First Indian Head

ynnek4

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2017
Messages
454
Location
Treasure Coast Florida
Hello,

I found my first Indian Head yesterday and was curious on cleaning it. I have already did the preliminary water/soap, and olive oil bathing. The coin currently has a nice green patina to it but there are some bumps of crud on the face of it I would like cleaned off. Is it possible to get rid of these little bumps? And if so, what would I need to do? I am afraid removing them would leave little specs of color that don’t match the overall patina.

https://ibb.co/ddF02G

Thanks in advance.
 
yeah those bumps are not going anywhere. I only use distilled water soaks and light brushing with soft brush, and then dry in oven and seal with renaissance wax. IMO olive oil is bad stuff for coins.
 
Hello,

I found my first Indian Head yesterday and was curious on cleaning it. I have already did the preliminary water/soap, and olive oil bathing. The coin currently has a nice green patina to it but there are some bumps of crud on the face of it I would like cleaned off. Is it possible to get rid of these little bumps? And if so, what would I need to do? I am afraid removing them would leave little specs of color that don’t match the overall patina.

I have found that almost every time I’ve cleaned a coin I’ve regretted it. Even though you’ve got some bumps on it, you got some good details. Those will go away once you start removing that green patina. And it can get splotchy with a mix of green and the underlying copper. I’d leave it as is.
 
People need to realize a few things....

99% of the coins you'll find have basically no value, other than to you (and face-value naturally). And before anyone mentions a "rare occasion" find, they're just that, few and far between. The most valuable coin I've found over the years was just under $50 (and it was silver).

You'll find as time goes on, and you find more Wheats, IHs, etc, the less "interesting" they become, and less value they'll hold for you....unlike remembering your "first". When you get to that point, start experimenting with different methods, and find one you'll be happy with the results.

This whole "OMG....olive oil....OMG?!?!?!?!?!" is a bit over dramatic for a coin worth a penny.

It it what it is, and you'll not reverse the damage done to a coin from decades in the dirt, especially where fertilizer was applied. So the best thing you can do with them is experiment. There's more value in that, than there is in a penny.
 
It's not that olive oil (acid) is possibly destructive in the long-term, it just totally ruins the appearance of the coin by darkening.
 
If it's not valuable just clean it the way you want. I usually at least want to see the date but I like coins I find to look old. I usually just soak them in hot soapy water and brush them but sometimes I will use a brass brush. It is too bad if you lose your 5-10 cent value. You will at least have a coin you can look at and apprectaie.
 
Back
Top Bottom