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British Coin In Back Yard


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Something else that might work is heat.  Here's a suggestion:  Put the jar in a pan with water and heat the pan slowly to a boil.  (Don't boil the water first and then lower the jar into it since the fast heating of the glass jar could break it.)

Goal is to soften the grease enough to remove the coins.  More heat than needed to do that *could* discolor the coins.  Probably not, but no use taking a chance.  These are probably old coins meaning possible collector value if key or semi-key date+mintmark.

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On 9/27/2020 at 3:02 PM, GB_Amateur said:

Something else that might work is heat.  Here's a suggestion:  Put the jar in a pan with water and heat the pan slowly to a boil.  (Don't boil the water first and then lower the jar into it since the fast heating of the glass jar could break it.)

Goal is to soften the grease enough to remove the coins.

GB_Amateur,

I took that idea and tried it outside, BIG MISTAKE, come to find out it was whale oil.

That stuff has the whole neighborhood still stinking, and I hope that we will be able to someday use the barbecue grill again. I was using the side burner on the lowest setting to soften everything to remove the coins when the smell overcame us. Grandmother went into the house and to the bathroom to remove her lunch the same direction it went down, my wife could not make it into the house and barely made it to the yard. I finally removed the jar from the burner and sat it down near the back fence about 200 feet from the house. Our neighbor called the police thinking that we were making some kind of drugs, and when they arrived they asked for a gas mask and a hazmat team. I only had time to remove a single coin from the jar, before they showed up. I then was trying to clean the coin to show them that there was some type of mistake about why they were called out. Before they were able to get to the jar I had the coin rinsed with water, sprayed with Odoban, and checked the date. I called out to the police and Hazmat team to show them what was in the jar and to keep them from destroying it's history.

Since the oil was now a liquid, I was able to pour it out into another container to seperate the contents from the jar.

The other coins are going to have to be cleaned before I can take a picture, because I am still sick to my stomach, and post.

The whale oil from the jar is over 150 years old and stinks to high heaven, you can have it if you want. I don't know if it would be legal to mail it to you as it could be considered a weapon of mass destruction if inhaled.

The coin itself smells, but not as much as it did before I sprayed it with Odoban, and was very clean looking when removed from it's tomb. I think who ever placed these coins in the jar knew that nobody in their right mind would ever touch the jar after smelling it.

I told grandmother that I would pay the fine for the disturbence of peace that I got from the police, so I hope the coins are worth it.

I think this should be it's own thread so maybe if someone else finds a jar with whale oil in it, don't heat it up like I did.

Caleb

2 cents.jpg

II cent piece.jpg

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  Not to say that your experience was funny Caleb!  But i swear, that has got to be an episode right out of a sitcom!🤣 That is a story to tell forever! And by the way, if the rest of the coin's look like that one, you should be in good shape; at least once you get used to the smell! Could be worse, you could have heated it in the house, on the stove!!😂👍👍

 

**Save a little bottle full for GB!! 🤮😂

 

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Just now, Joe D. said:

Could be worse, you could have heated it in the house, on the stove!!😂🤮👍👍

I knew that it had a bad smell to it and decided to take it outside, if I would have done that to the kitchen grandmother said she would have burned the house down.

I think the oil preserved the coin nicely, but it sure does stink.

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On 9/24/2020 at 11:59 PM, phrunt said:

you've beaten me by a mile by age of British coins, and they were currency in NZ.

One of grandmothers neighbors is 97 years old and told her that her grand parents would send British currency to relatives on a regular basis. She also said that it was common currency before the Civil War here.

Thought you would like to know.

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8 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

GB_Amateur,

I took that idea and tried it outside, BIG MISTAKE, come to find out it was whale oil.

Oops.  Never even seen (let along smelled) whale oil.  Sorry that I led you down this path.  The good news is that you've got a story that will be told for generations.  Someday you'll look back and laugh (but not when your wife is within hearing distance!).  The ICMJ Prospecting and Mining Journal has a monthly column of humorous & embarrassing stories submitted by readers.  If yours was about prospecting it would be the best one ever.  It's surely in the running for best story ever posted to this forum.  (That probably doesn't make you feel better.)

Is it too early to look on the bright side?  The condition of that 2-cent piece is amazing.  Hopefully the oil isn't absorbed deeply into it.  And this was the only coin you've cleaned so far?  Or was it the only coin in the jar, period?

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Now that's a whale of a story! 😂 sorry  couldn't help it, but really that is a real keeper of a story thanks for sharing and i hope you keep finding awesome coins!

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Hey Caleb,

You hit 100 today! Congrats!🥉 And i hit 1000 today!🎖 That's today's treasure!👍👍

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Fantastic condition on that 2 cent piece, is that small moto? Think the large moto have a heavier font weight. But I don't have any reference on them.

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