How to clean Silver and Copper Coins
- Very Corroded Australian 1919 Penny – Salt Water Metal Detecting Find
Click to Enlarge
When metal detecting in Rivers, Lakes and the Ocean, I find heaps of coins, and alot of the Coins of Australia I find are Pre-Decimal Australian Coins (Pre 1966 before the Australian Dollar and Cent was introduced and Pounds, Penny, Half Penny, Pence, Shilling, Six Pence and Three pence were removed) These Coins are either Silver such as the Florin, Six Pence and the Three Pence or are Copper, such as the Penny and Half Penny. Silver coins left in Salty or Fresh water for long periods of time do not corrode, but depending on the water movement, whether strong, or calm, these silver coins can still be damaged, such as being washed over the sand and shell grit over and over for many years, this will damage the coin, such as scratching it, wearing the face away, and putting little dings in the coin.
No different really than find a stone in the water which has been worn smooth over thousands of years of rolling in the water, once probably jaggard, now nice and round. Copper Coins left in Salty or Fresh water will definitely corrode, even if left in the water for very short periods of time, corrosion will start almost straight away. With the silver coins I find in the water, most of the time, they are tarnished black, this is a normal process of what happens to silver when left in a moist environment for long periods of time. Coins which have been left in the water for many years can become a home to microscopic crustaceans, shell grit and sand. Below is a photo of a coin which is encrusted with sand and shell grit.
The 1953 Australian Florin Covered in Sand and Shell Grit
Click to Enlarge
To clean the silver coins I find, I usually use three or four steps as follows:
Impatient Coin Cleaning Method
- Soak in hot soapy water for around 24hours
- Start the Electrolysis Coin Cleaning Method / clean with water and use thumb and finger to gently clean coin under running water
- Soak in Ammonia for 24 hours
- clean with silver cleaner and soft cloth
Note: (DO NOT CLEAN COPPER COINS USING THE ABOVE ELECTROLYSIS METHOD YOU WILL DAMAGE THE COIN, USE THE BELOW COIN CLEANING METHOD)
Patient Cleaning Method
Clean Silver or Copper Coins in Olive Oil or Distilled Water
Worn and Damaged 1953 Australian Florin - Swan River Metal Detecting Find - Cleaned using Electrolysis and Amonia Soaking
Click to Enlarge
The above Silver Florin was found by myself metal detecting on the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia.
Hidden Stash Found Metal Detecting!
My Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector finds a hidden coin stash?
Today I went back to the old house where I found the 1941 East Africa Shilling a few days ago, with the aim of hopefully finding some more old coins and other exciting finds. So as usual I was excited and confident as I always am when I go metal detecting.
It did not take long for my heart to start pumping with adrenelin when I came across this cylindrical object in the hard soil, it took me ages to get to it, and as soon as I saw that it was a “jar like” object, I got really excited thinking that finally I have found my first ever stash of hidden coins, what some boy may have buried many years ago.
As soon as I saw it, I took a photo of it, and then gently dug around it, you can see where my little shovel had scuffed it a few times, putting small dings on it… that was when I dug to hard with the shovel, because the soil was rock hard.
The Stash of Money - No Dirt!
Tools of the Metal Detecting Trade - Small Shovel - Sieve or Sifter - Metal Detector
Anyhow, I dug it out, and pulled it away from it’s little hideaway, and tipped it upside down, shaking it, waiting for the coins or treasure to fall out …. all what was in it, was dirt! So I was a bit disappointed about that, but nethertheless, it was very exciting to find the enamel tin buried upright, and quite unusual. So sorry to disappoint you, there was no hidden stash.
Today's Metal Detecting Finds - Coins etc
But I did have a great metal detecting day, finding quiet a few more old coins and other unusual items around the house as follows:
E-Trac Metal Detector and a found coin - Australian Penny
Australian Pennys
- 1964 Australian Penny
- 1948 Australian Penny
- 1951 Australian Penny
- 1942 Australian Penny
- 1943 Australian Penny
Australian Half Pennys
Todays other Metal Detecting finds
I also found some other interesting things … where I was Metal Detecting, the place is on a hill with a beautiful view, over looking the farm plains below and there is a beautiful big old shady tree near the house, so I decided to do some metal detecting under the tree.
