uncleaned coins - before and after

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.

 

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Those cleaned up pretty nicely. I really like how that Vespasian turned out. A lot more detail.

 

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

 

Out of curiosity, what did you use to clean these coins?

 

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.

 

When I use lye I often get those pinkish colors. Does the same happen with vinegar?

 

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.

 

Very nice clean-up job. You must have the patience of Job.

 

You did an excellent job on these. What is your basic process?

 

Just imagine one day our coins of today can finally be cleaned for profit, wow!

 

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