Hey All, A lot of questions for me out of the gate as a new collector, so I hope I'm not bothering everyone. Here is a very bad condition 1917 penny.... Why is it black/gunky? Should I try to clean off the black? If so, what shuold I use, I can see some copper underneath. Also, I can't tell if that littel smudge under the date is a rubbed clean mint mark? Or, just another little dab of gunk? Finally, on the backside, over the wheat leaf on the left, there SEEMS to be a blob of metal over it. Is that actually a blob of metal or is it just a messed up part of the coin where gunk has piled up and only looks like metal? Thanks everyone!
You have a well corroded cent there. Unfortunate, but may have been a lucky wish for someone some time ago and spent time in a fountain someplace. I'd leave it as is...no replacing the missing material that used to be. Looks like a 1917 D.
That coin is nasty. Looks like a 1917D. The rest I wouldn't bother with. Not worth the time or effort.
Welcome to CoinTalk, Richard. One good place to start learning is right here on the forums by doing a search about what you are interested in at the moment. In this case, if you want to know how to clean an old penny, you can go to this link and put in your search terms. https://www.cointalk.com/search/?type=post When I searched for "cleaning wheat cents" i got all these threads (you'll see them when you click the link below) that you could read and learn about cleaning pennies. That way our experts are not always repeating themselves. https://www.cointalk.com/search/5766500/?q=cleaning+wheat+cents&t=post&o=date Also, that 'blob' might be something interesting but to see it better, please post full images of the front (obverse) and back (reverse) of the coin you are asking about and when uploading your image to the thread, select "full image" so that we can get very close up to it. If you crop out all the background around the coin before saving your image, that will be great for us. Again...welcome!
Yes...a Search is a terrible thing to waste...or maybe mind? Or both! The bonus with using the Search tool are the unexpected gems that get dug up. It's worth browsing for sure!
Welcome to the forum Richard! Yes, you said it right, "very bad condition", still it's a 1917 so that part is good. All you can do is spend it, or keep it and move onward to the next coin! Better luck next time!
yeah, I'm gonna use this as an experiment to clean and see how it turns out. Then, I'll keep it in a flip as one of my first coins. I'll post pics here of what it looks like after cleaning (ever so carefully, lol).....
Yup - you were right! I cleaned it up as best I could (still nasty), and it is indeed a 1917-D. At least I now know what it is. It is indeed a crudy looking coin. Is there even a grade for something lke this? I heard a term called "basal." Is that correct? I couldn't even call it "Fair" which I don't think is even a grade any more. SADLY, now that I cleaned it, I actually wish I would NOT have cleaned it. The cleaning seemed to strip away some detail, wchicj kind of surprised me. Pictures are of the coin now cleaned compared to blackened. At least I was able to do a cleaning experiment (I'll likely not do that again—live and learn). LoL.
Hi Richard.... if you selected "full image" when uploading your photograph file to include in your most recent post, we would really be able to get up close and personal with your before and after images. As it stands, my poor eyes can't see them very well Yes! Live and learn! What process did you use to clean your coin?
You know I uploaded the "full image" and they look big on my computer screen. Are they looking small to all of you????
They don't expand or open to larger version when i click on the photos you posted. When making a new post - If you click on "Upload a File" and AFTER uploading your photo then click "Full Image." That should work. If making an edit to a post that already contains a photo, (or if you want to change or add or remove a photograph) i think you will select EDIT option on the left side under your post. Click on "more options" and click on "full Image" See if that makes a difference. It might look the same to you (large) in your post but that full image option allows us to expand it even more! Not sure that will work, just a suggestion.
I alternated soaking & rinsing using 15min-30min intervals (a lemon juice/Olive oil mix to soak, then a water rinse). Did this for about 3 hours. And there you see the results.
Yes!!! By Richard! I think he's got it! (re: posting of photos). Olive oil and lemon juice - yummy! but, next time you are near a Walgreen's or one of those stores, pick up a bottle or two of 100% acetone for soaking and some cotton swabs. That may give you a better result.
Yup..... Figured that. I'm just starting so I am content to learn as I read and see things. This coin and many others came from my father-in-law who passed away and left us coins. So, me and wifey are learning. It's fun. I have a whole bunch of coins but have no idea what I have.... LoL. Some actually look good. But I have all my books now to read.
