Hello , I would like to share with you the coins(around 10) that I cleaned in the last period. Please post your cleaned coins ! by chance I bought one uncleaned Spes from each Falvian emperor, I will keep all three together like a family Vespasian AE As. 76 AD. RIC 894 IMP CAESAR VESP AVG COS VII, laureate head right / S-C, Spes standing left, holding flower and raising hem of skirt. Titus AE As. Lyons mint, 77-78 AD. RIC 1273[vesp] T CAES IMP AVG F TR P COS VI CENSOR, laureate head right / S-C, Spes walking left holding flower and hem of skirt. Domitian, As RIC ? CAESAR AVG F DOMITIANVS COS ?, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right / S-C, Spes advancing left, holding flower & raising skirt.
Agreed, I too think the Vespasian had the biggest change. It's fun to uncover what's hiding underneath especially with earlier bronze. Here are some of my early empire cleaning transformations: Before - After - Before and progressive - After - Before, Intermediate, After -
a rare type Vespasian , sestertius , RIC 987 IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS VIII Head of Vespasian, laureate, right/ ANNONA AVGVST S C Annona seated left, holding sack of corn-ears
similar to RIC 314[titus] but with a different legend Domitian as Caesar AE As.. RIC ? CAES DIVI AVG VESP F DOMITIANVS COS VII, laureate head right / S-C, Minerva standing left, holding thunderbolt and spear, shield at side.
I used regular water , a plastic brush , bamboo sticks or/and a metal scalpel , wax at the end. Only on the Vespasian(Spes) coin I used vinegar to soften the first hard encrusted layer, difficult to remove even with the metal scalpel.
Awesome idea for a thread. I'll post some of my "gems" here soon! Glad to see that you're fighting the good fight
depends of the coin , checked at short intervals(one-two hours) everything will be fine, for sure even in vinegar if you keep a coin for two-three days will turn ''pinkie'' as you said.
Awesome post. I owe you a Thank You as it reminded me that I had purchased a 30 coin lot from Croatia that I had soaking in olive oil for over a year and forgot about! Mostly looked to be all variations of late Roman bronzes of Constantin's era. The very few that I could read but most were very heavily encrusted. I'll post some pics once I find them and start the cleaning process.
@singig mehn call me crazy but I would of left your two to their original glory, especially the first one!
Thanks for your opinion Co1ns , I also keep the majority of my coins in their ‘’original glory’’ as you said , but when no details are visible (like Vespasian As, Spes) especially the emperor portrait , sorry I see no reason to keep it that way.
I have seen on ebay many sellers from Croatia or Serbia selling large lots of unclean coins, especially small follis in decent quality. I'm waiting for your pictures.
Faustina I AE As. RIC 1165 DIVA FAVSTINA, diademed and draped bust right / AETERNITAS S-C, Aeternitas standing front, head left, holding flower and sceptre
Trajan AE as. RIC 588 IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC PM TRP COS V Laureate head right, drapery on far shoulder / SPQR OPTIMO PRINCIPI SC, three standards.
I tried to stop the bronze disease here, so far it looks good Agrippa, Æ As. Agrippa. Struck under Caligula, 37-41 AD. RIC 58 [Caligula] M AGRIPPA L F COS III, head left wearing rostral crown / S-C, Neptune standing facing, head left, naked except for cloak draped behind him & over both arms, holding small dolphin in right hand & vertical trident in left