I found a coin spill today. Two wheaties, two silver Rosies and this thing. I assumed it was another wheat caked with dirt (it was getting dark) but after cleaning I found it is toasted. It does stick to a magnet and it seems to be the same size as a penny. Any way to tell for sure if this is a steel penny?
1943 Steel penny??
- Thread starter JimR_TN
- Start date
AirmetTango
Forum Supporter
Cool find! All of that is as much circumstantial evidence as you can ask for when it comes to a dug Steelie. I’d say there’s pretty much a 98% chance that’s a steel penny. You might try electrolysis to see if you can reveal some hidden detail, but I seriously doubt it would work succeed in getting a positive ID. May help preserve it though?
I still have my one and only dug Steelie stored in a pill bottle with the other four Wheaties from the spill it came out of the ground with. I probably should have tried some electrolysis in it...the rust has gotten noticeably worse in the last two years since I dug it. Now it’s a Catch-22, because it’ll disintegrate soon if I don’t do anything, but anything I do now to try and preserve it will probably destroy it even faster
dirt dick
Elite Member
WD-40 might reveal some detail........
Ive found three steel wheats, yours looks like one of the ones I found,
Rusty bubbles,
Ive found three steel wheats, yours looks like one of the ones I found,
Rusty bubbles,
Ice Scratcher
Elite Member
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2012
- Messages
- 18,347
Fo shizzle!
Try the hot peroxide bath, picking with a toothpick.
I have found only one in 10+ years, and it had very little detail...
I have found only one in 10+ years, and it had very little detail...
GKL
Forum Supporter
Unless you can get enough of the crud off to see for sure, the magnet test would at least make it "likely".
Don't feel bad, I dug a crud covered coin today and I can't tell what it is yet but it doesn't stick to a magnet, I'll have to post a thread with a pic later.
The more of these toasted "likely" steel cents I see the more amazed I am at the one I dug in such good condition. Why the one I dug was in such good condition I am not sure, could have been protected by a hard coating of dry clay, could have been a relatively recent drop within the past few years, or maybe a combination of both.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=285730
Don't feel bad, I dug a crud covered coin today and I can't tell what it is yet but it doesn't stick to a magnet, I'll have to post a thread with a pic later.
The more of these toasted "likely" steel cents I see the more amazed I am at the one I dug in such good condition. Why the one I dug was in such good condition I am not sure, could have been protected by a hard coating of dry clay, could have been a relatively recent drop within the past few years, or maybe a combination of both.
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=285730
Skippy SH13
Forum Supporter
Cool find! All of that is as much circumstantial evidence as you can ask for when it comes to a dug Steelie. I’d say there’s pretty much a 98% chance that’s a steel penny. You might try electrolysis to see if you can reveal some hidden detail, but I seriously doubt it would work succeed in getting a positive ID. May help preserve it though?
I still have my one and only dug Steelie stored in a pill bottle with the other four Wheaties from the spill it came out of the ground with. I probably should have tried some electrolysis in it...the rust has gotten noticeably worse in the last two years since I dug it. Now it’s a Catch-22, because it’ll disintegrate soon if I don’t do anything, but anything I do now to try and preserve it will probably destroy it even faster
Soak it repeatedly in distilled water (which will slow/stop the rusting), and then coat it in parafin, if you really want to preserve it (though it beats me why...)
Cheers,
Skippy
