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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 3530167, member: 85693&quot;]This is an interesting discussion, if a bit out of my league.&nbsp; It wasn&#039;t until late 2016 that I began collecting ancient bronze coins, and since that time I have been interested, sometimes baffled by all the stuff that can happen to an AE coin through the ravages of time and at the hands of restorers. </p><p><br /></p><p>The tooling/cleaning/smoothing controversy is interesting.&nbsp; My coins are so low-grade and cheap that most of them don&#039;t appear to have much evidence of this kind of treatment, although I have seen tool marks where I suspect rough patina was smoothed, or over-cleaned. </p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, I wanted to share a sestertius of Faustina I that has crud on it.&nbsp; This crud appears to be of the same material as the coin itself (bronze/brass?) and is raised up from the surface of the original coin.&nbsp; The only way to remove it, as far as I can tell, would be to use a tool - it does not appear to be something a chemical could be used on.&nbsp; Again, I know almost nothing about this (and have no plans to do anything about this coin).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>My question would be, couldn&#039;t this be legitimately cleaned by mechanical means, and wouldn&#039;t that, then, be &quot;tooling&quot; or &quot;smoothing&quot;?</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]937976[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]937977[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Faustina I&nbsp; Æ Sestertius</b></p><p><b>(c. 141-160 A.D.)</b></p><p><b>Rome Mint</b></p><p>[DIVA] FAVSTINA, draped bust right /AETERNITAS S-C Aeternitas standing left, holding phoenix (nimbate right) on globe and holding up skirt.</p><p>RIC 1105a; Sear 4607.</p><p>(22.80 grams / 30 mm)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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