It is one of those trees that you could build a Tree-House in, and has standing room below the branches, with views to the plains below also, and I found a few coins there, as well as the Stokes Sugar Serving Spoon as pictured below. And also I found the ladies Powder Mirrow under the tree also.
So I could just imagine that no doubt, people would have had beautiful summer and spring picnics under the tree and thats how they probably lost the stuff below.
I also noticed quite a few bones buried under the tree, thats where the dog tag comes into play, I found the dog licence tag below just under the surface of the soil, so no doubt there was probably a loving farm dog buried under that tree 50 years ago. I did not find a skull or anything, just plenty of bones just below the surface. And I buried them again once I had finished.
That beautiful tree must have plenty of stories to tell, picnics, sweathearts, kids playing, all the beautiful things that come with life.
Beautiful View from the Old House
Metal Detecting Find - Copper Stones Sugar Serving Spoon - Made in Australia
Metal Detecting Find - Road Board of Dumbleyung - No 44 - Dog Registration Licence Tag - 1953 to 1954
Metal Detecting Find Found Under Tree - Ladies Powder Mirror - With Powder Still In It!
I had a great day today, as you can see above, I love metal detecting, it is one of the best things I have ever done. It is so good for the soul, it keeps you fit, your mind active, and the rewards as you can see from my site and wonderful. As soon as I start Metal Detecting, all my worries about life just go away.
I spent six hours detecting today, really enjoyed my day!
It’s taken me three hours to write this Blog … why, because my laptop is old … I need a New Laptop Computer
The Old Australian House - Remants of a past Era!
1941 East Africa Shilling Found
1941 East Africa Shilling
I had another great detecting day today! I usually try and plan my day ahead so I can get a few hours in detecting to relieve my metal detecting addiction, so I get all my jobs done around the house and by around 2pm I am ready to head off detecting.
I am not working at the moment, I am having a planned long holiday, I have not worked for over a year, since leaving the Navy and it has been pretty good. I am doing all the things I have wanted to do for a long time and I am really enjoying my freedom at the moment. Thats why I am posting on this blog everyday about the stuff I am finding, because some of you must wonder how I find the time to go out detecting every day.
So today I went for a long drive on the isolated gravel roads around my district in search for good detecting places, hoping to find old abandoned homesteads, did not come across any, so on the way home I ended going to a couple of places that I had known about previously and thought I’d give the detector a few hundred swings!
The first place is one of my favourite old houses in the district, a beautiful old house, probably around a hundred or so years old. I really love this place, the house is beautiful with so much potential to renovate, I just love the long open verandah and I really love the beautiful Australiana style tin roof.
Today's Metal Detecting Spot 1 - Beautiful Old Australian Homestead
I found a couple of interest things worth keeping at this place as follows:
- 1955 Australian Penny
- 1948 Australian Penny
- Australian 1 cent coin
- Refill Only Mobile Oil Badge off a fuel tin with the Mobile Red Horse.
- Warranted Superior Saw Button
- Silver Teaspoon
- and the usual shotgun cartridges and bullet shells
Warranted Superior Saw Button
Warranted Superior medallions are found on secondary lines manufactured by Disston and other major saw makers with other brand names on the etch. Some smaller 19th century saw makers may have bought sawnuts and medallions from the bigger factories.
After 1900 or so the “small guys” were actually secondary lines of the “big guys.” The small companies were bought up by bigger ones and some of their products were continued for a time. Harvey Peace is one example. Most American saws from the 20th century, regardless of brand name, were made in the works of Disston, Atkins, Bishop, or Simonds.
In the case of Disston, their replacement medallions were stamped Warranted Superior rather than “Disston.” I would speculate their rationale was they didn’t want their name on lesser-quality saws. Brand identity and loyalty in the U.S. was much stronger in the first half of the 20th century than it is today. Source: http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/medallionpage.html
The next old place I went to is where I found quite a few old Australian coins, including an usual but thrilling find of a East African Silver 1 Shilling coin using my Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector.
I have had this minelab detector for around 8 months now and I am finally getting the hang of it, pre programing it for certain coins and learning how to discriminate properly. I learnt a few good e-trac metal detector tips tonight via watching youtube.com videos, so youtube.com is a great resource for learning how to use your metal detector.
