Pretty sure I nailed another one just now. Now I only have 5 more to ID. What will I do then?!?! haha. I had a bit of difficulty with the mint mark but I was finally able to figure it out. Not exactly a well designed "RT" if you ask me... Constantine AE Follis. 314-315 AD. IMP CONSTANTINVS PF AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust right / SOLI INVICTO COMITI, Sol standing left, holding globe and raising right hand, R over X in left field, F in right field. Mintmark RT. Shame about his green face. There isn't anything I can do about that, right?
I received this coin from a member here when I was deployed a few years ago. It was in this condition. I got him some military POGs and he sent me some ancients and other fun things. I think he was trying to lure me from modern US coins to the dark side of ancients. It took a few years but it eventually worked haha.
Have you tried it on anything? I know people have had pretty great results on modern stuff. I'm a bit worried about what might be underneath it on these ancients.
I personally have not, but it is a topic here that comes up every couple months, so a quick search on CT advice might give a few examples and conversations about it.
Many of us use Verdicare on our ancients. It might not perform miracles on this coin but it won't hurt it. I use it on the majority of my bronze and potin coins.
Like @TIF said, especially with the ReAcT2™ in the Verdicare, it sounds like a great way to at the very least preserve your coin. https://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/products/verdi-care.html https://www.docdroid.net/kKYhdZn/verdi-care-instructions.docx And NICE JOB attributing, @furryfrog02 !
The guy who made it used to post on CT fairly regularly. I haven't seen him in awhile though. Hope everything's ok.
Hey! What is WRONG with a Green Face??? And I thought you LIKE green? All frogs LIKE green! RI Postumus 259-268 CE Antoninianus Cologne Oriens GREEN And since I like to focus on Roman Republic, I'll toss another greenie in: RR Anon AE Litra 241-235 BC Mars Beardless Horse Head GREEN Cr 25-3 S 594
Very nice coin of Constantine. Common, yet never ceases to catch my eye when I see one... as if it's the first time I see that type. I would personally leave it alone; I find the green adds to the character of the coin. Excellent job on the I.D. by the way.
It isn't easy being green. I was in the Army for 20 years. Here is a fact: You are not going to turn that coin into something wonderful for your collection. However, that coin can do its part into turning you into a more knowledgeable collector. Perhaps it will do that by sacrificing the last of its lives when you do something really wrong. You should be concerned about what is under that green. It is as likely as not to be as ugly as the green but this is a chance you must take to find out what was under there. I might suggest that soaking it in lemon juice would kill the green but that would be a great deal more likely to wreck what is left of the coin. Does that mean that would be wrong? Considering the fact that the coin is not a mint state beauty or a rare, unreplaceable museum candidate, wrong is a very flexible subject. Learn. Teach others. Enjoy.
I just don't want the green to spread and completely ruin what is there. As far as being unreplaceable...well it is the only one I have at the moment AND it was given to me through a trade so, to me, it is haha. I just want to do what is best for the coin. Regardless of the quality of the coin.
That green looks like hard surface deposits, "malachite". As Doug said, weak acid will dissolve it. Verdicare will too, although it will take considerably longer. I'd be tempted to do a few quick and carefully supervised vinegar soaks (plus gentle prodding with a cotton-tipped swab and toothpick). Afterwards, I'd soak it in a few changes of distilled water, and then give it a soak in Verdicare. Because Verdicare is more expensive, I "soak" coins by flooding the surfaces and resting them on a glass plate, flipped occasionally and, if there is stuff to be removed, rinsing the Verdicare when it gets fouled and flooding the coin again. I don't submerge coins in it... that would take too much of it. With vinegar you risk creating or revealing porous surfaces and being left with an undesirably stripped coin. Maybe if you just do it gently and briefly...
I'm not gonna lie, all of what you said sounds terrifying to me right now. Perhaps I will wait until I'm a bit more experienced before trying what you mentioned. I was mostly worried about exposing the metal underneath and causing a whole host of other issues.
