Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Tiny silver - 1853 three cent

D

David in DC

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Dec 6, 2010
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I was up in Jersey this weekend and had a small bit of time to detect. I got out to scout a woods site I had researched to see if it would be worth coming back to when some of the ground cover died off and the ticks went dormant. I thought the site would be at least old enough for SLQ's and Indians, and so I was digging Etrac low 30's Co numbers (which I don't always do, depending on the age of the site and the time I have).

My second signal was a solid 12-30, both directions. I found this 1853 silver three cent piece at around 4-6 inches in sandy soil. It's a first for me, and my oldest silver to date. Pics below...I didn't find the merc this trip, I am just using it to show how tiny these coins are.

The coin looks to be in fairly good shape but is very dingy. I didn't want to mess with it too much, but if anyone has any suggestions for additional gentle cleaning I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for looking. Happy hunting everyone!
 

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So cool! I hope to dig one of those one day. I love the odd US domination currency. I just dug my first 2cent piece from 1868 which by far is not my most valuable find, but my favorite find.

I can't believe how small it is compared to that dime. Thats an impressive depth for being such a small piece of metal.
 
All Right! I love seeing those come to light. My advice - leave it as is. I damaged mine (well, the professional at a coin shop damaged mine). Looks great as-is. CONGRATS!!
 
Lots of different opinions on cleaning but I found a trime last year it looked just like yours. I cleaned it with the baking soda tin foil trick and man it looked absolutely mint when it was done. It doesn't scratch it all up like more abrasive methods. Most would say leave it alone but unless its really rare I say clean it.
 
Thanks for the nice comments, everyone.

wtfisthat - I looked up your thread and saw the before and after for your trime. Outstanding results you got, and thanks for the suggestion. I tried it but no appreciable difference for mine, maybe a bit shinier on the crescent where you can see some of the grime didn't stick. The crud on mine may just be stubborn dirt or clay and not tarnish.
 
Just make sure its boiling hot water, baking soda, and the coin has to lay flat on the tin foil, you'll want to flip it over and do both sides several times. Don't let it soak more than 15 minutes or so or the stuff will cake on. Some very light rubbing will help flake off the crud.
 
WOW David, that is a fantastic find. I've never seen one in person but I've heard they are so thin you can easily bend them if you aren't careful. That's an interesting target ID for them. I've wondered what that would come up as on the e-trac.
 
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