The second old place is basically just old ruins of an old homestead, very old and a beautiful spot on top of a hill with views to die for
Today's Metal Detecting Spot 2 - Old Australian Homestead Ruins
Anyhow, here is what I found at the second old house:
- 1943 Australian Penny
- 1953 Australian Penny
- 1910 Silver Australian three pence
- 1941 Silver East Africa Shilling
- and the usual shotgun cartridges and bullet shells
Mobil Flying Red Horse Oil Tin Badge
1941 East Africa Shilling - Reverse Side
Another great days metal detecting
Metal Detecting Old Homestead Ruins
The Old Homestead Remains - Great Metal Detecting Spot
Well the last couple of days I have been up to quite a bit, Metal Detecting and Bottle Hunting.
I went for a drive just outside of my hometown, around 20kms out and I decided to go looking for old bottle dumps, along the way I came across the remains of an old homestead, which appears to have fallen victim to a fire a long time ago.
I thought what a perfect opportunity to get the detector out and do a bit of coinshooting, and hope I would find a penny of two.
The area was very trashy, but the sandy ground was perfect for detecting.
I found a few interesting things as follows:
- 1942 Australian Penny
- 1945 Australian Half Penny
- Gold Back of a Pendant which says 9ct Silver Lined
- An Old Brass Coat Hook
- Silver Plated Fork (Unknown Silver Stamp Marking)
- Gold Plated Leadwork (Dove) I like this one!
- Big Old Brass Belt Buckle
- other things
I plan on going back there in the near future!
Click on the images to see a better quality photo
Gold Plated Leadwork remains (Dove) I like this one!
Gold Back of a Pendant which says 9ct Silver Lined
1942 Australian Penny
Silver Plated Fork (Unknown Silver Stamp Marking)
1945 Australian Half Penny
Old Brass Coat Hook
Today’s Old Church Finds using my E-Trac Metal Detector
Todays E-Trac Metal Detecting Finds from a Churchyard
Click on the above image to see a bigger photo
I went shopping today at a town around 100 kilometres from my hometown and also went to visit my Mum who is currently residing at a nursing home.
On the way back, I decided that I would go and visit this old Church which located in the middle of nowhere, it is just a Church around 20 kilometres from my town.
I have been there before Metal Detecting, but I had no luck, also because there were a lot of mosquitos and I took my girlfriend and Mum at the time and they just did not want to hang around, so it was a bit of a rush job.
Anyhow, today I was by myself, so I had plenty of time, at least an hour or two before it got dark. So I detected in the same areas as before, and this time I had some great luck.
Using my Minelab E-Trac Metal Detector, I found 4 Silver Three Pence Coins, one of which I dropped and will have to go back at a later date to find again. Thats the most silver coins I have found in a day, so I am really happy about that.
I also found an Australian Penny, which looks to be damaged from the highly salinity affected soil (Soil Salinity is a major problem in Western Australia)
I also found a couple of 10 Cent Coins, which had been in the ground for quite a while, but finding modern day coins is nothing to show off about, unless you find a hidden stash of them.
And I also found the usual junk.
I am glad I went back to the church for another try, gives me some confidence to go back there again in the near future to try my luck again.
I know of plenty of other Churches around the district which are in the middle of nowhere, so I can’t wait to test my luck on them as well.
Finding the silver coins also gives me the opportunity to give them a clean using my Coin Cleaning Electrolysis Method
Another Day Another Penny
1934 Australian Penny - Metal Detecting Find
I have been doing a fair bit of metal detecting over the last few days, making up for what I am going to miss out over the Easter Long Weekend, this weekend, because I wont get a chance to go out again for a little while.
I am bringing my Mum home this weekend for a few days, she resides in a nursing home and I try and bring her home every two weeks for a long weekend, so its always good to spend some time with her.
WW2 Australian Military Forces Brass Button
So today I went out bush with the aim to find a few more coins to add to my collection and I wasn’t let down. As soon as I turned on the detector, one step away from my Ute and I picked up a signal, and just under the surface was a nice old penny.
