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 Replies: 18 / Views: 2,603 |
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Pillar of the Community
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It has been a mild January here is southeastern Wisconsin and I've been able to get out detecting several times. I live twenty miles north of Milwaukee and have been hunting Milwaukee area parks along Lake Michigan. I hunt wooded hillsides hoping for goodies other detectorists may have missed. After a number of less than thrilling trips, I hit pay dirt today when I dug up my first ever large cent on a wooded hillside in Milwaukee. Since the area I live was settled in the 1840s and 1850s, I didn't hold out much hope of ever finding a large cent around here. Milwaukee is older and this morning I dug up this great looking 1852 Braided Hair Large Cent on a steep, wooded hillside. My trusty eleven year old ACE-250 gave off a half dollar signal, one I seldom see. The coin was about five inches down. I wasn't sure what I had until I saw the "ONE CENT" peeking through the dirt. Then the excitement began. From the coin's high grade condition, I would suspect it was dropped in the 1850s, so I was the first person to hold it in about 170 years. The photos of are of the coin right after I dug it, the hillside find spot and two shots of it after I ran some water over it. It is currently soaking in soapy water.     Paul Bulgerin
Edited by Paul Bulgerin
01/21/2023 5:56 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
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Pillar of the Community
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Very nice cool find it makes all those trips where found nothing worth it congrats
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Pillar of the Community
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7273 Posts |
Great find! Looks like it barely circulated.
Edited by hfjacinto
01/21/2023 6:26 pm
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Pillar of the Community
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Valued Member
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Pillar of the Community
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2365 Posts |
Great find! Coincidentally, I have an 1852 also that was a dug coin. I bought it quite some time ago and probably paid too much for it ($80) but, I thought it was really, really cool and had to have history! Congrats!
Edited by dsking
01/21/2023 7:35 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
575 Posts |
Beautiful find! Looks to be dropped the same year. Hope to find my first largie this year. Congrats!
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Moderator
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Congratulations!  |
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Pillar of the Community
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756 Posts |
sweet! what a cool find. if you have any questions about cleaning it up feel free to shoot me an email. here is a thread about my current large cent restoration project: http://goccf.com/t/435186 |
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Rest in Peace
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Congrats on that find . There's some nice coins to be found in them there grounds .  |
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Pillar of the Community
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3098 Posts |
Here is what the coin looks like after a soak in warm soapy water and brushing with a soft nylon brush. This was followed by a Verdicare treatment with a Q-Tip rub. I'm not sure if I'll leave it as is or see if I can get some more of the green off of it. All in all, pretty nice for 170 years in the ground. Fortunately, the ground around here is pretty nice on coppers. Too bad I can't say the same for the corroded zinc penny I found about ten feet away from the large cent.   Paul Bulgerin
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Pillar of the Community
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Looks like you did a nice, CAREFUL job of cleaning her! She's a BEAUT! Congrats! |
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Bedrock of the Community
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Pillar of the Community
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that thing was every bit of mint state when it went into the ground.
makes me wonder about how many people have touched it. it would have been shipped from the mint in a keg. most of the minting was mechanical. its entirely possible that less than 5 people have ever held it.
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Replies: 18 / Views: 2,603 |
Posted 01/21/2023 6:24 pm
