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Message:: [QUOTE="Engraver, post: 3992497, member: 109280"]I am combining my first post with my first coin of 2020. I had wanted to add a Claudius-Messalina Tetradrachm of Alexandria to my Claudius group. I have had my eye on several but eventually went for an inexpensive one. It seemed in reasonable condition but the seller warned that it appeared to have been lacquered at some point and this surface had become very dirty. The coin certainly was very dirty but I bought it with a view to experiment with solvents. I cleaned a tiny part of the reverse using acetone and this immediately softened and removed the lacquer. I carried on working in small areas under magnifiers and was pleased with the results. With any sort of restoration/cleaning, it is good to stop early rather than go too far. I left some tone in the background so that the bust, figure and text stood out a little. I washed the coin well in distilled water and dried it. I would stress that I was not experimenting on an expensive coin. Howver, I am now very pleased with it both in the hand and in the tray. It was a good start to the year. In this image, "before" is above and "after" below: [ATTACH=full]1051218[/ATTACH]A Claudius tetradrachm of Alexandria. Billon with high silver content. Reverse shows Messalina standing left. There are a few small copper deposits on the surface. Diameter approx 25mm at widest, weight approx 11.0g.[/QUOTE]