Help a complete novice clean his coin!

I'll say first off that I'm not particularly enticed by the idea of uncleaned ancients, but anyone that knows Nabateans is aware of the fact that round coins with well-centered devices on BOTH the obverse and reverse are things of considerable rarity. The dealer told me this coin was recently unearthed at an archeological dig and that I would be its first collector - perhaps I'm getting a tall tale, but it doesn't really matter. It's on its long journey from Israel at the moment and it's going to need a nice bath with a little scrubbing when it arrives. What do I need to do?? This is what it looks like now...

I tweaked the pic in photoshop - do you guys think I could get it to look something like this, or better?




Do you guys see potential in this coin, or have I made a mistake?

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You can very well be the 1st collector. In fact you can buy uncleaned, dirty ancients by the bag on eBay.

As far as cleaning, I would soak the coin in olive oil for about a week. I know some people frown upon the use of olive oil, but I've used it many times on crusty green Indian head and wheat pennies, and never had an issue.

After soaking in oil, scrub using a tooth brush and soapy water. Again, some people condemn soap, but I never had an issue.

I have a coin in my collection that I soaked in olive oil for 2 weeks straight, doused with dish soap, washed, and patted dry, it looks just as good today as it did two years ago.

See this old watch fob? Completely encrusted in green when I found it. Olive oil made it look wonderful.

 

I've heard of the olive oil treatment, Detecto. Thanks for confirming the efficacy. Did you use any specific kind of olive oil? Extra virgin, regular, organic? Or does it matter? Nice work on the fob!

 

I can't help with the cleaning method, but I wanted to tell you this is a nice looking coin. The jugated heads are interesting. If you don't mind, can you ID the seller. Did you buy on Ebay? I take it the seller is in Israel. Did you check the seller against Forum's NFSL? The only reason I ask, is that I know they have a couple sellers from Israel on that list. I am not questioning this coin at all. But if the seller is on that list, I might not believe the story. Otherwise, if true, that even makes the coin more interesting.

 

I don't recall what I used. However I read not to use virgin, so just use regular.

 

The seller is Zurqieh in United Arab Emirates, not eBay, vcoins. Apparently the coin was found in Israel. It doesn't really matter though - it had to be found somewhere and I don't much care about the provenance anyway. And if the coin can't be properly restored I've only lost $16. I just figured if I'm going to collect ancients I may as well get my feet wet with the cleaning end of things. This coin seemed like a good candidate because if it COULD be cleaned up, it would be a choice example of the type.

 

JA, i think that the sand patina helps make the coin details come out, if you take to much off, just remember you can't put it back on.

 

The oil will bring out the details more.

 

I agree - I love a good desert patina, but this one has a bit too much for my taste.

 

Tim? Nix the ancients. You're in a whole new world here........

 

True. However I have bought quite a few cheap ancients and experimented on them to find the best cleaning methods.

I tried electrolysis (removes too much metal), tumbling (removes too much metal), boiling hydrogen peroxide (gives the coin a dried out look), polishing, (does not work at all), brass brushing (removes too much metal), finally I tried the olive oil and soap trick, works like a charm.

 

Tim is it? New world or not, your advice is spot on. I have used olive oil and soap pretty much as you described it. I even had some of my ancients soak for nearly a year between olive oil and distilled water. I just don't clean coin any longer. Too many culls and, for me, not worth it.

 

Olive oil was a much needed staple in the ancient world.

 

What effect does the distilled water have?

 

Yup. I have heard of people soaking the "uncleanables" for years.

 

Well that's pretty much why I haven't been interested in trying - I prefer coins in higher grades. The problem with Nabateans is there are very few coins in high grades, even if you have pockets deep enough to afford them. They simply weren't preserved as extensively as something like LRBs.

This purchase wasn't premeditated in the least - I simply stumbled across a coin that was round, with well-centered devices, and took a gamble that if cleaned, it might turn out to be a choice specimen.

You should see what sorry excuses pose for coins when it comes to this culture. Go to vcoins and search Nabatean, or Aretas, or Malichus, or Obodas, and take a look for yourself...

 

Tap water has too many impurities and additives that can harm your coins.

 

Some free advice that is worth every penny you pay for it. All vegetable oils are long chain fatty acids. The acid part is so weak that it probably has little effect by itself. The oil will get under the dentrius and help lift it off the coin. Following this with water would have little or no effect since the oil is not soluble in water. The use of a soap would remove the oil and perhaps help you (with the aid of a bristle brush like a toothbrush) to remove some of the crud. At this point you might also want to judiciously use a sharpened toothpick to remove chunks that look like they might want to come off. As to tap water having impurities and additives, the coin has probabily faced worse dangers over the years. If you do use tap water, there is no reason to leave any of these impurities and additives on the coin when they can be removed with just a rinse in distilled water. Harsh chemical cleaning can damage the surface causing pitting. Good luck and keep us filled in.

 

Thank you Kentucky! I will indeed keep you all updated.

 

I do not think that any kind of organic material such as olive oil would have any beneficial effect on an object with 'desert' or 'sand' patina. Often these are formed not from the normal corrosive effects of the atmosphere, but by silicate formation on the surface of the metal, similar to a glass or ceramic covering, in that the main composition is clay ( quartz sand) like silicon oxides and alkaline oxides such as aluminum oxides that can harden without heating ( like ceramics and glasses). Some call these 'geopolymers' . I suspect that physical action ( chipping, scratching, etc. ) the material off would be the only satisfying result. This type of patina is different from the 'corrosive' conversion of coin metal to oxides or sulfur compound which might respond to olive oil, although I suspect verdicare would do better , IMO.