1865 IH penny & old nickle - cleaning advice?

[Barry NY]

Went back to an old farm where I found an 1880 Canadian dime in VF condition a few weeks ago. This farm has been a farm forever here on Long Island but history shows it became a much more active farm in 1880 when it was bought by the current ownership. Junk everywhere makes selecting targets tricky - at this point I am digging "most" signals that are strong and repetitive, regardless of the numbers. I use an E-Trac.
Came out with 2 coins today both in pretty bad shape, one an IH penny, that after using my cheap ultrasonic machine, am able to read the date 1865. The other is a nickle that is really corroded - can't see anything at this point either side - but I'm sure it's from the same era. Also, I think I picked up a musket ball - never saw one before, about the size of a small marble and looks like it's cast lead or something - it's heavy for it's size...any ideas for cleaning the coins and if I do have a musket ball?

 

[montanagold]

CLR works great for me on my nickels, soak it for a couple of days flipping it. I throw my corroded copper in the tumbler, sometimes it works sometimes not.

 

[weston]

put peroxide in a cup and throw it in the microwave for about 15 seconds then throw your nickel in there for about 2 or 3 hours. flip the coin half way through that time period. good luck hope this works for you.

weston

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hey barry. as montana gold said, clr works good on nickels. some people soak them for a day or two in ketchup, and swear by it [i never tried that one] the problem with nickels is they turn reddish brown - a thin coat of olive oil usually stops that. i have tried clr on copper, and it does ok. the trick is, once it's cleaned and lightly brushed with clr, it's real shiny - so it's a good idea to get the original tone back by either putting it outside in the elements for a couple of weeks, flipping it occasionally [ i throw mine up on the roof!] or mixing sulphur with petroleum jelly and applying it to the cent, put it in a baggie and forget about it for a couple of weeks. reapply as needed. the resulting tone has fooled many.

be careful and use eye protection when handling clr and the like; theyr'e corrosive. or, conversely, you could easily build a simple electrolysis rig, available elsewhere here on the internet. also, never try to clean a coin you think is valuable - collectors and dealers like them in their recovered condition. you can also boil peroxide in a cup in the microwave, and toss the cent in. that helps too [just don't nuke the penny] some purists and museums i know of actually freeze, remove and rinse, then re - freeze the gunk off of old coins - it's considered a safe - but very extended - way to clean old coins. good luck, and hh!