To rub or not to rub

[LukeTHr]

I have been detecting for years and I have always been careful to not rub my coins looking for a date. I always wait till I get home to clean them so as to not risk ruining a valuable coin. I see the guys on TV and some that do videos on here rubbing the dirt off looking for the date. I realize they are big boys and are free to treat their finds as they see fit. I just was curious what most folks do .... rub or not rub??

 

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[justdon]

Rather its a bad habit or not.I always rub the dirt off of any coins i find.

 

[mrwilburino]

Rub.

 

[team sidewinder]

I know I shouldn't but I rub anyway.

 

[gerryk]

I try not to rub much, but i usually do it to remove so,e of the dirt so i dont end up with five pounds of dirt in my finds bag. I cant read the date without it being clean, in good light and sometimes need a magnifier.

 

[Jeremy S]

I never rub silver coins. You aren't going to hurt clad and copper pennies though.

You see a lot of pictures of silver coins found on here with many parallel scratches across them, I have always wondered if those weren't from being rubbed while dirty.

 

[Joe hunter]

I put everything in my pouch until I get home

 

[Bobbyw]

I have not seen too many silver coins that needed to be rubbed to see the date. The ones I have, rubbing would not make a difference as the damage is done. Granted, I have only dug about ten. The two I dug at the beach were toast. Everything else, I rub just enough to see the date.

 

[Pointman]

I put everything in my pouch until I get home

This is exactly what I do. Finding is only the first part, I get home rough clean, identify, figure out values and then soak for a more thorough cleaning. The most I will do, is determine if a coin is old and if I am on the right track.

 

[jeff of pa]

I have been detecting for years and I have always been careful to not rub my coins looking for a date. I always wait till I get home to clean them so as to not risk ruining a valuable coin. I see the guys on TV and some that do videos on here rubbing the dirt off looking for the date. I realize they are big boys and are free to treat their finds as they see fit. I just was curious what most folks do .... rub or not rub??

Except for Clad, I never date Clad, 'cept for Nickels....

on wheats , Old defunct coins like indians, etc, & silver,
I'll use my Thumb, The bottom of My shirt,
Sandpaper, Chisel ....



(just kidding on the Chisel)

But I've used pencil erasers and fine sandpaper on dates at home here.

it all depends on type of coin, location and timing these days.

if it is a wheat, particularly the first one of the day,
I'll need to know the date. If it's a very old coin or Silver,
I'll need to know the date. I know the odds of finding a key date are up there with the odds
that Kaley Cuoco is going to show up & wanna make out in the dirt,
(odds are she'd need to be liquored up & in an expensive room )
so that is not a concern. & if a coin doesn't have date visible, it's a slug

 

[huntsman53]

IMHO, the Date on the coin is not going to change between the time you find it and when you get it home. So, wait until you get home and can properly clean the coin to determine the Date.


Frank

 

[Old Dude]

I am pretty sure I rubbed the first silver I found. I am positive I didn't rub the second......cause I didn't know I had found it until I had tumbled it with my clad! Yep, apparently it came out of the ground discolored and fooled me into thinking it was another 65 Washington like I dig almost every hunt, lol. I was very patient with a 1902 V nickel. I could make out enough detail to see the stars around the edge and put it into my pouch until I could get home and give it a water bath. Lately, my big thing is trying to have enough patience to get a pic of the find in the dirt before snatching it up like it's going to evade capture and get away, lol.

 

[jeff of pa]

I am pretty sure I rubbed the first silver I found. I am positive I didn't rub the second......cause I didn't know I had found it until I had tumbled it with my clad! Yep, apparently it came out of the ground discolored and fooled me into thinking it was another 65 Washington like I dig almost every hunt, lol. I was very patient with a 1902 V nickel. I could make out enough detail to see the stars around the edge and put it into my pouch until I could get home and give it a water bath. Lately, my big thing is trying to have enough patience to get a pic of the find in the dirt before snatching it up like it's going to evade capture and get away, lol.

every camera I carried into the Hunt went Bad,
So I leave it in the car till the end in order to take pics of the hunt site.

I rarely take pics of finds, before I get home.
When I do it's usually other finds, If I think about it,
and plan to post them, for them.

I would not have the patience to take pics insitu I may have once, but not sure.
I see silver or gold, or Big Copper,
I gotta grab and Clean and Marvel
their history is important to me, Not condition

 

[The Dig Dig]

Personally I enjoy the feeling of knowing I have a great find in my pouch but not knowing exactly how great until i get it home and soak it in warm water and pat it dry. And the style of coin/silver found should give you a good enough time frame without knowing the exact date, I.e. Washington, Barber, Standing Liberty, etc. their value is not my concern but preserving them in their best condition is.

 

[ace35049]

Can anyone help everytime i find an old coin i rince it with water and it seems to make it worse then the olive oil turns it dark and make dirt turn to concret lol any sujestions

 

[New Orleans Relic]

I'm not very interested in the coins value over face. I dig it up and want to know how long it could have been in the ground. If my 1802 half reale went from $25 to $5(or less) after my rub over the hole, so be it.
Ray

 

[Old Dude]

Like SI says: Hey! If it feels right, rub it! Sorry, I had 666 posts, had to do something

 

[New Orleans Relic]

Welcome past it Old Dude! Musta been a moment. Lol
Ray

 

[WheatbackDigger]

I'm not very interested in the coins value over face. I dig it up and want to know how long it could have been in the ground. If my 1802 half reale went from $25 to $5(or less) after my rub over the hole, so be it.
Ray

Please send me all your $20 bills then......

 

[WheatbackDigger]

I never understood why people rub the dirt off silver coins. It really does destroy them and they look horrible. Carry an empty pill bottle half filled with water and drop your dug silver coins in the bottle...after a few minutes the dirt will rinse off and you can check the date. Also, it helps to protect the coins until you get home. I thank God I did this with my key date 1932D Washington Quarter. It now resides in a problem free PCGS slab XF40 valued around $250. It would easily have been a $60 dollar "problem" coin if I would of followed some of the previous advice.