black coins

[deadhead]

Im sure this has probably been asked before:
Im finding quarters and nickels in my yard-the nickels arent so bad-but the quarters are either black or rusted.Does that mean the plating is worn/coroded off? I have seen many cleaning instructions-but are these rusted coins a loss as far as cleaning?

also-what year were silver quarters made?

Yes-newbie questions

[JCWhite]

The last year for silver in quarters is 1964. So if you find ones from before that they have silver in them. The black color is just a discoloration from the dirt and is kinda hard to get off. When it is a clad coin many folks will use a tumbler and just do the silver colored coins and it works fairly well. If you find a silver quarter it will usually not have that black discoloration. I have never found a silver coin yet when hunt with my metal detector so I might not be the best to answer this question.

[turnerscc]

Silver will come out of the ground in about the same way it went in

Dirt can easily be wiped off of them.



Clad, I use a tumbler with Dawn Dish Soap and Water, and let it tumble over night

[portraitartist]

Right you all are... in some cases, silver coins under water will turn black - this is most easily removed by electrolysis...