Effect of the ground on coins

[usafaviator]

I don't know if it's just because the soil here tends to be highly mineralized, but most of the coins that I have dug have been almost unrecognizable. Even after cleaning them under H2O, they still look like they have had better days...even some of the newer quarters. Guess I'll try a tumbler to get em clean enough to turn in.

 

[BarberBill]

A lot of the coins I've recovered are really bad until tumbled. If you go that route, be sure to do the clad with clad and the copper with copper or you'll have coppery looking silver coins. Even one penny missed when you sort can cause that.
BB

 

[darrenb]

Yeah, the soil here eats zinc pennies. I find them missing large chunks, or some in a crescent shape. Tumbling the good ones will clean them quite well. A little aquarium gravel and dish soap with water, and they come out at least clean enough to read the dates!
Good luck!
Darren

 

[usafaviator]

I figured tumbling might help a bit. Thanks for the replies. I'm in Nebraska and we have some pretty good soil here (for farmers, at least)

 

[BH_Landstar_]

Some of last years coins and silver cleaned in a tumbler over 5 hours using a little sand, fish tank gravel and some dish detergent in warm water.

 

[JB(MS)]

The soil here is basically mineral free, but it's very acidic and rough on clad, nickels and copper pennies. Zincs start to disintegrate within a couple of weeks. I've picked up zincs lying on top of the ground there were still shiny on top, but were already pitted and discolored on the side that was down. The coins in the photo were found in the last few days and are typical of clad that's been in the ground here several years. Tumbling them for 24 hours or so don't make them look very good, but they're usually acceptable.

[attachment 188432 horsshowcoins.jpg]

 

[BH_Landstar_]

Looks like you got a lot of iron in the soil there for the coins to look like that, mine come out a dark brown colour and not orange like those.

 

[usafaviator]

Mine are coming up redish brown and others are completely black. Some of the pennies have holes/pits in them and some have chunks missing. I'm going to pick up a tumbler tomorrow and see if I can get them presentable enough to turn into the bank.

 

[dewcon4414]

Im in Fl hunting and many of them near water are just throw aways. Partial at best or some much sand attached to them 24 hours in a tumbler doesnt make a lot of difference. If you find a good copper coin after you tumble it...... put a light coat of mineral oil on it. It will take a lot of the unnatural color off it.... especially that dry look or purple look. I use it on IHs, LC and wheats. It does NO harm to the coin unlike olive oil or other options which use a light acid.

Dew

 

[John(Tx)]

I just put then in a tumbler with aquarium gravel and dish washing liquid for a couple of hours....HH

 

[Mtnmn]

It is our acid rains that are causing most of the problems with today's modern day coins and if they didn't use so much zinc in them, we wouldn't have to throw so many (mostly pennies) away. I have a couple of old, old silver coins which were found over 50 yrs. ago, before acid rain started becoming a real problem and they both are still somewhat tarnished to this very day. When I pull a silver coin out of the ground anymore there isn't a bit of tarnish on them, in fact some actually have a whitish cast to them. The acid rains are so corrosive they won't allow any tarnish to build up on silver coins in my area anymore...

 

[usafaviator]

Where are you at mtnmn? I'm assuming somewhere with mountains...

I think here in Nebraska, we don't have as much of the pollution or acid rain as some other areas with bigger cities, but I think the fertilizers in the soil here are a major player in the breakdown of buried metals. I sometimes wonder if the US Treasury/Mint are making "disposable" coins (that break down naturally when exposed to elements over a short period of time) to eliminate the need to buy coins back to remove them from circulation when they want to. Why not, everything else in our world today is disposable anymore. Or, maybe it's because PM's are becoming more scarce and expensive and the govt is trying to save money buy excluding them from coin manufacture.

 

[Mtnmn]

I'm from PA, we've lost miles of native trout fishing to acid rain in my county alone... It's enough to make a grown man cry!