Really old, yet new

[SteveW]

As an introduction, I've gathered coins over the years, as did my father. Now I'm retired, time to organise them. That's generating questions, and showing up some surprises....

• I found half a sixpence  - literally, just the reverse - 1960. No signs of cutting or forcing, rim is still sound, looks like a planchet delamination
• Farthings - I've got those organised - one binder with the "best" of each year I have, another with all the others - about 80 and 110 respectively. Most interesting to my untrained eye is an 1860 toothed/beaded border
• Grading is a real mystery - the book on grading above has a multi-month delivery - need to find one
• Cleaning - interesting discussion - I have some sticky coins (old PVC holders I presume) - de-natured alcohol has worked well (for the coins and me - mine's single malt)
• I have two 1953 farthing - crown cased sets - one shows tarnish on the copper, the other has a piece of "tarnish reducing paper" in it - that didn't work, they are all bad - anything to do? Thinking acetone....
• On the other hand, the 1970 proofs in a rigid plastic case are gorgeous still!

Any thoughts and/or advice welcome... I'm still exploring this forum - lot's of good info there. Once I see where to post, I'll get some questions and photo's up

As background, I was born in England, live in Massachusetts, and I just entered my ninth decade of life - a good opportunity to get into coins!

SteveW

 

[Paddy]

Welcome to the forum @SteveW. 

It sounds as if you have an interesting collection already. I am sure we would like to see your sixpence and the 1860 farthing - both sound interesting.

Cleaning is always a hot topic here. Alcohol is good for cleaning off sticky tape and seems to do no other damage. Getting rid of unsightly tarnish is much more difficult. Ammonia will do it, but leaves the coin looking pale and flat. Left too long it will result in pitting and serious damage. In the US there is a product designed for clearing Verdigris - I think called Verdicare. It is not available here in the UK I think, so I have never tried it and can't vouch for it, but it might be worth trying it out on one of your "also ran" farthings first.

The penny collectors on this forum are probably the most serious and experienced in the world. The other UK coppers/bronzes are also well supported, so you should get plenty of help.

 

 

[VickySilver]

Weigh the 6d please. 

[SteveW]

Hi,

The 1956 weighs 1.1gm, a regular 1957 is 2.8gm

The rim height is 0.020" for the 1956, the 1957 is 0.057"  (I haven't used a micrometer for years - hope that's right)

Trying to get a good picture of the surface.

Thanks for your interest...

SteveW

[SteveW]

This is more of the obverse - the hills and vales are about where the date is

[Peckris 2]

Welcome to the forums  Steve

In my opinion the 6d has been machined sometime AFTER issue from the Mint. The difference in weight and thickness shows it's not a regular planchet, and a trial such as you suppose would be the same width and weight as a regular specimen.

It would be good to see pictures of the obverse and reverse of the 1860 fathing. It might indeed be a toothed/beaded mule but do be aware that the toothed border can and often is, mistaken for beaded.

[SteveW]

Here are two photos (need to set microscope uo to lower resolution...)

Appreciate any comments....

[Peckris 2]

thank you - I'm pretty sure that's toothed both sides; but it's very easy to see the reverse teeth as beads and they are very different to the obverse teeth.

[Rob]

The sixpence could easily be a split flan with the other half missing - as per this threepence.

[SteveW]

That looks just like my sixpence! So, a novelty, an error, or worth half of sixpence? 😊

[Peckris 2]

7 hours ago, SteveW said:

That looks just like my sixpence! So, a novelty, an error, or worth half of sixpence? 😊

Unfortunately, missing the obverse I would say it's "only" of interest as a curio - but worth keeping!

[SilverAge3]

As for the tarnish reducing paper topic, i'm not sure what exactly that is, but something i've read about and considered is getting thin copper sheets to place with copper/bronze coins, have it act as a magnet for tarnish. If it starts to turn, you apparently scrub it well to re-expose the copper. Some people use copper foil, but it's less resilient to scrubbing,do would often need replaced.  The paper you had may have been imbued with copper, but long-since spent, served its purpose for a short time.

Regarding cleaning, don't use ammonia on copper, bronze, or even lower purity silver.  Or so I've been told.  Acetone will work on organic matter, but not likely to affect verdigris, tarnish.

Very neat potential split flan.

You might consider buying the ebook version of the grading book, if you're comfortable reading digital books.

Edited March 25, 2024 by SilverAge3

[SteveW]

Thanks for the comments and info you shared - I'm sure Ill have more questions as I continue to sort out and learn more....