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June 4th: 1899 Barber Quarter! Updated cleaned pics 6/11/12
pcgs69
Posts: 4,266 ✭✭✭✭
6/11 - ok, used room temperature hydrogen peroxide on the reverse. Most of the dirt is gone... not sure of the remaining surfaces... looks possibly a little porous, but at least the dirt's gone. What do you guys think?
Tried a new park today. Signals everywhere, pull tabs, bottle caps, and 13 million copper Lincoln cents, every swing or two was a copper Lincoln. UGH! Like someone threw a few hundred of them in this area. Not sure how many were there, but they kept coming. Also got an IHC but haven't looked at it yet. Somehow during the hunt I got a deeper quarter signal. After it was out, it was an absolute shock to see a barber quarter staring back!
The reverse is caked with dirt. I ran under water for probably 10 minutes but there's still a lot of dirt. What would be the best way to get rid of it without having to dab it for 45 minutes? Going to post it on the u.s. coin forum for a grading game.
HH all!
Tried a new park today. Signals everywhere, pull tabs, bottle caps, and 13 million copper Lincoln cents, every swing or two was a copper Lincoln. UGH! Like someone threw a few hundred of them in this area. Not sure how many were there, but they kept coming. Also got an IHC but haven't looked at it yet. Somehow during the hunt I got a deeper quarter signal. After it was out, it was an absolute shock to see a barber quarter staring back!
The reverse is caked with dirt. I ran under water for probably 10 minutes but there's still a lot of dirt. What would be the best way to get rid of it without having to dab it for 45 minutes? Going to post it on the u.s. coin forum for a grading game.
HH all!
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Comments
Lafayette Grading Set
I hereby crown you the king of this forum, now that The Mighty Phut has left us. Wow.
I wish I had a fraction of the cool finds you're so routinely making.
Of course I don't get out three or four times a week like it seems you do, and like I did in my active days in the 1990s.
I'm lucky to go out three or four times a year, lately. Last year I only had two outings. Both were productive, but being that dormant sure makes one's find rate drop precipitously.
Cleaning your prize? Try this. It's what I did on the Barber dime I got the other day.
Get a shallow bowl or sturdy drinking glass.
Pour just a little bit of hydrogen peroxide into the glass; maybe 1/8" or so. Just a bit more than is necessary to immerse the coin.
Heat it in the microwave for a minute or so. Not really enough to boil the peroxide, but enough to get it near that point- good and hot.
Remove carefully- the glass or bowl will be hot.
Plunk your coin in there (plop, plop, fizz, fizz; just like Alka-Seltzer, baby!)
Repeat as necessary. You might be surprised to see some of the dirt fizz right off the coin.
If any grime stubbornly remains, you can use toothpaste, or for the really tuff stuff, a baking soda paste.
The latter two are abrasive and a big no-no in the mainstream numismatic sense, of course, but we're talking about a dug relic coin, so it's understood that it's gonna be cleaned. They will look harshly cleaned when you're done, (because they will have been) but I have found that most of my dug silver that I found 10-15-20 years ago has since retoned quite attractively in my keeper album.
That one looks pretty nice and may not need the toothpaste. Try the peroxide trick. A relic hunter buddy taught me that one. (You might have already known it.)
It reminds me of electrolysis, the way the coin bubbles when it's immersed.
Speaking of which, an electrolysis setup is good to have. Search the forum for some old threads about building one. I used to have one but lost it. I need to build another. It was good on stuff like this. Not so good on porous copper and nickel, though. I accidentally "burnt up" my one and only Draped Bust cent, which was pretty far gone anyway. But I did some of my Spanish silver half-reales with electrolysis and it worked great. Should be good on silver.
PS- it's time to give you a long overdue "YOU SUCK!". Not just for this find, but for the early large cent, the gold rings, the CT copper, all of it. Wow.
And for the record, I haven't dug a Barber quarter since May 27, 1995, to be precise. And I have only found three ever: an 1894-O, a 1902-O, and a 1916-D.
<< <i>Wow..that is a very nice quarter.... I would try an acetone soak.... will get rid of virtually all that dirt...use reagent grade acetone... enough to cover the coin...and cover the container (it evaporates fast)....afterwards, rinse in alcohol and then running hot water. That is a very nice coin. Cheers, RickO >>
There's a lot of meat left on the bone
<< <i>Dude! You're slayin' me with these finds!
I hereby crown you the king of this forum, now that The Mighty Phut has left us. Wow.
