Greetings all. So due to working from home I`m going through some of my less fortunate coins trying to ID them as best I can. For today`s delectation, I have a grubby Constantine I (I believe), which I want to know if I should clean (Distilled water approach)? Thanks to the VOT XXX on the reverse it has helped me to partially attempt an ID though the mintmark is frustrating me (seems to be at least 3 worn letters). I would appreciate any further input as I need to go take some painkillers for my headache as I`ve been staring through the magnifying glass at this for far too long!! Constantine I AE 18mm 2.54g Heraclea mint ?(Possibly) Obv: CONSTAN (unreadable) rosette-diademed bust right Rev: D N CONSTANTINI MAX AVG. VOT XXX within laurel wreath
Definitely Heraclea. The DN CONSTANTINI/VOT XXX type was only struck at Rome, Ticinum, Heraclea and Constantinople. The style clearly identifies this as Heraclea. Barry Murphy
Much appreciated and nice to know i was on the right lines. Would this coin benefit from any cleaning?
I believe this coin will improve with cleaning. At least it might be easier to read the legends. As I see it, cleaning can remove what is on top of the natural surface but there is nothing to do when there is corrosion below the original surface. Of course there is no guarantee that you will like what you see under that crud. That is why we see people tooling coins or adding dirt/makeup to fill in corrosion spots on coins that probably were cleaned more than appropriate. These are practices we deplore. Ancients collectors generally allow removal but not replacement.
