I ordered a variety of uncleaned coins. This is my first attempt at finding/cleaning ancient coins. Here is the first group I ordered. I picked out two from the left side and put hot water and a toothbrush on it. I wanted to start easy-going but I don't feel like I'm making any progress yet...
Those are not going to clean up much better than what they look like now. People that sell these have carefully looked them over and know they are not much. The better coins are sorted out. It annoys me when I see people selling what I call culls or floor sweepings or plain old junk. PM me your address and I will send you coins that are at least as good or better for free.
That's very nice of you. Yep, those were about the quality of the 2004 era coins. Actual uncleaneds are getting much harder to find. Perhaps the OP could just leave the current ones (or some of them) as-is, as a learning tool? It's kind of neat to have a little hoard of coins. I know what it's like to be a budget collector. I had to be in that realm for quite a time. Speaking from 30 years experience, I've been happier with the nicer ones. Oh, there are some middle to lower grade rarities that I'm quite happy with, but generally speaking, it's better to go for nice examples. This was around $25. I'm sure with looking, one could find a better deal. It's really cute in hand and has a lot of silvering. With some searching, one can find them relatively decent for $15. Some people do enjoy the process of cleaning and find it relaxing. I can totally respect that. Speaking from the experience of my own mistakes, I'd learn as much as I could about cleaning before actually doing it. To be fair,the OP has better results than I achieved with my uncleaneds. Olive oil just resulted in a goopy mess.
I'm sadly starting to realize I wasted my money on these "uncleaned" coins.. Looking at them it does feel like you can already see a bit what they are -- I doubt they are 'unsearched'.. it's kind of sad.. used to hear stories about finding amazing treasures (it's always a random and a risk - but still possible). I ordered a bunch from both "nero" and "dirtyoldcoins".. To be fair.. I wasn't expecting real treasures.. but I thought I'd be able to clean up some coins.. .have some fun in the process and enjoy trying to figure out what I found. But, maybe all I have is a bunch of dirty junky coins :/
It's all about learning. We've all made mistakes. Your mistake wasn't too expensive, so no super harm done. I'd go with my suggestion, leave them as-is. Uncleaneds are getting harder to find. 'Befores' are also a good learning tool. If I were you, I'd figure out what genre you like the most, invest c. $35 in the digital version of the appropriate Sear volume, although Volume IV is paper-only. Then, you can get some coins. Take my advice. One can find some really interesting coins on a budget. You just have to find dealers whom you like the best and whose stock best meets your needs.
https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/sa...ountitems=1000&changeDisplayList=False&page=0 I'd start here, with the $15 and up ones. (Your shipping would be c. $25, though). Victor Clark might even have some appropriate ones. Ok, I just saw the reply. I've collected Byzantine on and off for 30 years. Oh, and plonk down the c. $35 for the excellent Sear Byzantine book, in pdf format. (Spink publishing) Easy peasy, I got just the suggestion. The pre-reform (side profile) Justinian and Justin 40 nummi aren't especially popular and are generally relatively dirt cheap. They're also large. Some of the later year Justinian facing follis coins aren't terribly expensive. Try David Connors.
" The pre-reform (side profile) Justinian and Justin 40 nummi aren't especially popular and are generally relatively dirt cheap. They're also large. Some of the later year Justinian facing follis coins aren't terribly expensive. Try David Connors. " This sounds exactly like what I want My name JD comes from "Justin" That would be especially fun to have/find/collect. What does 40 nummi mean? I definitely would love to find these!
I've seen both 40 nummi and 40 nummia. Also follis. The name of the denomination. There's 5, 10, 20, etc. And invest some time in the history. Google the History of Byzantium podcast (the more scholarly one) or Totalus Rankium (apple podcasts), themore fun one. You might find a period which really interests you. I'm rather partial to Nicephorus II, the 'White Death'. Justinian II's podcast is a must-listen. His coins aren't terribly cheap, though. Pretty much $50 on up.
"The pre-reform (side profile) Justinian and Justin 40 nummi aren't especially popular and are generally relatively dirt cheap." @nerosmyfavorite68 -- Would you mind showing an example of each? Thank you so much for all the help and info @nerosmyfavorite68 and @Victor_Clark This is all REALLLLllllly helpful!
Justin I AE31 Follis. Nikomedia. SB 83. 518-527 AD. 17.72g. (An unusually nice one). --- Justinian I AE30 follis. Antioch S 216 30mm, 15.06g
