hello guys i have a new silver coin (tetradrachm?) and i cant find exactly details about it maybe you can help me to identify and tell me if the coin is authentic:thumb: a price maybe [SUP]Ptolemy II ??? [/SUP]
OP, your reverse, (top pick), needs to be rotated counterclockwise about 1/8th of a turn. That would orientate the reverse better for everyone. I agree the obverse looks like Ptolemy.
I disagree. Do you know how to clean silver? If so, then yes I believe a cleaning will help you identify the coin better. We are free to clean our coins all we want for ancients.
Am I the only one who feels irked when modern collectors bust into ancient-related threads and complain about how we clean our coins?
It doesn't bother me. We all needed a little education about Ancients when we got into them. Heck, I would need a lot of education for modern coins.
I just disagree and brag about how many coins I have cleaned. I don't get too mad, since more modern coins have been ruined by "cleaning" than probably any other method. So I just let them repeat their "do not clean" mantra. I clean modern coins too, but know how. Op, if you wish to try to clean it, get some coin dip and distilled water. Mix 1 part dip and 4 parts water and put the coin in there a few seconds, take out, put in distilled water. After a soak in the water take it out and pat dry with a soft cloth. If that didn't do it, try it with higher concentrations of dip to water ratios. If you prefer, you can do this on modern coins first to learn how to do it and not "practice" on this coin. Go to a coin shop and find a really toned piece of junk silver to practice on. Oh, and don't tell any modern collectors what you are doing, they will get upset. Btw OP, I don't really consider the toning on this that bad. You may wish to leave it alone anyway. Its mottled right now, but over time it should even out. Put it in a manila envelope for storage if you want to speed it up.
Be careful. I would never use a metal cleaner like brasso. Coin dip will not scratch the surfaces, so that should be preferred.
i used this technique before on ancient silver coins and works this is the reason for use again this metal cleaner from Amway
One of the reasons we say not to clean coins is that too many people will get out the Brasso and steel wool rather than something that might help. I don't know enough about Ptolemaic silver to help with the ID but I prefer such coins toned an will probably like this better in 50 years. Is the softness from the photo or should someone question authenticity? I'm suspecting the photo. Which Ptolemies used the type with no devices or letters in the fields? I'll guess Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205/4-180 BC) but that is just a guess. I don't know them at all well.
Svoronos 1489 EGYPT, Ptolemy VI. 180-145 BC. AR Tetradrachm. http://wildwinds.com/coins/greece/egypt/ptolemy_VI/i.html i'm right ??
As do I Raymond. To be fair to Bill and I, until a couple of days ago there were few ancient collectors active here. We constantly were berated to "never clean coins" from modern collectors, even on our own threads.