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Message:: [QUOTE="John Anthony, post: 1985741, member: 42773"]As a collector of ancients, I agree that the OP coin was probably corroded and cleaned by electrolysis. One sees this type of granular surface on ancient coins from time to time. Whether it's acceptable, however, depends on the coin and who you talk to. For example, here is a follis of Helena, the wife of Constantius Chlorus and mother of Constantine the Great. This coin was probably buried for 1700 years and the dirt refused to come off without drastic measures. Once it did come off, regardless of the cleaning method, it was clear that the coin was originally well-struck and experienced very little circulation, hence the incongruous combination of sharp detail and granular surfaces. [ATTACH=full]354665[/ATTACH] Is this coin acceptable to a collector of Romans? Some of my colleagues said no. I thought it was, and I ended up selling it to someone else who also thought it was just fine. Beauty in the eye of the beholder. But a modern US commemorative? No. Send it back.[/QUOTE]