cleaning late 1700's - early 1800's large cent?

[mechanic1482]

Hello everybody im new here been metal detecting for 2 years now & recently got permission to detect a farm with some woods on property in north point maryland where the war of 1812 battle of north point occoured & been finding musket balls, shoe & acc buckles & buttons but yesterday i found what i think is a large cent but its corroded Bad! Norm i wldnt think of cleaning but im dying to know the year....any ideas?

[del]

hello mechanic1482 and welcome to the forum . unfortunately theres not much you can do to that one to help it , i've recovered enough coppers to know when they show the ruddy rough bare areas a lot of damage has already been done to it . Coinnut ,HEAVYMETALNUT and a few others can voice their opinion if they think otherwise . it looks like a farm field find and coppers usually don't do well in these due to the years of abuse from fertilizers . you can try a hot peroxide bath with some q-tip rubs but i think it might be worse off after .

Dan

[coinnut]

Dan is correct. That red color and already visible pitting is not good news for coppers. If you want to get a date on it, try just rubbing the date area with your fingers. Make sure they are dry. Rub only a little and then look under a magnifying glass to see if the date is starting to appear. Tilt the coin in a lot of directions to get the light to cast some shadows across the date. If nothing appears, continue dry rubbing a little at a time and repeat the process. Sometimes you can get a date that way. If you remove all the dirt at once, you may end up with nothing left. If it is a Matron head copper, you may still get a date from it. They had pretty deep strikes on some of the years. Good luck and let us know how it went.

[milco]

Sounds like a cool spot you are on! Good luck, as far as the copper above I yield to the experts who have already commented.

[Robbie]

Hi mechanic1482,I live very close to you in A.A.C. Md.I am also new to this forum.I have found three large cents so far but only one with a date 1827.I`ve found that the electrolyze method works well with older coins.Good luck and give me a shout if you want company dirt fishing. Robbie

[OxShoeDrew]

I can tell you how to ruin it :lol: I used to toothbrush/soap field matrons but they always came out worse. I'd just leave that one alone. What does the back look like? I bet you can identify the type of coin...although I can't make out anything in the pic. Seems like we should be able to see something. :dontknow: I've never heard of locals using electrolysis on LCs Robbie, does it work?

[coinnut]

Electrolysis is the last resort for me. Put some hydrogen peroxide in a microwave for 20 seconds and then put the copper in it and wait a couple of minutes. Then repeat the process as needed until clean. I then either use a brass brush on it or rub with Vaseline and sulfur to complete the cleaning. My recent 1845 Large cent was done that way. If the large cent is in good shape, it will clean up nicely. Judging strictly from the picture, I would hot hydrogen peroxide a couple of times, then brass brush it, or scuff pad it until the features are more pronounced, and then Vaseline and sulfur it, to tone it.

[Robbie]

I have found a site called "metal detecting ghost towns of the east".In which Frank will explain how to clean coins the proper method.

[del]

I have found a site called "metal detecting ghost towns of the east".In which Frank will explain how to clean coins the proper method.

hey Robbie you can post a link of that site here because its helpful and relevant to the topic . I've seen coins after electrolysis and although it can help take the dirt and corrosion off but they are generally pitted and very porous looking surface wise . I would love to see any before and after success pictures you have at this .

Dan

[Robbie]

Hey Dan, your right about them becoming very porous after electrolysis,I let them sit in olive oil afterwards.The next one I find that`s very caked,I`ll send before and after pics. Thanks
Robbie