Found 1894 Nickel

Greetings:

While mowing the lawn last night I found an 1894 nickel. About 9 years ago there was a tornado that came right across the property, I suspect the coin is a gift from the tornado since it was basically right on the surface and on unnatural soil. I know nothing about coins but every detail of the coin is visible even in its dirty condition and it looks to be solid, all the letters in liberty are clearly visible. As I stated it is dirty I suspect about 9 years of exposure, what is the best thing to do with this coin to preserve whatever value it may have?

Thanks for your assistance:

Perry

 

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Greeting and welcome to the forum Perry. If I had the coin i would just tuck it away someplace as it's a valuable piece. Worth about 100 dollars in the condition you describe.

Do you collect coins? If not you now have an excellent start.

Ben

 

whatever you do - DO NOT CLEAN IT... if it is cleaned, it will take away alot of the numismatic value the coin may have.

It would be tough to give any idea of value in its preseny condition without pictures ... so if you can, please post pics. As for protecting it ... a 2x2, a plastic bag, a plastic bubble lol.. as long as its kept out of the elements, and you DONT touch it with your bare hands, it should be relatively safe. If it turns out to be valuable, i would send it in to be slabbed by PCGS or NGC (or even ANACS)

 

I am not a coin collecter but I like to hang on to things that have a story behind them.

I will try to get some photos tonight, post them tomorrow. One should not even clean off the dirt; I mean literally dirt from contact with the ground?

Thanks!

 

The soil can be cleaned off by bathing it in tap water, anything which does not come off after that should not be cleaned off.

 

I am glad I checked for a moment last night I was thinking about the Tarnex or Go-Jo that I had at my disposal.

 

Read this and thought... Gee... he should mow more often...

Don't mess with Mother Nature... just enjoy!

 

Welcome to the forum Clark

 

You cannot possibly imagine how much people here are shuddering after reading that comment!

 

Indeed, I thought how fortuitous when I read the post then cringed at the thought of tarnex within 1000 yards of a coin

 

Nice find! I hope to see some pictures of the coin posted.

 

I was joking about the Tarnex, I figured it would get some people excited after the DO NOT CLEAN comments. Sorry I couldn't resist. Attached are a couple of photos the scanner did not do it justice but this is the best I could get; the features of the coin are much more crisp. I took one with the digital camera that gives a pretty good idea of what the overall patina looks like.

Thanks:

Perry

 

i looks like it had already been harshly cleaned .... i hope not though

 

nope - only rinsed dirt off as instructed, patted dry with paper towel.

 

I was going to say he should go over his lawn with a metal detector before he even gets the mower out again. I shudder to think at the damage the mower would have done to a coin like this!

 

I see no evidence of a harsh cleaning! However, the coin is heavily corroded due to being in the ground many, many years as well as being exposed to the enviroment. The coin definitely appears to have UNC details but would probably Net Grade at a Fine due to the corrosion if sent to a Grading Service. Even if the coin was sent to a Restoration Service such as NCS, any type of restoration would only expose severe pitting on the surfaces of the coin. Any attempt at cleaning the coin, would pretty much have the same results.

It is really a nice find and I am sorry for the bad news!


Frank

 

Trying soaking it in water for a few days and let's see it then. Beautiful coin though.

Ben

 

It sure has some very good detail. Its a shame a coin like that has been on the ground that long. I believe too that any further cleaning will bring out some pretty nasty pitting. But, soaking it in water for a little while might lift off some more of the dirt. Do not scrub the surface of the coin with anything. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

Very nice find! Definitely would make a great start to a collection. I would suggest putting the coin in a glass bowl/cup of acetone and soaking it for a day or two. The Acetone will get rid of the crud on the coin, but it may reveal a lot of pitting and blemishes, as was said before. Just make sure that the area is well ventilated and that after the coin is taken out, it is well rinsed off (preferably with distilled water, but tap water will work).

P.S. Welcome to the forum!

 

I know, many are going to get their hair all on fire when I post this, so have that glass of water ready. Try some Hydrogen Peroxide. It works wonders on coins JUST LIKE this. It's one of the recommended cleaning solutions for cleaning ancients which have more crud than this. Just a few minutes at a time should do the trick. And, it's safer than acetone...

Ben