BTW the coin did nor have a sudden release of dirt, i had to srub it. a little. i would freeze it for ten minutes, the put it in hot steamy water, wait a minutee, takee it out ant then scrub it. then repeeat. it took me about five hours.
k, after this i might just buy 20 uncleaned romans for the heck of it. store them in a bag, then in a few years, break em' out.
coingeek...you know that sub-hobby where people take modern coins and do art with them? like this.. it sounds like your not so much interested in cleaning ancient coins to show them off as doing more of an artistic thing ( bare metal, marker patina)? maybe this would be more the thing for you, and cheaper than purchasing uncleaned roman coins...a nickle per coin...what a bargain! or get a bunch of super grimy pennies and clean them up to bare metal...1 cent a pop! i guess my question is, why do you want to clean ancients?
its cheaper, plus its like opening a gift when their done. i found a rare type, ill post it in a bit.
oh, ok...then great. that's why i like it sometimes to...it can be like opening a gift..you never know what's in that package. ok, then enjoy cleaning your coins. just take your time, distilled water, toothpicks, toothbrush.....just my advice.
No! Not at all bad! I clean all of my coins that way. Scalpels, picks, brass brushes, that is all I use, and I never soak them, and I pretty much never mess up or scratch them. All it takes is practice, and patience, and you can get better results. Here are some vids I made on how to do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqKB8a1aDL8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBgUX6fXG5k&feature=plcp You just need to learn to be careful. Be sure to use magnification if you need it, and practice on low grade coins.
I think using a metal pick is a bad idea. Just use a toothpick or a plastic pick and you'll have much less of a chance of damaging the coin, while still having plenty of rigidity for scraping off dirt.
Have you tried a plastic pick, like those used to skewer olives for drinks? I admit I've never cleaned an ancient coin...
yeah, toothpicks are ok...but i almost always switch to a metal needle to work on stuff...gets at the grime better...just have to be careful. those look fine coingeek, maybe post some before and after pics?