A little surprise brings a smile

Foragist

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I got a Harbor Freight vibrating tumbler at a thrift sale this summer, and finally got around to fixing it into working order, and actually using it. This type of tumbler is for dry tumbling only, so I put in some crushed walnut shell that came bagged as reptile bedding(that I also found at a thrift sale) In this media, I put a bunch of wheat pennies, shell casings, shotgun headstamps, old keys, and other odds and ends. After a total of maybe 12 hrs of on and off tumbling, some items cleaned up nice, while others need more time. One little doodad I put in there was just a small metal dome thingy I dug this summer. I didn't see any features on it, and almost tossed it out a couple times, but decided to tumble it. When I was going through the tumbled things, I picked up this dome, and was thinking it's not worth keeping, when I noticed some feature detail on the convex side. A close look revealed it was a US dime! Yes, I could see the dime features on both sides, and the reeded edge, too! I now had a smiley face; thinking back to the day in the park, when I dug my first domed coin, and that I had no idea it was a coin until now! Can't read the whole year, just 197x. No monetary value, but it is one of the little things that make this hobby fun. :yes:
 

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Way cool, man!
I love finding the quality stuff but little things like this you think are junk that turn into something a little more special are a big part of why I enjoy this hobby so much.
Thanks! I know a lot of the members here are the same way. Me too!

That’s pretty cool.how do you suppose it got domed?
Thank you. I'm guessing it was either intended as a jewelry piece, or a practice piece for making jewelry or some other art, using a dapping set like this one:

That's neat! I love finding surprises in the junk pile.
Thanks! Me too! :yes:

That's kind of an unexpected rarity ! Congrats !
I've seen a couple bracelets made of domed coins, but this is the only one I've dug. I liked the unexpected surprise of it, too. Thanks!
 

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Foragist, I hear ya. I love a clean up surprise. And I know that smile, its the same one when you dig a target, wipe it and realize you just dug something cool. Can't put a price on it. Cool find. Mark
 
My son does his coin cleaning with a vibrating tumbler. For the medium he uses Poultry grit. It is crushed granite and it cleans very nicely. I also use it in my rotating tumbler. I get mine at tractor Supply.
 
Foragist, I hear ya. I love a clean up surprise. And I know that smile, its the same one when you dig a target, wipe it and realize you just dug something cool. Can't put a price on it. Cool find. Mark
Heck yeah! Metal detecting is a hobby full of surprises. Thanks Mark.

wow, that is definitely cool! I also like the idea of dry tumbling... huh.
Thank you! Dry tumbling probably isn't very good for cleaning clad coins, but with softer media, like walnut shells, it's not too harsh, and polishes metals well.

My son does his coin cleaning with a vibrating tumbler. For the medium he uses Poultry grit. It is crushed granite and it cleans very nicely. I also use it in my rotating tumbler. I get mine at tractor Supply.
Thanks George. The crushed walnut shells are less aggressive. Good for finer polishing. I should get some of that granite for quicker, coarser cleaning.
 
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