Advice cleaning a 1860 Penny found in paddock in Australia

[Phil S]

Hi, I'm looking for advice on cleaning this coin.  I found it a couple of years ago in a paddock in Victoria Australia, covered in dirt.  I took it home to Melbourne and soaked it in a glass of water and scrubbed it with a toothbrush, getting enough dirt off to read VICTORIA and see it wasn't in very good condition.  Since the rest of the dirt wasn't coming off easily, I put it in a drawer and forgot it.

I came across it yesterday tidying up the drawer, and out of curiousity scratched away at the dirt with a fingernail enough to uncover the date - 1860.  "That's old" I thought, so I did a google search and discovered there are a lot of varieties of 1860 pennies, and this site.

Looking at the coin, the way the dirt came away from the edges suggests its a beaded edge.  I'd like to work out what variety the coin is, but first I need to get the dirt off properly.  It's very fine dirt (silt?) and seems almost baked on.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks Phil

[1949threepence]

27 minutes ago, copper123 said:

beaded border

On the reverse, definitely. But the obverse? may be toothed, which would make it a mule, and very rare.

Phil needs better advice than I can give for cleaning it.

 

[jelida]

Beaded both sides I reckon. Clean Britannia's shield and left of lighthouse, cotton bud and water; will tell us all we need to know.

Jerry

[Phil S]

Thanks for the replies (sorry if this post should be in beginners).  I had a go with the cotton buds and water.  Unfortunately for me, the reverse is in worse condition than what I could see of the obverse. If I didn't know it was a penny I'm not sure I could even read penny on the coin  However, it's definitely beaded both sides. Its only possible to make out the lighthouse in the right light and when you know its there, and the ship can't be made out at all.  Its a shame the middle prong of the trident isn't one of the distinguishing features I guess I'll never know the actual variety of the coin or its rarity, but its been fun finding something from half way around the world and 150 years old and learning about it.  Here's a couple more photos for anyone curious. Cheers Phil

[ozjohn]

Interesting find. Looking at what you can see of the coin it was not new when it was buried/lost. Speculating on the wear it may have been lost in the early part of the 20th C. Nevertheless it represents the part of the history of coins in Australia and assuming it is not a rare coin would be of interest to a local history museum.

 

Edited February 17, 2017 by ozjohn
porly justified

[jelida]

Looks to me like three incuse lines delineate the crosses on the shield rather than two raised, so its a Freeman 6, which is also the commonest beaded 1860 by a considerable margin, so not a surprise.

Jerry