I found this 1925 Peace dollar at Goodwill! I couldn't believe it! I don't know, maybe you all find coins at Goodwill a lot, but this is my first. However, it's not in the best condition. There's a little spot on the obverse that I'm not sure will come off or not. But if it can, what do you guys suggest using to clean it?
I bought a couple other things with it. Including a bag with a few other coins like a half dollar, a Sacagawea dollar coin, and a dime. It was about a $1.30 for the bag.
It's the Goodwill outlet which is different than a normal Goodwill. They weigh by the pound and it's all unsorted.
Nice find! The first rule is do not clean coins. This is a catch-all answer to prevent costly mistakes as some people think cleaning involves a buffing wheel However, there are safe ways to carefully conserve a coin with contamination on its surface. There have been a lot of threads lately about using acetone, I'd recommend finding those and reading up on it. Acetone works well for many organic compounds, tape residue, etc. and will not harm silver coins. If the spot is toning (oxidation of the metal), acetone will not remove it. You can pick up a big jug from any hardware store. Do not use nail polish remover as it often has other things added. See if the spot comes off just by soaking and a bit of agitation in the acetone. Some gentle persuasion with a cotton q-tip is sometimes needed. Do not use an acid brush, which will leave hairlines... I learned that the hard way, fortunately not on a valuable piece. Anything more involved than this carries some risk of harming the coin, better to ask for further opinions/assistance if acetone doesn't do the trick.
Great find. I called at one of my local thrift stores today but unfortunately they didn't have any notes or coins, but I did come away with $70 (face value) of postage stamps for $17
Don’t clean it. Leave as is. Nice find and looks real. My Goodwill stores are very good at pricing and making money so not a lot to find there.
They find all sorts of things left in containers and pockets. People "dump" deceased relatives belongings and sometimes, they don't bother to go through every pocket, but workers at Goodwill do.
