New Uncleaned/Partially Cleaned Lot From Serbia

Using Renaissance Wax right now is a bad idea because you can lock in whatever problem the coin has.

 

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This is the progress of the coin right now. It shows a lot of promise which is why I want to work on the coin.

 

here is the type weight i am referring to
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/ca...&fld=http://www.forumancientcoins.com/Coins2/

They come with many different markings

 

Dang, you have more patience than I do. I need to post some on the uncleaned ancients I bought and am not being as careful with.

 

@Gil-galad Your thread has made me at least consider doing this myself - no so much to find coins for my collection, but an exercise in understanding how ancients come from the ground and end up all nice looking.

 

Oh yeah!! It's more about cleaning and having fun doing it rather than looking for something valuable or rare. Pick and choose your lots carefully just as you would single coins for your collection..

You'll be happy even when common coins turn out good. At least I am.

Take it slow and when you feel that you want to start speeding things up as far as cleaning is concerned, it's time to stop for awhile and then resume later on. That's how I usually do it.

I do nothing more than a few simple steps. Analyze coins first. If you decide to clean them, scrub with toothbrush under running tap water. Dry the coin off thoroughly. Then boil the coin in distilled water for a few hours. Every hour, use cotton swabs to remove dirt. You might be surprised how much comes off. Then after that, soak them in a glass container (only glass) in distilled water. Clean with swabs everyday. You can use toothpicks and a metal pin type tool later on if necessary. Go with the minimalist approach. Best to stop when you need to. Better under cleaned than over cleaned because you can't go back once you make a mistake.

There are all kinds of opinions about how to clean. Things to avoid would be electrolysis, chemicals that strip the patina off, ultra sonic cleaners. Too much brushing. Yes, that can severely scratch the coin after awhile. Best used in the beginning and then stop doing it. Best to use local techniques than global techniques. Patience is the key.

Best of luck to you, if you decide to do it. Might be best to ask before getting a lot here.

 

Wise words @Gil-galad I'll be sure to keep them mind

 

Some thoughts on distilled water. To be considered drinkable, any water has to be 500 ppm or less. This is 0.05%. So even tap water is 99.95% pure, are we gaining anything from distilled water. I agree you shouldn't let tap water dry on coins, but rinsing them with distilled water or even drying them off should prevent any damage.

 

Distilled water is more pure than tap water, I assume. It doesn't seem to damage the coins. What you're doing is boiling the coins in DW to loosen that dirt up and soaks to loosen the dirt up more.

A lot of coins have BD or coming close to getting BD. Using DW helps to at least stop it from getting any worse as well as slowly removing chlorides out of the coin. I'm no chemist, but that is how I understand it.

 

I jujst bought a lot of 20 ancient coins for 8 bucks

 

Good luck. Hope they all turn out to be winners.

 

Very valid point, boiling tap water will create lots of bad beasties if the water is very hard. If you are going to boil it, using distilled water is an excellent choice. For soaking, I see very little difference.

 

I'm working on some uncleaned ones as well. A few nicer looking ones. Does the hot water really make a difference? Or is it more the bumping around that does it?

 

I think it's both. Solubility is dependent on temperature and hot water dissolves a LOT more than cooler water. The bumping helps, but the OP sez he swabs them with a cotton swab from time to time. I just bought 5 more crusties for $1...let's see what I got.

 

I forgot about that. Thanks!

 

I was hoping to see another update - it has been weeks since the last report!

I am also poised on starting a cleaning cycle and have a few ideas on methods so very interested in as many tips as I can get.

 

I got some more...kind of like Ancient Coin Roll Hunting. I have found a couple of Falling Horseman coins, a Campgate and a Romulus/Remus and the wolf, besides some I have little idea of. Gotta start taking pics.

 

I am planning on a update soon because cleaning coins is slow work. I am getting some ready to photograph soon.

 

i picked up a small lot of coins today as well. i haven't been cleaning more than just a handful of coins in quite a while, and kind of missed it. it's kind of relaxing really, i put on some tunes or NPR, and start cleaning. always fun to id stuff as well. i'll post my results as well.

 

Looks like a neat lot!