It’s pretty good at the moment going metal detecting and coin shooting, summer is over and the weather is starting to cool down, so its perfect weather to get out bush, breathe some fresh air and to coin shoot for a couple of hours.
1943 Australian Penny - Metal Detecting Find
It is amazing the amount of old australian coinsI have found out at this old ghost town, like I have said previously, no matter when I go out there, I always return home with 3 or 4 pennys, silver sixpence, or three pence coins and other coins.
I would say my collection from this spot so far this year would have to be a few hundred so far.
I love Marbles - Childhood Memories!
I am really looking forward to the winter rains, that way it will be easier to detect due to the detector being able to pick up more coins through the wet soil.
Anyhow here is what I found today.
1952 Australian Penny - Metal Detecting Find
1943 Australian Half Penny - Metal Detecting Find
Cleaning Silver Coins and Silver Ring – Before and After Photos
.925 Stamped Sterling Silver Ring - Before and After Cleaning
If your a reader of this blog, the other day I wrote a post on finding some Coins and a Silver Ring in a Western Australian Lake (Lake Dumbleyung) which has extreme salinty, so salty that it is more saltier than the Dead Sea.
The coins were totally encrusted with mud, salt, tiny stones, shells and grit, so much so that it was basically like concrete. The Silver Ring was not so bad, but was badly tarnished, basically it was totally black from being in the salty water and black mud for many years.
So I put myself to task to attempt to clean the coins and the ring.
I knew that if the coins were also silver then they would be basically still okay, but if the coins were copper Australian Pennys then they would be basically beyond repair.
I tried a few cleaning techniques, the first cleaning method I used was soaking the coins in Distilled water for a couple of days, but I lost my patience with that as I knew it would just take too long, so then I used the good old Electrolysis Coin Cleaning method and that worked a treat.
When I originally found the coins in the Lake, I didn’t have a clue about what type of coins they were. All up there was around 10 coins I found.
The electrolysis helped me identify what the coins were as follows:
1 x $2 coin
1 x $1 coin
1 x 20 cent coin
3 x Australian Copper Pennys
3 x Silver Shillings and
1 x Silver Sixpence
As predicted apart from the Silver Coins, the other non silver coins were basically ruined from corrosion. The Australian pennys were basically paper thin, eaten away by corrosion and other chemical reactions and only one of the pennys was just barely identifiable as you can see in the photo below … the Queens head!
But amazingly the Silver Shillings and the Silver Sixpence came out in excellent condition, and what strikes me as being so amazing is that the four silver coins I found, had been buried in the black salty mud for at least 50 YEARS! Yes there was some mild deterioration of the silver, but nothing like the other coins.
Once I could make out the dates of the coins, I went to a good Australian Coin Values website to see if I had hit the lucky jackpot and found myself a coin of value, but unfortunately there only worth a few bucks at most.
After I finished with the Electrolysis cleaning, I cleaned up the Silver Coins with some Goddards Silver Cleaning Cream and a soft cloth , and they came out pretty good, as did the Silver Ring I found also which is stamped .925, which means it is Sterling Silver 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper.
Here are the before and after pics. Click on the photos to get a better view.
Australian Silver Shillings - Cleaning Before and After
Australian Silver Sixpence - Before and After Cleaning
Australian Copper Pennys - Before and After Cleaning
Coins & Silver Ring Found in Salt Laden Mud
I went back out to the local Lake yesterday with the aim of possibly finding another Ring or two. This time I carried out a proper Metal Detecting grid search of a small area where there was likely a lot of human activity when the Lake had water in it, water skiing, swimming, sunbathing etc
The area I searched was not the same area where I did a quick 15 minute search and found the Lost Gold Wedding Ring five days ago, so I decided I would try my luck in a different area, and come back to the “Gold Ring Area” another time.
I came a bit more prepared this time, I brought with me some insect repellent, to stave off the annoying flys that bite, it only helped a little, and these flys are the worse I have encounted, they would even bite through my BeautUtes.com Chesty Bonds Singlet, they must have mosquito like fangs! I ended up rubbing insect repellent all over my singlet and decided next time I will come even more prepared … with a long sleeve shirt!
Anyhow I knew I would find myself some coins, obviously lost out of swimmers pockets, I also knew that the coins I would find would be severely covered in corrosion from the salty environment the coins had been laying in for anywhere up from 5 years to up to 50 years or more.
