found old liberty V nickel

[depthcharge559]

i detected a liberty v nickel this morning, got it out of the ground, aside an old farm road. its so beat up and has turned dark, id like to clean it up so i can at least tell the date on it. looks like its 19 something but not sure yet. . i mean its really in bad shape. any suggestions on any way to tell what year it is without harming the coin? i tried soap and water but it is still tarnished so dark i cant read it ...

 

[BarberBill]

Nickels often come clean when soaked in (of all things) Worcestershire sauce. I've cleaned several this way.
BB

 

[Dirtdigger33]

You might try Tarn-x. I have used it on some silver coins and it works well. It does not seem to harm the coins and removed the black off two rosies I had. You can find it at Walgreens and should be able to find it at hardware stores. It comes in a black bottle and works really well. Still trying to find my first v-nickel. I know location, location. Good luck and HH.

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Just put a gob of ketchup on it and let it sit overnight. It should improve it's appearance some ..

 

[depthcharge559]

thanks all. i tried ketchup and worcestershire. date came up...1905 ...still looks like its been through the ringer, badly worn out..oh well. ill keep on looking. maybe ill find that lost 50 dollar gold piece yet....hope eternal

 

[Rick N. MI]

Soak in Hydrogen Peroxide and then clean with soap & water. Repeat as necessary. This cleaning doesn't damage the coin. Then put a little oil on the coin. Nickels will have a dark tone I think from the copper thats mixed in. I don't know if you should take the tone away. I leave mine dark.

Rick N. MI

 

[Critterhunter]

For silver I just rub baking soda with a little water between my fingers. Works great. If there is still heavy black spots that won't come out I use electralysis on my silver. Also use it for copper and bronze coins, but don't use it on nickles.

 

[fongu]

I soaked my 1911 V nickel in worcestershire sauce and it's pitted real bad. So are my 1937 and 1938 buffalo head indian nickel. I just use soap and water now, but would like to find some information about using electrolysis to clean coins.

 

[Hank68]

Congrats on the find! I use hot sauce to clean my finds.

 

[Steve (TX)]

Nice find!