I have been slowly cleaning on these previously caked and encrusted coins for over a month now. Some have had some good results. Below are two groups of the said coins. I believe some will turn out pretty decent and some need some more work and might not help at all. There were a few silvered ones. 2 were bought like this along with a few others.
Nice job so far! I have yet to try buying an uncleaned lot but am considering it. What method do you use to clean these?
I use only distilled water, Vulpex Soap, and hand tools. I have an assortment of tools some specific for roman coins and some are other things. I have a diamond dust pencil set and scalpel. I have a regular scalpel and ceramic one. I have a tip of a protractor they tend to be pointed but dull which is good for not scratching. I have a very fine sharp pointed tool for cleaning inside letters and hairlines. I have a 3 brush set of nylon brass (only if think encrusted) and stainless steel (not used yet). I have mint state restoration dip for if the encrustations cant be done by hand tools. I have conservators wax for the final round. Just be careful what you read and follow online. There is a lot of information out there that will ruin or damage your coins. The bottom line I learned its if you don't rush it you will be ok. Anny mistakes I made were due to impatience. Now I just take a break and come back when i'm in the mood. You will run into a lot of things like rust, damage and other things that aren't online and just have to deal with. all coins will really not be the same based on reaction to being buried corrosion mineral deposits ect. I hope this helps. Feel free to email or ask any questions and I will help with what I can.
This will give you a good example of the time involved. This is the coin as I received it. I really didn't care for the dirt and decided to remove it. It took over three hours to clean and this was the final result. Some people prefer the dirt look I did not and i'm completely happy with the look of the coin after I cleaned it. This dirt was very soft and easy to remove but keep in mind with that said this was a bit over a 3 hour job. I was very scared to rush and scratch this one due to the beauty of the coin and investment I had in it.
I liked that Pantikapaion before you cleaned it, but have to say I'm blown away by the results of your 3 hour effort... what a phenomenal job!
Outstanding job on all the coins. I, too, was skeptical of any attempt to clean the Pantikapaion, but it looks great now. I was surprised to see the red-handled, steel-bristle brush in your arsenal. I would be concerned about scratching the coins with it. What do you use it for? BTW, that's one of the nicest lots of uncleaned coins that I've ever seen. If I could find lots like that, I'd probably go back to cleaning uncleaned coins again, just like when I first started collecting.
Thanks I greatly appreciate the feedback. I was very pleased with it. I had contemplated selling it but since it was my first finished coin I've cleaned I decided to hold on to it. I got another semi-cleaned one I believe with be very nice after its finished being cleaned as well.
thanks for your comments. Actually I bought the brushes in a 3 group set. I put in the notes earlier "and stainless steel (not used yet)". I mainly only used the nylon and the brass if severely cakes for the thick layers and very carefully. I don't use the stainless steel as it will surely scratch everything.
I liked the coin before but don't see the green patches as an improvement. I can't call it worse but just different. I'm sure you were hoping for a smooth and even surface under the soil. I don't have the type but have a similar coin of the city minus green (as it was when I first saw it).
i don't really like to clean coins, but you've done a good job on those and i might have to try it on some of mine i just got in..thanks for sharing..
Actually I don't enjoy it so much either if they are completely caked and encrusted. The semi-cleaned pieces are the way to go they dont take a week or year to complete.
