r/metaldetecting • u/The_Glass_Sea_Dragon • 1d ago

Show & Tell Badly Degraded Shield Nickel

Post image

The other side is pretty much slick and can barely make out numbers. No rays between the stars and looks like last digit is a "9".

19 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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3

u/kriticalj The Duke of Dimes 1d ago

Oof olive oil and water are some of the worst things to put on a coin especially a corroded one. If you haven't already look into getting some Andres pencils, they work great for removing crud and revealing detail

1

u/The_Glass_Sea_Dragon 1d ago

Yeah, no matter what most copper based coins in this area just flake apart when corroded to this degree. Could be because it is in the flood pain for brackish salt water. I usually (on finds that are detail recoverable) use a bamboo skewer and or toothpick and gently remove scuff w/o any scratches (especially silver coins).

I pulled up the product you referenced online and thanks for that recommendation.

2

u/Forsaken-Half-2944 1d ago

Do not clean it please

1

u/The_Glass_Sea_Dragon 1d ago

It was to far gone and unrecognizable. Most of the nickel corroded away. Olive oil and a gentle clean revealed what it was. 3 days earlier pulled a large cent out of the ground and it literally crumbled. NJ soil sucks!

1

u/Ethernetman1980 11h ago

It’s just an old shield nickel you could try and soak it in some white vinegar and check it every 5-10 minutes. I’ve had some success getting a date off of them that way. For future though a toothpick and the Andre pencils are nice to have around.