1897P barber dime in decent circulated condition

hey everyone.

i came across this 1897 philly barber dime over the weekend and i just today got around to cleaning it up a bit to see its condition. it appears to be in pretty decent shape, but the thing that intrigues me the most is the date. it looks like there's something going on with the "7" in 1897, perhaps a die error or something? i'm not familiar enough with these particular dimes to know if that's common or if it's even considered an error.

i'm guessing its value to be around $20-30 with a good grading, but like i said, not familiar with them. any experts care to weigh in?

 

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Cleaning it took away most if not all of the premium it may have held over it's silver value of less than $3, IMO.

 

what i mean by cleaning it is rubbing the dirt off by hand. i didn't use any cloths or cleaning agents, and i didn't scrub or scrape it at all. it was a find from a metal detecting episode and was caked in dirt.

 

Ruined.

Either that or your pics make it look worse than it is.

 

I still say melt of $3, maybe $8 if you find the perfect buyer.

 

Why is it ruined? He clearly states that he lighty brushed the dirt of by hand.

 

ok, ruined, i get it, that's cool.

i'm not selling it. i was just curious what kind of value something like this would have. it's just for my knowledge.

thanks!

 

It's still a very interesting thing to find.

Coins like this are also getting melted in high quantities so if you hold on to it, it could become worth more even in it's state.

 

90% silver coins aren't melted much any more... That trade quite well as junk silver in bags of up to $1k face value.

 

nice detecting find.

And folks, ya can't remove the dirt without cleaning it.

I have found Barbers, but this is a nice one.

also, the 7 in the date looks like a small die chip

 

that's what i was wondering as well about the 7. i've looked around a bit to see if it's common, and i've found only one other image of an 1897 with a similar issue.

 

IMO that does look like a die chip just above the 7. Still a nice find even if it has been cleaned.

 

ok, i'm just gonna ask because i'm apparently missing something. i get that cleaning is a no-no. i learned that the hard way with lemon juice, a toothbrush, and a 1909 vdb wheatie. but how is one supposed to appreciate a coin that's been pulled out of a decades-long soil bath without cleaning it up a bit? i didn't soak it in cleaners or scrape it with anything except my fingernail. a little bit of rubbing between my thumb and index finger, and those pics are the result. spent maybe 2 minutes cleaning it up altogether.

so even that small amount of work was too much?

in the end, i'm not sure that it really matters though. i'm just adding it to a collection of coins that i have no intention of selling; i only like to know their value. i like my coins clean (as in, not covered in dirt) and if that is a bad thing, i don't really care.

yes, i did come here and ask the value, and you're all just being honest with your opinions. so i brought this upon myself then. if that's the case, please educate me. what would you do if you found a coin in the mud, and you weren't about to make a special trip to a dealer to have it cleaned? would you just leave it dirty and hope you have something awesome, or would you remove some of the dirt, and remove any doubt?

 

I'm no MD expert, but with a coin like that, I would have left it in distilled water until the dirt came off on it's own. I'm pretty sure that would have done the least damage to the coin, out of all the methods I would have came up with.

 

so from now on, if i want to clean a dirty coin up, i should soak it in distilled water. fair enough.

thank you for the advice.

 

Like I said, I am no expert, but it certainly would be less abrasive. Don't know about what effect the water would have on the coin itself. A soak of an hour probably wouldn't hurt, though.

 

Nice find, and I seriously doubt that cleaning this coin with water and a little rub between your fingers did any more damage than circulation then who knows how many years in the ground. JMO

 

"Rubbing between thumb and index finger..."
That is the 'rub' so to speak. When you "rub" dirt off, the dirt becomes the 'sand' in 'sandpaper' and wrecks the surface it is rubbing.
I would think soaking the coin in water, even boiling, would be a better alternative than rubbing abrasive materials into the surfaces in an attempt to remove them.

 

I have experimented with boiling dug coins and it didn't seem to hurt anything.
Took off dirt, left circulation cameo intact.

 

Looks like a plan to me. Just don't let the wife/girlfriend/mistress/etc spy you boiling coins you dug outta the ground with their pots.