Hello all. I have an Augustus coin that I would like a quick opinion on. Firstly, does it look original and secondly is it permitted to clean a brass type coin or will it lose value. There is a black something on the S.C side. Thanks Ken
That black spot looks to be mineral deposit. It can be cleaned with some difficuty, but you probably will not like what is left underneath. The coin looks legit. They are nice small coins. One of my first Roman coins was of this type. AUGUSTUS AE Quadran OBVERSE: SISENNA MESSALLA IIIVIR, altar REVERSE: APRONIVS GALLVS AAAFF around SC Rome 5 BC , Moneyers Apronius, Galus, Messalla, and Sisena 3.0g, 17mm RIC 463 or 200 in Old RIC
I suggest that you don't try to clean this coin. It has a very nice brown patina. The dark spot seems to be a flan flaw. Nice coin!
I will definitely leave the coin alone after hearing from the two of you. I certainly don't know enough to attempt it anyhow. Thanks, Ken
I would never clean the coin in the OP. It looks fine just as it is. Remember, the coin IS MADE OF the oxidized medal. If you take that away, a lot of the coin will be lost.
