Sad - A nice bronze coin of Domitian with signifcant edge corrosion

This is coin #3 of the three coin lot that I recently received. The other two coins are a Severina antoninianus and a Caligula AE As. This coin has nice centers, but also with pretty aggressive corrosion along the edge.

The coin you see, an AE As of Domitian, Moneta reverse, has been in a distilled water bath for about two weeks now, and is under observation. Most of the loose, soft green corrosion has been removed, leaving a ragged edge. Actually it was pretty irregular when I started treating it.

I don't want to use any alkali washing soda (sodium sesquicarbonate), since this chemical will attack the nice patina, as well as any lingering active corrosion, a "nuclear option" that is off the table for this coin.

With a little luck, perhaps this coin will stablize and not need any further intervention.

Domitian, 92-94 AD
AE As
Rome
Obverse: Laureate head right.
Reverse: Moneta standing left holding scales and cornucopia.

RIC II, 408

10.15 grams



The three coins cost me $90, so averaging that out, the per coin cost is around $30, so there isn't a whole lot of skin in this purchase for me.

Do any other CTers have coins in treatment or recovery? What's the prognosis for your coin, doctor?

Thanks!

 

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Cool coin! And perfect timing!!
I just finished rehabbing this poor recently unearthed Celtic coin:
I'm glad you recognize the signs of BD and acted swiftly.
Due to mine coming from Europe, it took additional damage waiting to get in my loving arms.
I gave her the usual, few days in distilled water, light scrub with a soft bristled toothbrush that's been cut down (toothpick for those green spots that don't want to go away) repeat. Once no green is visible a trip to the oven on its lowest setting (350 degrees) for 45 minutes. And once it's cooled down it sits in verdi care for a day.
This one just finished drying off today:

SENONS (region of Sens) (2nd - 1st centuries BC)
Gossip with helmeted head and ringlet c. before 52 AC. 17.7mm
Obv: Stylized helmeted head on the left between two globules; the eye is globulated.
Rev: Horse or ibex with forked tail passing left; between the legs, a linear circle.
Unearthed Dec 2021 Burgundy region of France

Not beautiful. At all. But at least a rare and recognizable Celtic and hopefully fit to last another couple millenia.

 

I still have two coins in the quarantine ward although they have been BD free for 5 - 10 years now. The one that fits best here is this Alexandrian tetradrachm of Volusian. The coin is rare and this one has the best portrait of any Volusian from Alexandria that I have seen. That is all it has going for it. I paid $10 for it from the late Don Zauche. If the poor half were as nice as the VF half, this coin might be pushing four digits as the best known example of an R5. As it is, it may still be the best known of an R5 and worth closer to the $10. As I have pointed out many times, a coin that is 50% trash, has a 50% chance of being fake or any other similar 'situation' is not worth 50% of a perfect specimen. This coin is 100% genuine and R5 rare. Someone needed to pay the $10 and treat it. Who has another one? Can anyone who owns Dattari/Savio see if he had one (this one?)?


I expect this coin to outlive me.

 

Nice job! In these situations, I think it is always best to think of what has been saved, rather than dwelling on the loses.

In my thread The Beauty of Impermanence, I try to make the point that the ancients we own are constantly changing, both for good (beautiful patinas and toning) and bad (corrosion destroying the coin). As we deal with coins that need some form of treatment to halt destructive elements, we are contributing, if successful, to a coin's longevity, for future collectors to enjoy.

One thing that I enjoy about ancients is, given their very nature, one needs to accept imperfection; these coins, after all , were not minted yesterday. They are not slabbed and assigned a MS 81 grade. And, in that acceptance, avenues are open to collectors to appreciate the factors that contribute to the state of the ancients in our hands today.

 

That's a very interesting coin, Doug, and a good job halting the corrosion.

If the coin makes you happy, that's the point of collecting. That's my basic view. Let the folks with the big bucks pursue the ultra rare coins in high grade.

 

Wholeheartedly agree!
Here are a few more that I've, hopefully, saved and will keep in my collection despite being imperfect:
I'll have to take more recent photos but this gal had it nasty, but I just looked at all of these and 2-4 years out still no green:




Though, we can't forget those beautiful green coins from patination and verdigris:

 

Used Sodium Thiosulphate just in an overnight soak for this Claudius Gothicus Antoninianus. It was bad before, but afterwards the reverse was completely gone:

Before:

After:

 

??

 

Lol! Did it again
Google translates the term "potin", the alloy, into gossip

 

That's par for the course with Google Translate.

 

Reminds me the Google translation of Carrhae's "Temple of Sin" (Sin, the Babylonian Moon-god) by "Temple du Péché". Note that there must have been some hierodules in that temple, after all, like in all others in Syria and Mesopotamia...

 

Glad you were able to save that coin, @robinjojo. My advice is to leave it sitting out some place where you are likely to see it often for the next 2-3 months or so, just to make sure that all the BD is gone. If it comes back, it's time for Round 2 of the DW baths.

 

Here's another coin that has been treated for persistent bronze disease on the reverse. It's been a battle, and the results are not pretty.

This is a bronze dirhem, Mardin, AE 28, of Najm al-Din Alpi, AH 547-572 (1152-1176), Spengler-Sayles type 27.

The reverse appears to have had some metal loss in one spot when the coin was struck or when the counterstamp on the neck was applied. The flan's metal must have been poorly refined or annealed. There is a clear break line connected to an area of metal that must of chipped off. This area became filled with oxide deposits and moisture, creating the bronze disease. The BD spread to other parts of the reverse towards the left edge.

I had to do a few stints for this coin in distilled water and sodium sesquicarbonate. At times, when the coin was removed, the BD appeared to be gone, only to reappear. Finally, I think it is under control, but time will tell if this is so.

The patina on the obverse is gone, leaving rough surfaces, but at least the coin is still identifiable, and the counterstamps on the obverse are still visible.

10.88 grams