Found this good year Indian head penny today thats not in to bad of condition for being in the ground all those years. Also found a nasty looking rosie dime 47. Its silver but it is tarnished bad, watery ground. How ya like the Indian head? Here she is before and after a little peroxide bath.
Nice - but is there anyway to tell how long it was in the ground? I would have thought something in the ground like copper for a 100 years(or more) would look worse. Maybe this one was only in the ground 80 years. Great find.
'67 Indians are always nice , for free even better . Wonder who dropped it ? What part of the country did you find it . rzage
This coin could well have been in the ground over 100 years, all degradation is based on the chemical compounds in the soil the coin is in. I have an 1889 cent that my aunt dug up in her garden about 20 years ago, and it is the worse for being in the garden, but consider phosphates, nitrogen etc in fertilizers and you get the picture.
You can usually tell by the wear of the coin how long it was in circulation. This one is in pretty good shape. Most letters in the head band are there. I'm thinking probably dropped in the 1870s or a little later. Like is mentioned by scottishmoney above it all depends on the soil. Our Michigan soil almost always keeps the coins in nice condition. Especially coins I find in private lawns. Parks usually eat up the coins due to fertilizer and what not.
