Hiya, My names Lisa and I am new to coin forum and coin collecting. Please can anyone give me some advice on how to clean, look after (don't want to damage them) and how to go about finding out how to identify some roman and various coins I have purchased. Any advice and comments are welcome as I am new to this. Many thanks, Lisa.
Generally we tell beginners not to clean coins but the truth is most ancients need some cleaning and way too many beginners buy uncleaned coins that would be a challenge to those of us that have been at it longer. To answer your question properly we need to see the coins. The one skill that will help you get the most out of your participation in Coin Talk is photography. Whether you use a camera or a scanner, you need to be able to provide an image of a coin with which you need help. Seeing the coins we might be able to suggest a course of action or, in many cases, non-action which we could not do sight unseen. Welcome to the group. There are many helpful people here but we need your help to be able to be of any value to you,
Hi, I've attached photos of the front and back of one of the coins i've purchased (front and back). I will attache another photo of another one for you. There is a little green stuff on the head bit and there is not really too much information on this coin as it's quite worn but trying to find out what this coin is with no joy. Any ideas anyone???
Here is another coin I have which i have searched everywhere on the web for this coin with no luck. Again this has green stuff on. On the front of the coin it reads 'INNOCENT*XIII*F*M*I72I' AND A*B written at the bottom on the reverse side i think it says 'S*PETRONIVS*BON*PROT' AND te number 2 i think at the bottom Any ideas on this one???? View attachment 160782 View attachment 160783
Thank you bsowa1029. Sorry I am completely new to collecting coins. I will not clean coins and will use obv and rev terminology.
Hey, this is the ancient section. WE clean the heck out of our coins at times. Lisa, please show a photo of the front and back, (obverse and reverse) of your ancient. There are very knowledgable people here if we have good pics of both sides. I am asking that since it appears you have two photos if just the obverse. Is the second pic really the reverse?
Yes it's really the reverse, strange hey unless it's two coins stuck together. It looks like it could be two but not sure. If it is two they are firmly together and don't want to damage it.
I couldn't see the photos, but the one that says "Innocent XIII" on it is probably from the Papal States. He was a pope, and the popes had their own territory that they ruled (and actually still do, though not as much of it). That's one you don't want to clean. The ancients you do, but not more modern coins.
Hi all, I am new to this site, and have also wondered if cleaning is good/safe. My interest is mainly in old Indian coins (Mughal, Princely States etc), and much prefer the uncleaned appearance. The copper coins on ebay that have been cleaned can look quite rediculous, as can some of the silver ones. So, my vote for Indian coins is for the aged/rustic look!
There is a big difference between ancient and old. Papal and Indian Princely coins are not ancient are usually not cleaning candidates unless they were metal detector finds and have adhering soil. Almost all ancients (at least 1000 years old and more ikely over 1500 or more years old) are in this category and require cleaning to some degree. The problem is recognizing when the removable material is gone and doing more would hurt the coin. This is why I suggest beginning collectors buy coins that have already been cleaned by people who know what they are doing and learn the process and its pitfalls by observing the mistakes of others before they start mauling perfectly innocent coins.
Yeah, we can be picky about that. "Do not clean" is very good advice for the general public. However, ancient collectors take flack from other collectors when we tell them we do at times clean coins. I bet you that in the balance I have taken more flack by admitting I clean coins than you have from us when you said to not clean coins. You really want to take some grief, try admitting you have dipped US coins in the past! You can get torn apart for that on some boards. Chris
