1st shield nickel......barely

Hi Matty, I've never had much luck with cleaning nickels other than taking a very fine steel wool/sos pad to them. It made them look better but I've always wanted a different way. After chatting with you through PM and now seeing your post I decided to do a little research on this whole nickel cleaning thing. I generally don't dig many nickel signals because, well, they come out looking like !!!!. Why dig an ugly, uncleanable coin? I know some may be cringing at this but it is what it is. I am going to include 2 links to possible solutions, one regarding worcestershire sauce and one using lime-a-way. I've seen good results posted from both but I've heard other say it didn't work. I guess I'll just have to grab both and try them out. BTW, there is no doubt about your coin being a shield nickel, I can see the 5 clear as day. Not gonna lie though, that coin is in tough shape....like many nickels that come out of the ground.

Regarding the Indian heads, you did a fine job cleaning them up! The 1888 is simply a porous coin, nothing you can do about that. It was like that before you dug it. It is pretty common with large cents to have a porous surface like that. Just enjoy it for what it is, a great find none the less. The other two coins look great. The green stuff is called verdigris and is common with all copper finds. Sometimes it will pic off with a toothpick (sometimes leaving shiny copper underneath.) I've heard of a product called veri-gone or something like that which what designed specifically for removing verdigris from coins. I've never used it but I've heard good things about it on coins with small amounts of the green stuff. Otherwise leave them as they are and enjoy them, their beauties whatever way you choose to go.

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=59458&highlight=nickel+worcestershire+sauce

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/cleaning-preservation/146020-these-nickels-clean-my-no-date-buffs-now-have-date.html#msg1975642