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Detector finds and “I dug this”: dirt is not a grade
Dug coins can be real and still ugly. Corrosion is not toning. A shop will bid what is left, not the YouTube thumbnail of a better one.
We like detector people. They bring interesting junk. They also bring ground-up coins and a printout.
What digging does
Pitting. Bronze disease. Bent silver. Partial dates. That is environmental damage, not a secret mint error. Details grades. Error hype.
What not to do
Do not foil-wrap, boil, or electrolysis your way to “better.” You will make a details coin into a no. Don’t clean.
What we bid
Gold and silver on melt if that is all that is left. A true rarity with original enough surfaces gets a real look. A bag of dug wheats is a bag of wheats. Penny jars.
Tell us it was dug. That honesty helps. We can see it anyway.
Part of the coin shop counter wiki · visitors & collectors · NumisQ Learn
Extra pad history for detector finds
Detector people have always brought the ground into shops. Civil War buttons, pull tabs, wheat cents with the date eaten, a bent Mercury dime. The ground is not a mint. Pitting, bronze disease, partial dates, and bent silver are environmental damage. They are not a secret planchet error. Error hype loves a dug coin because the damage looks “different.”
Gold in the ground is still gold. A dug $5 or a thin wedding band is metal plus a story. The story does not add weight. A bag of dug wheats is a bag of wheats.
What the shop does with dirt on the pad
Tell us it was dug. We can see it anyway. Honesty just speeds the conversation. We bid gold and silver on melt if that is all that is left. A true rarity with original enough surfaces gets a real look. We do not pay mint-state numbers for a coin that lived in wet clay.
Do not foil-wrap, boil, or electrolysis your way to “better.” You will make a details coin into a no. Don’t clean. Leave crust on if you must. We would rather see original dirt than a bright, ruined surface. Sort clad from silver at home if you can. War nickels 1942–45 are 35% silver. 1964 and earlier dimes and quarters are 90%. Kennedys 1965–70 are 40%. Clad after that is face.
People also ask
Will a shop buy dug gold? Yes, as gold, after a test. The hole in the ground is not a grade.
Is a partial-date buffalo rare? Usually it is just worn. Date-gone buffalos are common.
Should I dip dug silver? No. Bring it as it is.
Are detector wheat pennies worth picking? Only if you like picking. Most are still wheats.