HOLY........

[Diggin' 4 Silver]

Went to Illinois this weekend to help a friend do some spring cleaning of his Church & the grounds.
They will be celebrating their 175th anniversary on the 20th of May.
I only had about 1 1/2 before dark but I asked if I could look around a bit, he said no problem & directed me to where he thought would be they best place to look.
Within 30 min. I had found this 1884 Indian Head One Cent piece, 45 min. later I then found the 1872 Shield 5 Cent piece.
I was STUNNED!

 

[DavHut]

Nice finds and harbingers of more I dont wonder...

 

[Uncle Willy]

Nice finds bud.

Bill

 

[John-Edmonton]

n/t

 

[Diggin' 4 Silver]

Any ideas about cleaning these up just a bit, I have only used soap & water w/ a light brushing of an old toothbrush so far.

 

[DavHut]

First, check their value as rare coins. Chances are good there is litte, since rare coins are just that - rare. Meaning there weren't many of them around back then, which reduces the odds of YOU finding any. Besides, they are only an Indian Head cent and a Shield nickle: nice finds and a real kicker to uncover, but not likely to fund your retirement.

But, since we love to hope against hope itself (or else we wouldn't fancy ourselves treasure hunters in the first place!), let's say they are indeed valued pieces. The next issue is that they are are badly patina'd/dirt crudded. This detracts from even the rarest of coppper coins.

However, bear with me, as this is actually going somewhere - and here it is: electrolysis.

That is the best way to clean copper coins, as best you can, without actually touching them physically, ie, scrubbing or scraping etc.
It will remove much of the crud and patina and leave fairly nice brown coin as a result. For those two, which appear to be in good condition as far as the grading is concerned, this would be your best bet.

Just do a Google search for "electrolysis, coin cleaning" and you should find everything you need to learn about it and how to get going.

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

Try hot peroxide. It cleans the crud and leaves the natural color. I warm it up in the microwave and pour it over my coins. Leave the coins in till it cools off. Sometimes I do it twice. Keep the copper coins separated from the silver coins.