Purchased some morgans for cheap that are turning out to be semi-key and key dates. issue is that they were buried in the ground for 60 years and most of them have this green/poop brown substance on them. Would it be safe to clean them with how water and soap gently? My issue is if there is any luster under all the crud i dont want to damage it. And I have never cleaned a coin before with anything so I need opinions before i do something potentially stupid. Appreciate the comments or opinions.
Go ahead and try it but don't scrub it with anything Also, I would try cold water and a mild soap first. Be sure to rinse thoroughly and pat dry thoroughly' then put it into a 2x2 to prevent tarnishing. You might even have to soak the coin for awhile but that scares me because it may cause more harm than good.
If the coins have been buried in the ground for that long it is certain they they are going to be corroded. You may not be able to see it, but once you remove the gunk on the coins you'll see it easy enough. The question is - how to remove it ? Soap is a big no-no. Soap leaves a film behind on the coins no matter how much you rinse them and that will cause additional harm to the coins. Distilled water may remove some of it, but not all. A commercial coin dip will remove the gunk, but dips can also be harmful if you do not have experience using them. And the same can be said of anything that will work. But we have a member who is a metal detectorist and gets all of his coins that way. Over the years he has posted many coins that he has found in the ground and he uses peroxide to clean them. Now based on the pics he has posted he has had pretty good success with that. Unfortunately I cannot recall his name, maybe someone else will after reading this. Or maybe he'll see this post. But I do not recommend trying this without at least talking to somebody who has had success with it. Either way, you're going to end up with damaged coins no matter what you do.
its like a moss, I figure if I dry it out then it should just leave stains on the coin. However when i did a test run on some junk silver with dipping all the coins comeout proof like! I dont want that, is there any way to get rid of it or not have that? Which TGP would clean and grade the coin? At this point I am not sure if theyre grade worthy. Only the 1903 S would be gradeworthy at this point. 1880 S 1903 S 1900 P 1900 P 1880 O 1921 S 1921 S 1921 S 1921 S 1921 S
Post a couple pictures of these coins with the green/brown substance on them. It's beginning to sound to me like somebody (the seller) lied to you.
If it's corroded or damaged in any way I would say it's not. The 1903-S is a slight semi-key in this set but only nice problem free examples are worth slabbing.
