I just finished cleaning these 2 Byzantine bronze Folles. They represent Emperors Justin and Justinian respectively and weigh 13.51 g. and 14.55 g. There's a big M on reverse, suggesting they belong to the early Byzantine coinage. That was a harsh task for me cleaning these coins. They still need more cleaning. The question is : Do you advise me to buy more of these coins ??
Unless they are cheap, I don't think it has much numismatic value as these coins can be obtained in far better condition for a relatively few amount of dollars....
What I would love to know this... When you see slabbed third party graded coins/ they will note "cleaned" as a detail or flaw. So, are coins ruined by cleaning? I see CNG will have a flawless mint state ancient with hint of tiny deposits/ hence no cleaning attempt. What happens, when someone finds a hoard of Celtic AV Staters, coins are encrusted with earth deposits/ anyway to remove this without doing harm? John
All ancient coins are cleaned as most are hoard finds. The "cleaned" destination is really meant for modern, milled coinage. So it makes no sense for ancients, unless you run into an ancient coin that was harshly cleaned and you can see the cleaning marks on them...
These do not appear to need further cleaning. They are already overcleaned and further cleaning will not reveal additional detail. Those tiny deposits are simply what's left over after cleaning. In many cases when cleaning silver coins you can get most of the gunk off but there will generally be a small amount left that cannot be removed without leaving the coin in the cleaning solution longer or exposing it to further manual cleaning, both of which have the potential to damage the coin, so most experienced cleaners will stop when the coin looks good to them, which is not necessarily when it is completely free of deposits.
I would only clean coins with thick deposits on them that obscure the main details. Sometimes a coin is corroded rather than covered with deposits. You can't undo the affects of such corrosion so cleaning just makes it worse. I would leave the left coin alone. Maybe lightly brush the right coin with a toothbrush or similar. There is not likely to be a whole lot more detail under the deposits on it. leaving earthen deposits in the low spots makes a nice contrast to the metal exposed on the upper spots.
You are doing more damage than good by cleaning these if they look like your second post. As for your question if you like 'em then buy more otherwise let someone else enjoy them in their uncleaned form. What I see here are common coins that are available for $1 to $5 each (uncleaned).
