Metal Detecting Old Coins - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,789
Ea333525 New Member United States 5 Posts	Posted 09/29/2019 1:16 pm I am just starting to collect coins. I purchased a metal detector and have had very good luck finding coins at a very old farm house I own. It seems someone just threw their change into the yard. Most of the coins are extremely corroded and unreadable unless they are cleaned in some fashion. How would be the best way to clean enough to see the year of the coin? I'm guessing that most are almost worthless but if some are of a certain year could they still be of some value? I have used a scotch bright pad to find the year of some but I didn't want to ruin a possible valuable coin.....(such as a 1943 copper penny). I have attached an example of the condition of the coins. The ones I can read have all been 1945 and earlier with 1911 being the oldest so far. There is a lot more searching to do. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Report this Post to the Staff

T-BOP Rest in Peace United States 18456 Posts	Posted 09/29/2019 3:55 pm Like with the coin shown it really doesn't matter if you scrub it to determine a date . That coin is toast ,the worst of culls . However some dug coins will come out of the ground not too corroded or dirty . In this case a light cleaning is acceptable as long as the coin is not a rare date or mint . Then it would need to be professionally conserved . Just remember Gold and Silver come out of the ground like the day they were dropped in . Do not clean or rub these ,rinse with distilled water only and pat dry . Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 09/30/2019 08:15 am Good luck with coins found in the dirt. In some areas the dirt is full of mild acids that sort of mess up coins real bad. Report this Post to the Staff
jfransch Pillar of the Community United States 1801 Posts	Posted 10/04/2019 9:34 pm Just an FYI, gold comes out looking like it did when it went in but silver is almost always corroded by moisture in the soil. Best suggestion I would make is soak the coins in water, rinse carefully, blow dry and whatever you do, don't scrub them at all. Any value will be ruined if you scrub them. Report this Post to the Staff
Ea333525 New Member United States 5 Posts	Posted 10/05/2019 3:58 pm Thanks for the replies. Most pennies are ruined that I have found. I have found several Mercury dimes and silver dimes. I found an 1896 Indian penny that was in remarkably good condition. I have been searching in an old fairground area. The fair dates back to 1847. That is where I have found the Mercury dimes. Hopefully I find something better soon. Thanks again! Report this Post to the Staff
merclover Bedrock of the Community United States 10635 Posts	Posted 10/08/2019 12:15 am to CCF! Please share your Indian and Mercs photos over under US coins as we'd love to see what you have found! Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,789

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