Featured Lot of 91 uncleaned large bronze coins - before and after

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by singig, Jun 25, 2020.

  1. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    Some months ago I bought a lot of 91 uncleaned large roman bronze coins.
    I paid 230$ shipping included (around 2.5 $ for a coin) , but :( , as you will see from the photos , many of the coins are extremely corroded (bronze disease) or very worn. Even with this I took the risk , hoping to find at least one valuable coin which will justify my investment.

    I'm not sure that all of the coins are coming from the same hoard/find (the majority for sure) , many of them are sertertius , around 12 ases and one dupondius , Claudius(41 AD) to Severus Alexander (235 AD) , till now. I'm sure that they are part of a larger hoard and the person who found all this has well selected and kept the best coins.

    I cleaned around 30 coins , but unfortunately only 16 are in decent grade and can be posted here. In the next days I will try to post photos(before and after) with them.

    These are the seller photos , they always put the best coins visible on top :)
    1 - Copy .jpg
    2 - Copy .jpg
    3 - Copy .jpg

    I will continue to clean up more coins in the coming months, I hope to have time,..and post them here. From the 61 coins left uncleaned , I selected only 24 with some potential , all are completely covered no details can be seen(photos both sides). The others 37 left are highly corroded or to worn.
    to clean.jpg to clean2.jpg
     
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  3. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    At looks like there some good ones in there, but a lot of slugs as well. Kind of par for the course. At least they are earlier Imperials though rather than Constantine and later bronze coins. Good luck with them!
     
    rrdenarius, lordmarcovan and singig like this.
  4. paschka

    paschka Well-Known Member

    In my opinion, buying such heaps of coins is not the best idea. It is better to choose the coins that you like on the markets in the countries of the Mediterranean coast. But not in Turkey.
     
  5. CoinDoctorYT

    CoinDoctorYT Well-Known Member

    not true. premium uncleaned lots can be the way to go to make money.
     
    singig likes this.
  6. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Very true! Though, you used to be able to find "diamonds in the rough", most agree that buying lots like these means you are buying coins that have been picked over several times over.
    But, if you can get them cheap enough, it is a fun way to start the hobby:)
     
  7. paschka

    paschka Well-Known Member

    If the seller himself did not select the best coins from this "not peeled" heap before selling it to you. If the seller is decent and you are sure of it, then you are right. And if not, then you will receive 90% of forever damaged coins for your dollars.
     
    svessien, Alegandron, DonnaML and 2 others like this.
  8. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    I took the risk , I knew well what I was buying.
    Yes , for sure they picked the best(visible) coins before , but no one can select coins that are completely covered with encrusted residues.
    I will see at the end(still have 24 to clean) if I lost or gained anything :)

    The coins are form France , Atlantic coast. I have seen already in the past, bronze coins found in this region have corrosion problems of this type.
     
  9. paschka

    paschka Well-Known Member

    I, it seems, can guess the place where they take them. Most likely from the sea soil.)))
    Or from peat deposits. Judging by the thick layer of corrosion, they lay in the clay of the seabed. Then you really have a chance to find good coins.

    And the seller can sort and select the coins covered by corrosion using X-ray or MRI)))
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2020
    Deacon Ray and DonnaML like this.
  10. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    The best Uncleaned coin I ever uncovered was a provincial Geta, worth around $70 (if it had nicer surfaces).

    I was able to get a lovely Claudius II with near intact silvering too. Unfortunately some over aggressive tool work left him with a Rudolph red nose...

    I wrote a few reviews last month about my experience with buying cheap coins. Mostly, not worth it. I was hard pressed to find any single coin worth the investment, let alone a whole batch of them.
     
  11. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    Severus Alexander, AE Sestertius, Rome, AD 228. RIC IV 477
    IMP SEV ALEXANDER AVG, laureate head right, slight drapery on left shoulder. /
    P M TR P VII COS II P P, Mars or Virtus standing left, right foot on prow, holding spear and parazonium with left, S-C across fields.
    als.jpg als-o.jpg als-r.jpg
     
  12. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    Claudius AE As. RIC 100
    TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR IMP, bare head left /
    S-C across field, Minerva standing right, brandishing spear and holding shield on left arm.
    cl.jpg cl-o.jpg cl-r.jpg
     
  13. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    just a light clean here

    Antoninus Pius AE Sestertius. 156-157 AD. RIC 964
    ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP IMP II, laureate head right /
    TR POT XX COS IIII S-C, Annona standing right, left foot on prow, holding rudder and balancing modius on knee.
    ap1.jpg
     
  14. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    some decent results there. do you think you can make your money back if you sell everything?

    Or, will the ones you sell bring down the average cost-per-coin to a point you are comfortable with? <- probably a better way of asking it
     
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  15. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    The total value of the cleaned coins(till now) is less than 230$ , my opinion, I hope to find some other valuable coins between the 24 left.

    I never sold a coin , I'm just a collector. I have accumulated a lot of low grade coins, at some point I should get rid of them. I only managed to exchange some with other collectors or dealers..
     
  16. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    Antoninus Pius Æ Sestertius. RIC 642a
    ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P COS III, laureate head right /
    TIBERIS S-C, Tiber, crowned with reeds, reclining left, leaning on urn, which pours out water, resting right hand on boat and holding reed.
    ap2.jpg
     
  17. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    light clean , just like the two above

    Vespasian Dupondius, RIC 270
    IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III, radiate head right /
    FORTVNAE REDVCI S-C, Fortuna standing left, holding horizontal branch, rudder on globe and cornucopiae.
    vesp.jpg
     
  18. singig

    singig Well-Known Member

    Antoninus Pius AE Sestertius. 147 AD. RIC 777
    ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P, laureate head right /
    COS IIII around, PAX-AVG and S-C across fields, Pax standing left, setting fire to heap of arms with torch, and holding cornucopiae
    ap4 .jpg ap4-o.jpg
    ap4-r.jpg
     
  19. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    Awesome, what is your method?
     
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  20. CoinDoctorYT

    CoinDoctorYT Well-Known Member

    ya how do you clean them like this?
     
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  21. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    I have been able to remove most if not all of corrosion with lye, but the resultant coin is usually very dull and highly discolored. It takes some patina restoration solution as well as a generous amount of Ren wax to get them up to par.
     
    paschka likes this.
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