I tend to get sucked into ordering uncleaned ancients from time to time and wanted to share my latest "adventure". I noticed an ad on e-bay for 10 crusties for $8. I put in a bid to see what they sold for and lo-and-behold, no one bid and I got them. First thing I noticed was that they are large for uncleaned ancients: So...in to soak. I used a tupperwear type container so I could seal it and shake the coins. After a couple of weeks, changing the water and brushing them, I decided to get more aggressive with one. This is the one I picked: Started soaking it in KOH (could have used NaOH, but had KOH), rinsing and brushing, then working with a dental pick and ended up with: In order to see the legends better, I photographed it against a black background with stronger lighting: Maximianus, Sacra Moneta Reverse, Ticinium mint, RIC VI 45 A or B I think, 25 mm, 8.09 g...corrections welcome. The rest of the coins also got the KOH treatment, but nothing this good. I'll be asking questions about some of them.
I've only ever soaked with distilled water because I'm always scared of stripping patina, but for $8 it looks like you got a really good bargain! Even with the loss of patina that Maximian/Galerius (not sure which) looks really good! The Hadrian doesn't even seem to have lost much patina at all? I may give KOH/NaOH a go on my super crusty ones in future. Do you mind explaining how long you soaked them for?
