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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Only a Poor Old Man, post: 5366141, member: 111037&quot;]There were several coins in the auction with that provenance. My quick search returned only a botanist from the kingdom of Naples that died of gout about 200 years ago. I really doubt that&#039;s him and you are probably right to suggest that it is likely the consignor of the coins. Probably Italian after all as an old little ticket that came with the coin is in Italian.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1228282[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I like a toned silver coin as much as the next guy (as long as you can still tell it is silver), but in this case it wasn&#039;t classic toning. It was a green gunk, thicker in some places that almost looked like mold. So I decided I would have a go at cleaning it. As to the cleaning method, it was nothing groundbreaking. Warm soapy water and rubbing it with a toddler&#039;s toothbrush (unused). Followed by the baking soda/tin foil method. That didn&#039;t produce much results so I resorted to a bath and rinse in white vinegar. I did it only for a few minutes as I know that extended exposure can affect the silver, but it really worked as I could see the green stuff flaking away almost immediately. Then a quick rinse with distilled water, followed by a repeat of the baking soda/tin foil method, more toothbrush rubbing, finished by an extended dip in more distilled water and a quick drying with a hair-dryer afterwards.</p><p><br /></p><p>Every coin requires different approach depending on the metal and condition, and it is very easy to damage a coin if overdoing it. So, I don&#039;t recommend following the method I used or even cleaning a coin at all if possible. One thing I noticed with this coin is that it is probably debased silver with copper. You can&#039;t tell from the photos, but in some tiny crevices there are signs of the green stuff you normally see in copper coins. I don&#039;t think that is unusual though for a coin of that region and period.</p><p><br /></p><p>Even if I did not intent on buying it, I like it. After all, I collect Byzantines. The coin found a loving home! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie50" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Any more trachys from that period? I would love to see some examples.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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