So I ended up finding around 10 coins, and I have not got a clue what the coins exactly are, such as Pre-Decimal Australian Coins (Pennys, Shillings, Six Pence ) (Prior 1965) or Post-Decimal Australian Coins (5, 10, 20, 50 Cent Coins) (Post 1966) because as you can see in the photos below the coins a surrounded by a shell of corrosion, and no doubt are damaged beyond repair.
I was also happy when I found a nice Silver Ring, possibly another Lost male or female wedding ring, not really that sure, but nethertheless another nice ring to add to my collection of Western Australian lost and found rings to write about on this Metal Detecting Blog!
So after finding this stuff with my metal detector I have decided to do some experimental “Coin Cleaning, and I found this great coin cleaning link and I currently have the coins soaking in Distilled Water as per instructions below:
Distilled Water Coin Cleaning
Technique:
One of the gentlest methods of cleaning coins is using distilled water (DW) soaks. This requires that you soak the coin for 24 hours remove the coin and gently scrub the coin with a soft toothbrush. Change the water and then repeat until the coin is clean.Theory:
Distilled water contains almost no dissolved minerals. When you put a coin in DW the minerals on the coin transfer to the water until the DW is saturated with minerals.
Good Candidates
See other Coin Cleaning Methods
It will be interesting to see what the results are, I will keep you all updated on this.
As I say, it is highly likely that none of the coins will be unidentifiable due to the corrosion.
The 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins are made of cupro-nickel (75 per cent copper and 25 per cent nickel). The one and two dollar coins are made of aluminium bronze (92 per cent copper, 6 per cent aluminium and 2 per cent nickel). These coins will corrode slowly in a salt laden environment such as the lake I found them in or in the Ocean.
The Australian Pre-Decimal Penny and Half-Penny is made out of copper and will corrode very quickly in salty enviroments.
The Australian Six Pence, Three Pence, and Shilling are made out of pure silver.
A commonly asked question: Does Silver rust?
Silver will react to salty soil and water and can suffer from sulphide related tarnish. 80% of the lost silver rings I have recovered from the ocean have suffered from tarnish, but a bit of silvo or silver polish will bring the ring back to it’s former glory.
I once found two Australian Silver Six Pence coins in the ocean, those coins were in a shell of rust, and when I cracked open the shell, inside the silver coins were like brand knew.
Read more on Australias’ Salinity Crisis
Stay tuned for before and after photos of the coins and the silver ring!
Here are the photos of the coins and the ring I found yesterday
Billy - Toto - Ginger - Metal Detecting at Lake Dumbleyung Western Australia
Coin suffering from Corrosion - Australian Pre-Decimal Penny?
Australian Coin with major Corrosion
The Silver Ring Found in Salt Lake - Major Tarnish - Nil Corrosion
Todays Best Finds
Hi Guys,
I went out to my secret hunting spot today, an old where an old town used to be from 1907 to around 1955.
I found some interesting things, here is my best finds today.
1943 Australian CRC Adopt a Digger Badge - Made in Perth Western Australia
(A Digger is a nickname for an Australian Soldier)
This Badge must be very rare because I cannot find one on the internet. I found it today at my favourite treasure hunting spot near Dumbleyung Western Australia
1955 Silver Australian Three Pence
1922 Australian Penny
1922 Australian Penny
1928 Australian Half Penny
1928 Australian Half Penny
Got heaps of other stuff, brass belt buckles, bits of copper, etc will upload some pics soon!
By the way, check out my new Metal Detecting Gallery you can see all my pics there! Feel free to uploads your metal detecting photos also!
Selection of Australian Copper Penny’s
Here is a small Selection of Australian Copper Penny’s I have found recently out bush around old abandoned townships in rural Western Australia.
The first bronze (“copper”) penny coins to appear in Australia were minted in 1911. Up until 1918 these coins were minted in London, Birmingham and Calcutta. From 1919 the coins were produced in Australian mints in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Sydney production ceased in 1926. Nine different master dies were used for both the obverse and reverse sides of the coins and often different combinations of dies were used in the same year. Production of pennies ended in 1964.
Australian Pennys
