How do I clean Roman coins

When I was young and ignorant I purchased a bunch of uncleaned Roman coins, not knowing what to expect. When I received them I didn't really know what to do with them so I just put them away somewhere and forgot about them. A few days ago I found them again and I'd like to clean them up so I can see what I have. I don't know anything about cleaning Roman coins and I am hoping I can get some basic instructions on what substances to use and how to use them.

 

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Here's a very detailed guide on the subject.

 

i would suggest you do not attempt to clean anythings send it to ncs. conservation services..

 

Not with roman coins...

Just do a search for "Cleaning Roman Coins" or follow the link Gao provided.

 

With uncleaned Romans, you have at least 1600 years of dirt attached to a coin that most likely isn't going to be worth that much money at all. It's actually completely normal in ancients collecting to clean such coins, and if you do it correctly, it can add to the value, though rarely enough to make professional cleaning worth it.

 

this i understand but i wouldnt suggest you do it unless you practice it a few times on some similar coins,..

 

Can you post some pics of them?

 

Thanks for the guide. I know that usually people don't recommend cleaning coins but Romans are the exception. I have some that look pretty good and others that you can only tell it's a coin because it's round. I'm sure I don't have anything valuable because I probably bought the cheapest ones I could find. I can post some pictures later tonight.

 

If you have similar coins, how are you ahead? They are of the same value as the one's needing cleaning.

 

we have a saying in lancashire..................."if it's not broken don't fix it"

best leave them alone.

 

There's a forum that focuses on cleaning ancients -

Uncleaned Ancient Coin Discussion

Good luck!

 

There are also good Yahoo newsgroups about the subject. Basically, start with a bath in pure water, not from the tap. THis will loosen the dirt.

 

I find it regrettable that some of use give answers that show now clue as to the nature of ancient coins (Does NCS even touch ancient coins?) especially coins that may be worth less than the minimum fees even if restored to mint state. I find it more regrettable that so many coins are bought and sold to be butchered in attempts to 'improve' them. I guess I should be willing to accept as improved coins that have been roughly cleaned to allow identification but it still hurts to see coins made ugly even if they started uglier. I have opinions. Yours may differ:

1. 95% of all 'uncleaned' ancient coins are not cleanable to a degree that would make them welcome in the even moderately discriminating collections. Fortunately there are a lot of coins found so the 5% will include some winners.

2. There are experts in cleaning but their most important skill is not scraping and boiling but deciding what should be done to any given coin. The diagnosis is more difficult than the actual cleaning that follows. Washing is one thing but what you do after the wash and when you give up and decide the coin is as good as it will get is a real skill I have not developed.

3. Whenever I see examples of coins improved by extreme means (chemical and electronic), I can't help wishing the poor thing had just been allowed to die in peace. There are coins that can be improved by more extreme cleaning but most of what ends up as a good looking coin started as one the site Gao linked above classified as in the first group not even needing the olive oil step.

4. Cleaning the uncleanable is a separate hobby from collecting coins. If you value your time at all you may want to consider buying the coins separated out by the finders as cleanable rather than spending hours working on a $1 lump with the hope of making it a $10 coin. I would be more hopeful of being able to learn to do this if even some of the examples shown 'before and after' were actually good looking coins (to my definition) 'after'.

 

These are some of the better examples of the Romans I have. From what I've been able to read so far, it sounds like the others I have are just junk. Many are just pieces of corroded metal and others are so caked in dirt it probably won't be cleanable. I know these were stupid purchases, but I didn't know any better at the time. I think the one in the middle on the top looks interesting. Although I don't know much of anything about Roman coins, I do know history and to me this guy doesn't look Roman.

 

This site has great reference photos where, with some time, you'll be able to find this coin:

http://www.dirtyoldcoins.com/natto/indexb.htm

 

The top middle one looks like it's already about as clean as it's going to get, assuming that there isn't a bunch of crud on the reverse, and it's pretty good for something to come straight out of an uncleaned batch. Do you want someone here to just tell you the emperor, or do you want us to give you some starting points or hints so that you can figure it out yourself?

 

my only roman coin

i own only one roman coin.. i think i sshowed it earlier one post..

 

What Doug said was true. We have written it many times on threads so forgive me if I don't write it every time. 99% of "uncleaned coins" on Ebay are simply floor sweepings that at least 5 professionals have judged to be unrecoverable. This means all of the good stuff is out of the group, and most of them will not be very improvable. This is why I suggested just water. Most of these coins are about as good as they will get.

If you do happen to get some fresh uncleaned coins somewhere, the sites listed are a place to start. Just stay away from anything harsher than water, olive oil, or the like. Electrolysis just makes ugly coins, and I rarely see a coin that has to have this done, or a decent looking one after it.

 

I wouldn't ask anyone to spend time researching it but if you know what it is by looking at it, please share. I was looking at some of the images on the link another poster provided and I don't think I have the eye to distinguish between them. So many are so similar looking and if the coin is less than top quality, which mine are, then it seems almost impossible to me.

 

Top middle: my guess is Gallienus; to its immediate right is a Constantinople commemorative by Constantine the Great; lower left: Licinius II but all these are just best guesses from poor photos. If you want better ID's we need clearer and both sides. Most are ragged enough that it is unlikely that we will read mintmarks and the ruler is not a certainty for all even if the coins are in hand. On the bottom row is a victory steering emperor in boat which is usually Constans but can be Constantius II and a campgate which will be some member of the Constantine or Licinius families but we need the other side.