Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 1271093, member: 19463&quot;]Such coins probably spent the last 1700 years in a pot rather than loose in the soil.&nbsp; They may have been in a bag full of similar items with the outer layer of coins corroded but the ones in the center in better shape due to the protection of their unfortunate brothers.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I was once told that there are people in the regions where uncleaned coins are found that can tell what is inside a lump of dirt.&nbsp; Some kinds of dirt are easier on coins than others; some coins poke out from their dirt enough that you can tell they will be easily cleaned.&nbsp; You see sellers of uncleaned coins claiming that the coins are not sorted but that just means they did not sort them.&nbsp; If you are the finder and you find something nicer than average, do you really think you would put it in the same bag you will sell for under a penny apiece?&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ll also mention that I do not know how to clean coins but there are people working at the British museum who do so I suspect there are independent contractors out there that also know how to good work given the coins that appear to&nbsp; be worth the effort.&nbsp; Ancient coins are very, very common.&nbsp; Nice ones are less common.&nbsp; Coins like this found in an average eBay lot would mean someone made a mistake in the sorting.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>We all have to ask ourselves if we would rather have one $30 coin, two $15 coins or 30 lumps of dirt that may or may not have a nice coin inside.&nbsp; Uncleaned lots are for people whose hobby is the thrill of the search and some will the dirty coin lottery and get something nice.&nbsp; They also get a few hundred/thousand lesser items.&nbsp; I looked at well over a thousand coins Friday and was offered a small bag of about 30 uncleaned but partially viable late Romans for $8.&nbsp; I passed.&nbsp; That is not my hobby.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in