found this 1919 "Buffalo " in sand up from a beach area...it was very pitted...did my best to restore some dignity to it... also found this dog tag in

[Magyar]

THANKS FOR LOOKING

 

[Tim in MS]

looks like a good clean up job. Nice find

 

[Magyar]

Thank you, Tim...it was not an easy job to clean up this "Buffalo", but I did my best...hope to find better condition coins in the dirt ...salt water does a terrible injustice to these rare coins...I found an 1876 "Shield" nickel last summer in the ocean floor at low tide...here are pics of it...you can see the damage done to this precious coin...a heart breaker

 

[Hugh Pharted]

what did you use to clean the nickle up with?

 

[Magyar]

Vinegar/salt method...

soaked in vinegar /salt solution for a few minutes at a time (approx. 2 level TBSP. to 1/2-3/4 cup of white vinegar...then gently rinsed and rubbed fingers across coin to remove the brown "encrustation" ( sometimes gently rubbed with Q-tip)..repeated process for as many times as it took to clean it all off....must rinse throughly after every soak..

Have to be very careful with this process because the copper may start to show through; if this happens, then soaking it in green Palmolive liquid soap for a few days will bring the original nickel color back...

Of course, I only use this process for "Buffalos" that are very damaged and worth only a "conversation piece" to me.

 

[liltracs]

What the grond can do to some metals is the part of the hobby that hurts me the most.