Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
CEDAR KEY, Fla. (WCJB) -Among piles of dirt and debris also lie human bones from the past that were recently excavated as they were trying to renovate a pool.
After hurricane Helene, a sea wall that held up a pool for an 1800s property on 2nd street was damaged. This month, excavation began to repair the pool, until the property manager stumbled upon pieces of a human skull.
“I was just walking over the side just picking up some things in the dirt, seashells and things, and thought I had stumbled upon what looked like a piece of a broken coconut. But it obviously wasn’t a coconut; we don’t have coconuts here. So, anyway, then the bones were discovered later, long bones, and larger pieces of bones, so we knew it obviously wasn’t clam shells or coconuts,” says the property manager, Tom Ezell.
Archaeologists investigate human remains found at historic Cedar Key home
Thanks to DJ for that link.
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Over the years, how I clean coins has changed. I've learned some lessons and changed how I do things.
Below is a quick summary of the methods I've used along with a few notes.
1. Tumbling coins.
When I began metal detecting I found a lot of clad coins. I already had a rock tumbler that was used for rocks, so I used it to clean coins.
I just threw piles of coins in the tumbler with a cleaning agent. I did that until one day discovered I made a big mistake. A nice old (1715 Fleet) religious medallion got tumbled with the coins. The medallion was so encrusted that it looked like a coin until it was cleaned enigh to tell what it was and by that time some damage was done to the object. That taught me two lessons.
First, try to tell what you have before deciding on a cleaning method.
And second, monitor the cleaning process periodically so you can see what is going on and prevent any damage before it goes too far.
Tumbling is OK for coins have no particular collector value. Many coins can be done fairly quickly.
2. Electrolysis.
I purchased a electrolysis kit and did some electrolysis.
Electrolysis works but each coin is treated individually so it can be slow if you want to do many coins.
I relearned the same lesson I learned when tumbling coins. Coins can be damaged if the process isn't monitored. Too much material can be removed. I discovered that on a buffalo nickel when I was testing electrolysis.
3. Exchanging coins in machines.
You can put dirty coins that are not too damaged or corroded in vending machines, push the return button and receive better coins in return. I actually asked a vending operator if he cared about that and he said it didn't matter to him.
Now instead of exchanging coins in vending machines, I use dirty dug coins to pay for products where they have the self-checkout machines such as Wal-Mart or Winn Dixie..
4. Muriatic acid.
Muriatic acid will work on many coins. It will not damage silver or copper coins, however acid requires that you store and use it carefully and safely, is fairly expensive and is not available in many locations.
I've given the specific procedure before and will update it in a follow-up to this post.
5. White vinegar.
I use white vinegar a lot these days. It is used very much like muriatic acid, but can be slower in some cases. It is inexpensive, safer than muriatic acid and easy to purchase and safely store.
6. Professional cleaning.
I seldom use this method, but it is a good choice when you have a very fine or valuable coin. There are companies that will professionally clean and conserve coins for you. West Bay Trading Company is one of those. Some of the salvage companies will clean coins for you for a reasonable price.
Try to get some idea of what you have before selecting a cleaning process. That may require physically but carefully removing some crust or dirt before starting one of the above methods.
The type of coin as well as the type and amount of cleaning that needs to be done will determine which procedure will be best. The type of dirt, encrustation or corrosion is a consideration. I've seen some encrustations that were impervious to acid solutions.
I personally prefer to underclean rather than overclean coins. I don't like dug coins to look as shiny new as when they were first minted. If you stop early, you can always restart the process, but if you overclean a coin, you can't reverse the process. Start with the safest process first and change later if you need to.
I will get into more specific procedures in the future.
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| Clip from Stuart Rocks Beach Cam . |