Black ugly silver coins...help!

just leave them alone they look great, if you try to clean them you will most likely do more damage than good

 

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Man I would love to search through that pile of coins!

 

ok.. Heres what you need to do. build a zapper. thats the only thing i would do to the coins with the grean coating. everything else that is not incrusted. Leave alone. A zapper is VERY SIMPLE TO BUILD. I quickly looked this link up for you. I say zap the grean ones because they will just keep rotting if you do nothing. But again ANYTHING NOT COVERED IN CRUST PLEASE DONT CLEAN. This is all IMO

http://tomross.ancients.info/Electrolysis/Building%20a%20simple%20zapper.htm

 

Very nice. Congratulations on your little hoard! I haven't seen that many Standing Liberty Quarters together in a pile in a while.

 

I'm a little surprised that most of the Standing Lib Quarters show that much date wear since they were from the 1930's. Even as late as the early 60's you could still find them with dates

 

Philly:
Agreed, but as early as 1924, only 7 years after the start of the design there were dateless coins circulating.
That is why the date was recessed in 1925.

 

I don't want to sound like a bragger, but that pile of coins was only a small part of what my Grand Dad buried!

 

Carl:
Uh, do you need help with a metal detector?

Uh, have detector will travel.

 

sell them already. lol

 

I got a shovel

 

wow, that is one impressive unearthing! thats the stuff dreams are mad of!!!

 

Welcome to the forum Carl! Just saw your pile!! Excuse me while I faint!!!

 

i bet that was a really thrilling dig! i'd keep the coins the way they are.

 

Wow

Welcome to CT. You'll learn a lot here.

WOW. Looks like you have your work cut out for yourself with your new hobby. Don't clean the coins. They've waited this long to make their appearance so see what ideas come up from this forum and sort through all the suggestions and then decide how you want to collect or sell your coins.

Back in the days when your granddad owned a movie theater everyone carried coins because most things were so inexpensive. Pennies, nickles and dimes were used often for everyday purchases that we now spend quarters, halves and dollars. I can just imagine how many coins went thru that sort of business daily. It's understandable that you've found 1916 D Mercs and other key coins.

What a great way to start a collection.

Bruce

 

It was thrilling to be able to dig that up with my Grandfather. You would have thought that it was the Great Heist! I have a lot of fond memories growing up in the picture show. Popcorn was a mainstay of my diet! Yea, finding some key coins like the 1916 D Mercury head was awesome! I have found 3 of them. I have a whole roll of 1916 Mercs and every time that I would see the date on one I would hold my breath...say a short prayer...and s l o w l y flip it over. I still get that roll out from time to time and look for mint marks.

What hurts is to see an absolutely pristine Walking Liberty Half on one side...like AU to MS and flip it over and it is black on the other side. Getting back to my original post, that is my problem. What to do.

 

I would start here:

http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=1613

Good Luck - Most people on this site swear off cleaning like you are summoning the devil himself. Cleaning will alter the surface and some cleaning will ruin the coin and make it look 10X worse than when you started. Try starting with pure Acetone and distilled water. Cleaning done by someone not experienced will be obvious to a trained eye. Some cleaning is absolutely necessary to stop further damage/corrosion. Do a search of threads on cleaning and you will find some interesting reading. First I would catalog the coins and start with coins that are in the worst condition/most worn/least valuable. Buy some books on the specific series so that you can identify them properly including varieties. Use the resources section of the web site for more specifics on what books to look for. If there is a chance the coin has some significant value - I would not clean it regardless of how it looks. Send it to a professional TPG for conservation. Coins like the 16D or a 17 type 1 quarter in mint or AU condition on the obverse; these are coins I would never try to do myself regardless of what was on them. We are all wishing we had your problem - have fun and take your time!!!! They have been in this condition for some time - a little longer will not hurt much although the exposure to oxygen may speed up the process.

Disclaimer - you do all of this at your own risk!!! No one (including you) wants to see the coins damaged further. More importantly, no one wants to feel responsible for giving you advice that leads to further damage.

Take before and after pictures! Remember the negative results of cleaning sometimes does not really show up for months when a coin all of the sudden starts to turn really ugly colors! Share results and documented process so that tips might be supplied.

Best Regards,

Darryl


P.S. everyone - after three pages - someone had to give some suggestions other than do not clean them - the beating can commence now .

 

there's cleaning and then there's coin abuse. cleaning a coin to get some residue off is perfectly ok IMO or removing dirt or whatever crud is on it. what ISNT ok is flat out polishing a coin, that's it, ruin the value of the coin if you insist on having nothing but a bright shiny coin come hell or high water just dont do it to my coins.

acetone, distilled water, olive oil would probably be ok. but for really nice but uber nasty coins, DO send them to a professional. key dates especially.

just dont break out the tarnex and brasso and start polishing. but ultimately if they're your own coins do whatever you want to them, melt them if you feel froggy.

and like the man above me said, take your time. NEVER get in a rush, thats when mistakes happens, corners are cut and bad stuff happens. take it slow and easy.

 

toning...or ruined?

Here is a coin that bothers me. Notice the Obverse is darkish, maybe even tarnished. Would you call this toning? The reverse is much brighter with only the "toning" on the right side of the coin. I have some that are much worse than this. This is a great coin in terrific condition otherwise. What do you folks think?

 

These coins are coming out of the ground so keep it all in perspective.

Ruined - no - not be a long stretch

Tarnish and Toning are one in the same (I believe). Coins - it's always called toning.

The dark toning does appear to be pitting the surface - others much more experienced than me will be able to respond to that better. The green spots are concerning as well - the pitting under that may really be bad. This is a circulated coin with obvious signs of wear. If/When you remove the toning you are really going to see those marks. All things to keep in mind. This is not a coin I would start experimenting with (Except for a quick pure acetone bath, distilled water rinse, and air dry). Wash your hands and wear cotton gloves!!!