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Picked up a Shield Nickel today!

pcgs69pcgs69 Posts: 4,324 ✭✭✭✭
in Metal Detecting
Not exactly going to win any beauty pageants. It's either 1866 or 1867 because the reverse has "rays." The top, darker, layer is flaking away... I don't know if I should leave it, or try soaking it to remove that layer. I'm afraid if that layer comes off... whatever's left of the design will go with it!! What do you think?

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Comments

  • davbecdavbec Posts: 321 ✭✭
    Congrats on a great find. Me personally, I'd use electrolisys on it. If it had more value then I'd leave it.
    Nice find though.

    Dave
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Tough call... looks like any attempt to clean it will leave little or no surface detail... I would suggest, if you want to try.. take your best pictures to remember it ... then try soaking in olive oil.... Cheers, RickO
  • bamacoinshooterbamacoinshooter Posts: 51
    Wow, still a great find nonetheless. Where did you find it at? Do you have any pics or know any history about the place that you found it at? Personally, I'd probably leave it as is, since you can at least see some details. Cleaning it might leave you with just a round piece of metal.
    Always on the lookout for a silver opportunity.
    imageimage
  • intocoinsintocoins Posts: 602 ✭
    I would definitely try and clean it. What do you have to lose? As mentioned electrolysis would get most of that junk off but I would probably use Hydrogen Peroxide heated up first.
  • windwhispersintreeswindwhispersintrees Posts: 605 ✭✭✭
    Electrolysis or even hydrogen peroxide will be too harsh on that coin. There are no details left under that crust layer, and electryolysis will make that even worse (I know, I've made that mistake before). Electrolysis is really only good when there's solid metal beneath any dirt or crustiness....it's especially good on silver or other coins that don't get deep corrosion pits.

    You might try manually flaking off the crust with a toothpick, or cleaning in very diluted CLR or Limeaway. Then, immerse the coin in melted microcrystalline wax, and to get some of the remaining details visible again, dust with colored chalk (artist's pastels) using a small paintbrush (olives, browns, and tans are good colors). That'll help contrast the high areas against the fields, which is where you want the chalk to remain.

    Your best best is to gain experience with this method first on junkier stuff before attempting on a coin you really want to keep.
    "A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes"--Hugh Downs
  • demodiggerdemodigger Posts: 1,012 ✭
    i'd leave as is. my first shield nickel was similar to yours. i cleaned it and removed all the detail. now its just a slug.
  • pcgs69pcgs69 Posts: 4,324 ✭✭✭✭
    Well I removed the darker layer a couple of days ago... as expected it didn't help. Can still see the shield lines and part of the 5, but not much else. If it was more valuable I would have just kept it as-was (is that a phrase?).

    I found it near the top of a very short hiking trail. The coin itself was only an inch or two down because there was a large rock underneath so it could not sink any deeper.

  • intocoinsintocoins Posts: 602 ✭
    Try putting a light coat of vaseline on the coin then wipe it off and see if you can read the date then. If anything the coin will look better. Just my opinion , I'm no expert but I've made a few pieces look better that way. The condition that coin is in value-wise it's not going to make a difference. If it were me I would want to know the date. By the way regardless of what you do , it's still a cool find.
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