A bit more cleaning and we have aXF

PHRYGIA, Laodicea Hadrian Ae 20 Zeus standing
Reference.
RPC 3, 2325; BMC 197

Obv. ΑΥ ΚΑ(Ι) ΤΡ(Α) ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟС
Laureate and cuirassed bust of Hadrian, r., with paludamentum, seen from front.

Rev. ΛΑΟΔΙΚΕΩΝ
Zeus standing facing, head l., holding Nike on his extended r. hand, l. resting on sceptre; at his feet, eagle standing on altar

6.90 gr
20 mm

 

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Very nice Oki!
That should clean up nice.

 

Good luck, reverse looks cool.

 

I agree...I think it will look fantastic with a little light cleaning!!!

LOVE the reverse ALREADY!!!

 

Very nice Oki

 

If there were a skill I'd like to develop it would be the ability to look at a coin like that and tell if it would clean up using my skills or lack thereof. There are parts that look EF and parts covered in such a way that I can't say whether I would like to see them bare or not. Good luck.

 

I've never cleaned a coin. I was thinking of getting a cheap uncleaned lot just to practice on sometime. Any tips on how not to overclean?

Oh, and yes, this looks like it might turn out nice. Tons of detail in the areas that are visible. I suppose it will depend on the condition of the surfaces under the deposits.

 

Very nice job and coin. Any tips on how to restore a coin like that? I have a few very old coins that I would like to try cleaning.

 

You know, even if you do no further cleaning it's a beautiful coin. Good luck.

 

I hate to be a 'downer' but it wont be better with cleaning. One can see that there are significant pits and areas of corrosion that will only be highlighted by cleaning. In my opinion, leave it be. I really like the earthen highlights (which will only be lost with cleaning).

 

I have to agree with Ken, but I'd still be tempted to soak it a while and lightly rub it dry with a soft cloth and see how it progresses...or not.

 

I do not think this coin will respond well to cleaning.
The key here is the dirt. It is yellow/orange in colour and gives big clues as to what the surface of the coin is like.





I have tries to mark using paint the areas of interest and my observations.
The areas circled using white are very nice and the detail quite sharp. Look closely though and the porosity of the coins surface can be seen. The area in front of the head of zeus shows pitting. The surface of the coin is in fact quite unstable.
on the reverse , dirt sits in the exergue. because the rest of the exergue is good and the surface not pitted , I would expect this small clump of dirt to lift with a scalpel under magnification (this is my gut feeling, but you never really know whats under the dirt until you lift it). The same goes for the letter O and the area of the bust behind the head/close to the ties of the diadem. I have marked the areas in red as the only ones I would attempt to remove dirt from. That is all I would do, but no more.
The rest of the dirt sits within holes in the coins surface. Remove that and you are left with more obvious holes. A clear example of this is the area circled yellow, note the hole with the dirt still present on the lower half and the dirt removed from the top half revealing the blemish. The area in green is a line of corrosion which dirt is sat in...remove this and you will be left with a long pit similar to that in the lower half of the blue area on the obverse.
The areas marked in blue are very rough and this is not dirt, but the pitting and scars in the coins surface.
Its a nice coin....a shame the emperors face isnt clearer, but it has lots going for it. It reminds me of a coin I own which has similar issues. It looked better before I cleaned it, but I couldnt have known before ...so lesson learnt there.
Here is the coins reverse which reminds me of yours....

sharp detail one half and pitting on the other.

 

The coin reminds me of my recently shown Volusian from Alexandria. I could not ask for a better face and top legend but there is a lot of obviously ruined areas so the question is whether it is worth trying to remove some of the cover to reveal a little more good at the price of uncovering even more ugliness. How do you grade a coin that varies from poor to VF all on one side? You don't; just love it or leave it.

 

i LOVE the reverse oki, very cool! i think i would leave it as well.

then this thought occurred to me.

does it seem weird to anyone else that if we leave a dirt on a coin to cover up flaws its ok, but if we put dirt on a coin to cover up flaws it isn't?


i couldn't answer myself really.

 

Paradoxical

 

+1 for leave it, because cleaning scares me. You have an attractive coin right now, you may have an even more attractive under the dirt, or a lump of bronze heartache.

 

I would leave this one . This type of concretion is very difficult to remove mechanically. Chemically it may happen, but at a greater cost to the good parts too.

 

Thank you very much, i understand what you are saying.
For me is important to make hadrian his face better seen and a bit cleaner here and there if possible you marked it red.
Rest i,ll leave, thinking to let it do by expert, first i try what mikey said

 

I don't think you will be able to make Hadrian's lower face more clear. There is (relatively) raised metal to the right of his chin and you won't be able to make that go away (circled in red). The part circled in yellow is recessed. You could try to gently clean the dirt from the part in yellow but doing so isn't going to definite the features of his lower face.



It's a nice enough coin; I'd leave it alone because further cleaning probably won't make you any happier with it.

 

Thx TIF,

I will not touch the metal, just the "dirt"
Under microscope