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To participate in the forum you must log in or register. | Author |
 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,565 |
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
Hi all! I haven't posted in awhile, but wanted to get some thoughts. I made a mistake. I am a detectorist, and dug a Barber dime. No big deal; a water rinse showed the obverse to be pretty well-worn, so I mistakenly passed it off as having little value (as is the case with most "dug" coins, as I've learned from you all here). So, I did a bad, bad thing!   I gave it a quick rub with baking soda paste (as I do to all of my non-valuable digs, just to make them "look pretty," as there's really no numismatic value to worry about), and was about to put it in a 2x2 and into my safe, but I remembered in the back of my mind that a couple of late 1800's Barber dimes have some value even at lower grades. Expecting nothing, I checked. Uh, oh. No way. NOT this one...please no. Yes.  SO, I killed it. It went from what probably would have been "environmental damage," to "damage" PLUS "cleaned." My question is, how badly have I killed the value? It's a bit odd in that the front looks about G-4 to at best G-6 to me, but I could see the back easily at VG-12, not quite 15. Can anyone give me a thought on how this might grade, and how badly I killed the value with my major "oops?" Dumb, dumb, dumb, I know. There are so few coins that a detectorist can dig, which might have a little value DESPITE being "environmentally damaged." I sure never thought I'd dig one...and SURELY never thought that if I ever did, I'd screw up and clean it!   Edited by sgoss66
06/16/2015 06:08 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
946 Posts |
good details...probably will be able to get 40-50 dollars for it. Undamaged the coin would be about 70-80ish.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1002 Posts |
I agree with your grade assessment. -You probably didn't hurt it much, it was a fairly low grade to start with, net maybe G-04/06 details cleaned. ED or cleaned, doesn't matter at this point. Someone on ebay still might pay $40-50. for it now. Nice find though, congrats.  |
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Valued Member
 United States
160 Posts |
Sounds good -- 70 to 80, as a G4/6, but now 40-50 since it was "ED" and now I cleaned it. I don't sell my coin digs, but someday (unless the world melts down and I have to start using them to barter with  LOL), then I expect them to end up with my daughter. The only reason I have interest in the "value" is for her (future) sake; me, I love coins too much to sell them, especially given how hard you have to work for them as a detectorist! Anyway, dumb, but I learned a lesson. I'm really careful with coins I dig, UNTIL I am sure they have no value. I got careless this time and "assumed," before I checked on this one to be sure... General question -- if the situation of the condition of the two faces of the coin had been flipped, such that the obverse had the better (VG-12?) appearance, and the back at G4-6, would that increase the overall net grade of the coin, as opposed to this scenario, with the nicer back, but lesser front? And if so, how MUCH increase, roughly speaking? Maybe split the difference at, say, 8? Or leaning a bit more toward the 12, given the nicer obverse? Just curious... One other question, for my future reference. Say I dig this coin in the future. With just a water rinse, they usually come out of the ground "nice," but have a dull gray appearance -- which looks so different "toning-wise" from a coin that resided in someone's collection for 120 years, and thus the "environmentally damaged" label. IF I were to dig this coin again, am I better off with the dull gray, and "ED" noted on it if I had it graded, or is there a way to clean it, or have it cleaned, so that I can preserve as much value as possible (unlike my baking soda scrub!) Steve Edited by sgoss66
06/16/2015 07:02 am
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Not a bad looking coin considering it was subject to a baking soda rub down.
$30-$40. Do yourself a favor , don't clean any old silver coins that you find.
Just ask how to on this forum.
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
T-BOP -- I just asked "how" in my post edit, but it didn't post until after you responded. My bad! OK -- please educate me. Hanging out here and driving everyone nuts with questions in the past, I THOUGHT I had learned that almost any coin I dig, unless it has decent "rarity" (like this one, or even more rare), will have little to no value. Now obviously, if I dig a '16-D Merc, even having been dug, it would command some attention. But my assumption otherwise, based on what I THOUGHT I had learned here, was that the "environmental damage" label WILL be applied to ANY dug coin, NO CHANCE of otherwise. Thus, it's basically a valueless coin, with the exception of the rarities (and even they will be substantially less valuable, just due to appearance/ED). So, THAT is why I am in the habit of the baking-soda-rub. After all, my thinking goes, if they have little to no value beyond base metal value, I might as well put them away "shiny." BUT -- you are saying DON'T CLEAN ANY of them. Does this imply that "enviromental damage" is less "destructive" to the value than I thought, and certainly less destructive than baking soda rub? I really want to learn, here; I have a BEAUTIFUL shape Seated quarter that I dug, and did NOT clean, and discussions here led to my understanding that it "doesn't look right," and thus is "environmentally damaged," and thus not worth much. I'm still not totally clear on all of this, as I'm not at all well versed in numismatics... BTW -- how WOULD I clean such a coin? Steve Edited by sgoss66
06/16/2015 07:12 am
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
By the way, here's the Seated quarter I referred to, that I thought everyone agreed had little value due to "environmental damage."   Steve |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1003 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1959 Posts |
I think the assumption that EVERY dug coin will be "environmentally damaged" is a little too strong. I think it is possible (but unusual) for a coin to be dug and accepted by the collector community as problem free. Many variables are at play with a dug coin such as coin composition (silver, copper, nickel, gold, clad etc.), coin condition, soil pH, time spent in the ground, moisture content of the soil are a few. Under certain conditions, coins may not receive damage, or at least maintain an original look.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
621 Posts |
You can clean coins without ruining them with acetone. Do you have a before pic? I think the $35-50 area would be fair for it but I wouldn't be surprised to see it go for double that on ebay. 1896 s is the hardest date in the series and I've seen it happen more than once. The reverse looking as nice as it does won't hurt it either. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6478 Posts |
Really great find, cleaning didn't do much, but be careful next time!
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5828 Posts |
Nice find! Would've got a details grade anyway.
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Valued Member
United States
160 Posts |
Thanks everyone, for all the help, information, and comments. I continue to learn, which I consider a good thing. jpbone -- thanks for the info. I agree with you; they do come out of the ground in different condition at times, but usually, where I live, it's most often nice, but just that "dull gray" color. I'm surprised to hear that some might make it, in the eyes of the coin community, with a non-details grade, on occasion. Do you agree that the Seated quarter is NOT one of those examples? I had folks here say it's probably an AU coin, but definitely ED -- knocking it from what would have been (if I recall correctly) around a $75 coin, down to something MUCH less... justin3651 -- got it; I can clean with acetone and not damage the coin. But, I'm assuming that while -- if graded -- a coin that had been cleaned with acetone won't come back with "cleaned" details, it would still -- based on the shiny appearance and thus "unnatural" look, be called "environmentally damaged?" Again, just trying to understand how all of this works...it's confusing to me. By the way, sorry, but no "before" pic. It looked a lot like that quarter I posted, prior to cleaning. That dull gray color... By the way, you said "hardest date in the series." Series, meaning "S" mints, I assume? SilverStackerKid -- I definitely learned my lesson; I will NOT be "baking soda cleaning" any coins, without DOUBLE-checking first that they are nothing more than a "common" coin! Otherwise, I'm trying acetone, and then not even that, if it's a rare one, without seeking advice first!  Thanks everyone, too, for the kind words! Definitely one of the best I've found so far, rarity-wise... Steve Edited by sgoss66
06/16/2015 2:44 pm
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,565 |
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Posted 06/16/2015 06:33 am