I wish I had a fraction of the cool finds you're so routinely making.
Of course I don't get out three or four times a week like it seems you do, and like I did in my active days in the 1990s.
I'm lucky to go out three or four times a year, lately. Last year I only had two outings. Both were productive, but being that dormant sure makes one's find rate drop precipitously.
Cleaning your prize? Try this. It's what I did on the Barber dime I got the other day.
Get a shallow bowl or sturdy drinking glass.
Pour just a little bit of hydrogen peroxide into the glass; maybe 1/8" or so. Just a bit more than is necessary to immerse the coin.
Heat it in the microwave for a minute or so. Not really enough to boil the peroxide, but enough to get it near that point- good and hot.
Remove carefully- the glass or bowl will be hot.
Plunk your coin in there (plop, plop, fizz, fizz; just like Alka-Seltzer, baby!)
Repeat as necessary. You might be surprised to see some of the dirt fizz right off the coin.
If any grime stubbornly remains, you can use toothpaste, or for the really tuff stuff, a baking soda paste.
The latter two are abrasive and a big no-no in the mainstream numismatic sense, of course, but we're talking about a dug relic coin, so it's understood that it's gonna be cleaned. They will look harshly cleaned when you're done, (because they will have been) but I have found that most of my dug silver that I found 10-15-20 years ago has since retoned quite attractively in my keeper album.
That one looks pretty nice and may not need the toothpaste. Try the peroxide trick. A relic hunter buddy taught me that one. (You might have already known it.)
It reminds me of electrolysis, the way the coin bubbles when it's immersed.
Speaking of which, an electrolysis setup is good to have. Search the forum for some old threads about building one. I used to have one but lost it. I need to build another. It was good on stuff like this. Not so good on porous copper and nickel, though. I accidentally "burnt up" my one and only Draped Bust cent, which was pretty far gone anyway. But I did some of my Spanish silver half-reales with electrolysis and it worked great. Should be good on silver.
PS- it's time to give you a long overdue "YOU SUCK!". Not just for this find, but for the early large cent, the gold rings, the CT copper, all of it. Wow.
And for the record, I haven't dug a Barber quarter since May 27, 1995, to be precise. And I have only found three ever: an 1894-O, a 1902-O, and a 1916-D. >>
Hey there Barber Buddy! Thank you very much for the YOU SUCK award! I think I'll try the acetone bath tonight and see how things go. I tried a couple of silver coins in peroxide, and for some reason it really darkened them. Not sure if it was common, but after the peroxide I had to dip them to lighten them up some. Overall the appearance did turn out ok after dipping though.
As you thought, I do get out 3 or 4 times a week right now, so that should increase odds of some better finds. On the other hand, it means I don't have a girlfriend so that's why I'm so free, haha. You had a good hunt in your video! Nice pickup on the Barber dime, and the IHC is always a nice treat. Soil here is horrible on cents and nickels. It seems that Barber Quarters are pretty scarce to find. This is my fourth once since getting back into it since 2009. You're due for one though! Have to admit when I first saw your post, the 1916-D was the first date visible... was really hoping it was about a merc you found!
put light coat of olive on coin. put a little bit of salt on coin and rub with fingers. salt is not abrasive enough to do any damage. the oil merely helps keep the salt on it. rinse and done.
<< <i>As you thought, I do get out 3 or 4 times a week right now, so that should increase odds of some better finds. On the other hand, it means I don't have a girlfriend so that's why I'm so free, haha. >>
Yeah, I went out 3-5 times a week after my divorce, when I was between marriages. It was the peak of my detecting career. With remarriage and a second chance at fatherhood, things changed, of course. But I'm happier now than I was then. I just need to get out more, digwise.
Had two outings since we last spoke, though, and I've got 3 or 4 more (shorter) movies in the works! Just finished the first one. It's the first part of Sunday's outing. Not fantastic in the finds department, but I had fun with the movie anyway. Then there's the second portion of Sunday (also rather short on good finds but with some historical sightseeing, maybe, and a flashback to my most valuable find).
Monday's hunt was a tiny bit better, at least by my current standards. It was hot as blazes out, but I had fun. It still won't hold a candle to even one of your lesser outings, but hey, we take what we can get, right?
Oh- your quarter- does look a little better. I wouldn't have been as conservative as you, though. I'd have gotten out the toothpaste already.
PS- I will probably upload all of my latest movies at one time, after the next installments are finished.