Some Recent Metal Detecting Finds. Need Advice On How To Remove Dirt.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I'm trying to figure out how to reply with quotes lol. It's probably obvious but I can't seem to find it.

As for the coins, they have not been harshly cleaned. The quarter looks scratched up in the photo but it's just where the dust is missing and the silver is showing through. So far I have only brushed the quarter under warm water with a soft bristled toothbrush. The LC came out of the same area of dry ground as the quarter and just had a soft brushing to remove some dust. I'll try and post some more pics of the coins soon but the pics above are how the looked after the dig with a light brushing.

They were both found where once stood a church in the early 1800s. It was demolished in the early 1900s and now there's just a grassy field. Other relics were found but these were the only two coins found so far.

I won't use harsh chemicals or soap on the copper. I really want to preserve the green patina for display. I thought about lightly scrapping away the dirt with a toothpick under magnification. What do you guys think about that?

Ok thanks. I may try that. Here's some more pics of the quarter.

Any scratches present were caused by being buried for over 100 years because all I did was run under warm water with a soft toothbrush and I let it air dry on a paper towel. It's possible the ground where it was found got pushed around a bit in the past.

Thanks. When you say use acetone, do you mean soaking in acetone?

I always bring all my coin finds home in the clump of dirt they were found in. I then put them in a sink full of warm water until most of the dirt falls off. I let them completely air dry and after I rinse them clean while lightly brushing off any remaining dust adhered to the coin. I will try the acetone method on silver from now on. I have many more old coins like this one sitting on a towel waiting to be cleaned.

Yes thanks. I definitely don't want them shiny new. I want to conserve them for sure. Just the way they are minus the dirt.

I'll try and post more pics soon of other finds and also of my other coins that came my way in the past 30 years of collecting.

Ok thanks. Good info. The coins will not be sold anyway. I'm keeping everything for my daughter. Just wondering if it would be worth grading and sealing for the future. Cheers.

The only time you have to worry about acetone discolouring the coin is when you're soaking copper that is still red. It might give the coin a purplish tone. But I won't worry about other coins.

I have no experience with olive oil myself, but as far as I know it has an acidic pH and it is insoluble in acetone, so it might be difficult to get off. I've never used peroxide either.

You can clean the coins as advised above, but they are not worth the expense of grading. If you want to seal them, get ahold of some appropriate size Coin World Premier Holders, and you can 'slab' them yourself. The Avery 8195 label is just the right size for a nice, custom label.