T. Carisius Denarius with smoothing

It wasn't mentioned by NAC. I do believe you, Barry. Thanks for giving more details to the smoothing determination.

C

 

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how they smooth it? Sandpaper? Why they smooth it? Get rid of sand? Or it is more invasive and strips metal?

 

Unfortunately the borders between natural, selectively cleaned, smoothed and tooled are not digital steps but gradual, analog questions of degree. Some of us disagree on the point at which the action becomes offensive. I tend to avoid anything I see easily and accept that which I cannot see but that brings up the question whether something done so well that it is not detected by 99% of us is acceptable or just as bad as an amateur effort. My current feeling allows me to accept smoothing but disdain tooling using my, probably faulty, definitions of those terms. I see the market changing to accept more alterations as more people who know less are spending more. In all honesty, I do not see how we can know what will be the situation in another few decades. Oil paintings and statues are expected to be restored, repaired, retouched in ways that would ruin a coin to most of us today. When those who made the rules we now accept are gone, will the coins maintain their 'high road' standards? I won't be here to know. Some of you will and it will bother you just as all those well scrubbed denarii we see today bother those who prefer 'old collection' toning.

 

My wife is using a "smoothing" cream for her face every morning. Will I complain about it? "Oh no, do not use it darling, I want you at your natural beauty". Forget it. I shut my mouth; I like the result, and she's the one who has the money.

 

well said. I recently read that most ancients have been cleaned at some time, and id guess those that havent were found in exquisite condition from being in an intact pot in the ground or something. In my little experience so far cleaning/conserving ancients, it’s hard to say what’s actually occurring: “smoothing” of the actual coin/metal, or the patina, or the loose dirt/encrustation. Mineralization i guess.