Guess the crusty coin, and their Journey to "Clean"

Just recieved these 2 iconic ancient coins, but they are really crusty.

First step... Can you recognize them? I bet most here can easily find a couple elements to make that easy.




These are my BEFORE photos showing their starting place, and I plan on regularly updating this thread with posts of their progress towards cleanliness. Hopefully I'll be able to dedicate some ample time during the holiday season.

Here's their current stats:
#1: 27.5mm, 8.4g
#2: 29mm, 12.2g

To be continued...

 

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Ooooh, I think that Agrippa might turn out to be pretty nice! The Caligula is going to be tough. In my limited cleaning experience, the red deposits are much harder to remove without damaging the coin.

 

Any suggestions???

 

#1 Sure looks like Agrippa to me. And is #2 Augustus with the Vesta reverse?
They look like they are hiding some real gems under the crud. Where did you score these from anywhoob?
EDIT: Doh! Got #2 wrong. TIF isn't just good. She is FAST and good

 

I'd start with the basics-- a distilled water soak and gentle scrub, although it looks like the dirt is long gone.

After that, I'd soak in acetone.

Next, I'd do another solvent such as mineral spirits.

Those two steps are in case someone put wax or other coating on there, or in cast some of the crust was glued on.

After that, that hard part begins. A stereo microscope and proper cleaning tools would be a big help. It would be tempting to try a brief ammonia soak-- maybe even a brief vinegar soak (you'd need to neutralize afterwards).

 

Sounds like a nice project @Justin Lee - I agree on the comment about red/pink encrustrations being tough to remove. I had an Arcadius AE2 with pink encrustrations and I went after them with such gusto that I snapped the coin in half. Curious to know about what cleaning methods you will use. In these serious cases the toothbrush and distilled water technique will only go so far, so you may have to resort to chemicals or get a dremel and sand off the crud.

 

I see that @TIF beat me on my comment, oh well.

 

I'm not sure...but I'm hoping to learn from your cleaning experience

 

There are two parts to cleaning. One is removing the stuff and the second is living with what is underneath. My experience suggests red usually disappoints on both counts. The Agrippa has a better chance on #1.

Question: These two coins each have a huge SC split across the field. One has a seated figure between while the other has standing. Can you name any other commonly seen coins with the huge SC flanking a figure that you might have confused these with?

 

Looks like an exciting project, though I fear that the "red" of coin #2 is actually exposed metal (coppery leached/degraded crystallized bronze or something like that), and won't be improved by removal. Coin #1 looks promising, but the mineral deposits appear to be something I'd only know how to tackle with acids, which is very risky even if monitored closely and applied with q-tips. I'm curious to see what you come out with, good luck!

 

Thanks, everyone for the comments, interest, and support!

Quick update... After about an hour of examination, initial brushing, and manual "agitation" with picks, etc here's where we sit now.




Lots of progress on the Agrippa obverse (softer deposits)! And some noticeable progress on the other 3 sides, nonetheless. Now they are tucked in to sleep in some DW for a couple days.

 

This is exciting! I think you're going to end up with some decent coins-- even the Caligula!

 

Wow! That is quite the change already!

 

since the patina is shot, you could finish quickly by using a mini-mite with a brass cup brush.

 

As a fan of Augustus AE coinage, lots of the DIVI coins have a large SC flanking other central elements.




And this Tiberius

 

Is that like a dremel tool and bit?

 

Hmm, yeah... looking at the Agrippa image enlarged-- what are you brushing it with, Justin? It's taking off too much.

 

It's a brass Andre crayon thin scrapper.

 

I may be wrong but I think you're supposed to press and crush the deposits with that tool, and then brush the resulting debris away with a paintbrush or other soft brush or with a squirt of water.

 

Here's a photo of the tools I've got.

Oh, I hadn't heard that before now. I thought it had the flat edge for a bit of scraping.