You are right about the olive oil, it does darken coins. It's also acidic.

 

[DigIron2]

Well that cleaned up very nice..It was in better shape then I thought. very very nice.

 

[TXPIRATE]

Very nice.

 

[Blak bart]

Ya that cleaned up nice.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Beautiful Liberty Cap large cent!

 

[Argentium]

Excellent save and cleaning actually helped - I wouldn't do anything else , that looks great !

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

yes, get a professional to advise next step - you'll get a mixed opinion here.... =|

 

[Z.K.]

Holy smokes, that is an exceptional ground find. Only 109,825 of these were made that year, and I'd wager yours is in the top 5% of excavated examples in terms of condition. Glad you got the results you did with the peroxide approach. Hope somebody good at attributing varieties of these chimes in.

 

[DetectingGodlikeOnOlympus]

That looks great! The details are easily visible, yet you retained a patina.

Stellar coin, and equally stellar conservation job!

 

[btripp6]

Beautiful job!

 

[bill from lachine]

Good clean up job....bravo!

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[Truth]

I love your coin!!!


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[Honest Samuel]

Place coins in with warm water with dish soap for a while. Then only clean with a soft cloth.

 

[nate7394]

Wow thanks for all the replies. I am very pleased with how this coin turned out and won't go any further on it. Next stop is NGC

 

[ScaredOfClowns]

Holy cow - that cleaned up REALLY well! I have a few toasty coppers (including a draped bust LC I found this weekend) that I've been too scared to clean, but now I might give it a try. Would you mind giving some details on exactly what you did?

Also, congrats on the Liberty Cap cent - that's a super-rare coin, and a real bucket list find!