Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Is there a way to clean old lincoln cents ?

S

stonecutter

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2010
Messages
110
Location
so cal.
I have found a lot of old Lincolns that are blistered from being in the ground for so long, I dug a 1911 s today that will grade out in VF if I can remove the blisters. Does anyone have a system that works for them ? the weather here in so. cal is hot but that will not keep me from digging up those old coins good hunting to every one.
 
Other than water to wash the coins, I have never found anything that would take crud off that did not damage the value of the coin in some way. What I did in the past was have several coin books to put the older ones in. When I found a date in better shape that replaced the one I did have. That system worked for me, but I ended up getting coin tubes for all the common years such as the 1950's.
 
This thread topic comes up frequently under "Cleaning Your Finds".

Finding a 1911-S is a good find. I'd leave it alone. Being dug up it won't bear much if you try to sell it, but it is a good find for your collection. About all you should do is soak it in soapy water for about 3 or 4 days and then rinse it with clean water. Don't scrub it at all. Just soak it and rinse. Maybe some of the softer crud will come loose and rinse away. As far as the blisters go, that is caused by water that has gotten deep into the base metal and it is corroding from the inside outward. Can"t do a thing about it without entirely ruining it.
 
thanks for the help bentfork I was hoping there was a way to bring the value up on the coin. good hunting.
 
can you post a picture for us to see? I have never seen a wheat penny that has blisters on it? Maybe it is green verdigris bumbs?
 
:oldguy: Just a thought. If it is verdigris on the coin, you might try Verdi-care conservation fluid. It cleans verdigris very well and doesn't affect the coins patina at all. I use it on all my copper coins and like it a lot.

Do a Google search for verdi-care and you will find it. I don't think it will do much, if anything, for the bubbles.
 
Verdigris is natural oxidation that occurs when copper is exposed to the elements. It is oxidation and eats into the base metal. If you use something to remove this then you are removing the patina of the verdigris (green) and exposing the base metal which will shows pits from where it has eaten into the metal. This isn't so bad if it is lightly green colored, but for coins that have verdigris blisters it will leave a pit in the base metal. You can do the same thing with peroxide to remove the blisters and IMO you'll wish you had not. The natural green patina verdigris lays on a coin is more appealing to me than something that obviously was cleaned.
 
on my common date wheaties i use "barkeepers friend" which is available from Lowes/walmart.
 
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