found a 1916-D lincoln

My girl bought me this old 1950's brass balance scale as a gift, the type in a velvet lined wood box, she lifted the velvet tray and underneath was the 1916-D. Cool find! She was excited. Probably not worth much but its the oldest coin I've found.

Looks like it needs a bath or something. What do you think? What is a good method, or a thread here that describes one?

 

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nooo don't

 

soak it in olive oil..

 

I'd leave it alone, but if you're curious, here is a link to a discussion over the olive oil/cleaning-
http://www.cointalk.com/threads/olive-oil-copper-coins.208113/

 

I wouldn't usually clean a coin but I can barely see this coin. Its only worth a buck right? Olive oil for a week or two sounds worth trying...

 

Yeah, that's a cleaner. Xylene might bring it out some, but it's toxic stuff, it's paint stripper. You want to be well-ventillated or you'll go punchy.

 

Seems like a good experiment coin. From what I can tell in the picture, the coin is a cull, so you could use it as a learning opportunity about how oil affects a coin with a fair amount of corrosion. Maybe you could show some before and after pics on CT.

 

I'd leave this alone, nothing good could come of cleaning it due to heavy environmental damage.

 

You are right about that, so much damage, very thin and worn, probably better left alone.