Does cleaning harm value of Romans?

Case in point: I got a lot of 26 uncleaned coins for 12 dollars... So like 35 cents a piece.

I'm not trying to make big bucks, but in the (absurdly unlikely event) that I find one that is worth a bunch, would cleaning decrease the value (like it does with American coins)?

 

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JA or another more qualified member can correct me if I am wrong.
All Ancients require cleaning when the come out of the ground. If you clean them gently with a nylon brush and distilled water/Olive oil, then all should be well.
Now if you harshly clean them down to the bare metal then I can see the value dropping considerably.

 

Got it - thanks! I've tossed these in a bowl of distilled water and am hoping to see the dirt dissolve away, revealing never-before seen rare coins worth millions...

 

Good luck!

 

Merci beaucoup! I'll definitely be frequenting the Ancient Coins forum for a while to try to determine what in the heck I have

 

Patience is your best friend with uncleaned coins, just keep on soaking and scrubbing and you should be okay!

 

There's a quote from Finding Nemo - "Just keep swimming swimming swimming..." But here it's more just "just keep scrubbing soaking scrubbing soaking..."

 

Here is a good website that may help you.
http://www.dirtyoldcoins.com
I should warn you though, some coins may turn out to be slick culls.

 

Thanks a bunch! Out of the 26, only 2 have details that I can see. One of them has Romulus and Remus (I would imagine) on the back, with some guy on front. The other one has some guy on front.

With any luck, the slick culls I end up with will be shining silver (ha...).

I guess I'll have to try to peddle my culls to somebody who wants scrap metal

 

Please post some pics when you have the time.
I'll take the culls off your hand!

 

Ah, their history is interesting. Maybe you can identify a few. As far as whether cleaning hurts the value of Romans, no more than it hurts the value of Greeks.

 

Definitely! I'm letting these get a good soak overnight and will post whatever (somewhat) identifiable ones I can find tomorrow!

 

I think the solution to the Greek problem is for Italy to take them over (again). Although then Italy goes broke as well. Hm. Maybe the EU should put Greece on eBay and see who wants it

 

As MM said, donot clean harshly. You may get tempted when the crude seems impossible to remove, but be patient.

The likelyhood of anything worth much more than $2-$5 is extremely low. I tried this approach a few years ago. It wasn't worth the 35 cents. Better to take the $12 and buy a coin you like and can identify. My two cents worth.

 

I'd buy it just for the dolma, I love Greek food! But if the food doesn't come with it, fuhgeddaboudit.

 

I figured as much. Sort of a waste of money, but at least it gives me something to do this hot, boring summer...

 

But it for the temples and statues. Sell those to the highest bidder and let the sea reclaim the land

 

Cleaning them will be good for you, like eating spinach!

 

I yam what I yam...

 

Good luck. Post what you find here regardless of condition.