Minor Coin Makeover - Julian the Encrusted

I got this coin in a lot of 33 that I paid too much for in a recent FSR auction... Oh well.

It started out with some honest encrustation that wasn't too distracting; it allowed all of the main details to be visible. However, the minerals covered up much of the legend and the exergue, which I was more interested in.

It was neat to see the rather unusual mintmark - VRB*ROM. Odd that they would mark it as CITY of Rome instead of just Rome...

A very short soak in hydroxide loosened up all the encrustation and now it looks great, I think. Which do you prefer?

 

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well done dip looks great

 

Nice. Brings out more details on both obverse and reverse.

 

Thanks for the kind words! I like the brown coloring more than the dark.

I do feel a bit bad about harming the original patina, but I think the end result, with a clear legend and lovely mint mark are worth the cost

 

Do you mean hydrogen peroxide? I tried that stuff and it hardly did anything. I use sodium sesquicarbonate or metal de-corroder product, distilled water is good also for light stuff

 

Sodium hydroxide. Lye.

 

Looks good. I like that the mintmark showed up after the dip. I wish I wasn't such a wuss. I have some LRBs that I would love to give a bath to.

 

A bit mixed feelings - I believe this could have been cleaned with a long soak in distilled water, followed by brushing or light mechanical cleaning. I liked the original black patina.

Also, "Hydroxide"? What hydroxide? I sometimes soak coins in concentrated hydrogen peroxide, which works well on encrustations.

 

Sorry, sodium hydroxide. I agree it could have been done manually but I’m pretty impatient...

 

Looks good. Nice clean-up

 

ah ha. Thanks

 

i absolutely agree

 

Not all of my cleanings turn out perfect. I have to make a balance between getting it done RIGHT, or FAST. Naturally I’d prefer the original gorgeous black patina, but I’m impatient as all heck.

 

You couldn't see the mintmark before and you can clearly see it now. Improvement.

 

..wow earl...you're makin' me think about 'cleaning' me coins with such post and pics...good job!...

 

I guess I am in the camp of the before pic. I am a big fan of good detail and smooth surfaces, which this coin had before the bath. I think the dirt would have come off with repeated distilled water baths, along with judicious use of brass tools and brushes.

 

I prefer the cleaned coin. The patina was nice, but the encrustation detracted quite a bit and the rarity is in that mintmark. Nice work!

 

Thanks everyone for sharing your opinions with respect! If this was in the US coins forum I’d probably be run outta town with torches and pitchforks...

 

Hats Off!!!

Just, Very impressive. Wow. If it was me (and it wouldn't be, since I'm terrified of cleaning --given which, the relative minimalism of what you did is cool, too), the mint (never mind All the obverse legend) would be a serious coup. Congrats!

 

Oh, Heck yeah. The only time I ever put a lump of dirt in --what was it, hydrogen peroxide?-- it was the same tradeoff. ...Except, before that happened, there was no patina visible; just dirt. And underneath, it was the same kind of VF+ as your example.