Uncleaned Ancient Coins

Thank you for the explanation! And had you not responded I would have never known that was the same family. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times while wiring a home he built in Maryland about 15 years ago. Very smart man and down to earth.
Now that I know the term I'm going to add it to my arsenal. Thanks again!

 

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Matt and I were quite close in middle and high school - we were in the same Boy Scout troop, rode bicycles and in later years a motorcycle (his) to school together, etc. I have somewhat regretted losing touch with him. Although it is satisfying to know that he was a success in a field in which he always wanted to excel - electronics.

 

I am very much a novice with ancients and started out by cleaning some. I found it very difficult to progress to the next step of attribution. Gotta' put some pictures on here sometime.

 

"attri

"Attribution", or at least identifying the origin of pieces in general, is a skill like any other. And like most skills, it develops over time with practice - the more you do it, the better you tend to get. Familiarity with your field is also crucial and also develops with experience.
By all means, post photos of your puzzlers, but see if you can frame your questions in a way that you aren't just being supplied with a name, then plugging it into a data field. You will be doing that, of course, but see if you can't get some information about the processes folks are using - consciously or automatically - to narrow-down and ultimately (hopefully) attach a positive ID to a given coin among the multitude of genres, eras, countries, types, rulers, mints, etc.
Don't allow yourself to be discouraged if you're not getting "everything" on the first try. There is no shame in ID'ing up to the limit of your skill at any one point in time - then periodically revisiting that process as your skills improve to check and refine your earlier work.

 

As long as your expectations are realistic.. buying uncleaned coins and spending some time picking through the grime to clean them up and attribute them is a great way for a novice to learn about common Roman coins.

Whether it's fun or rewarding depends on the individual. I enjoyed it and learned a ton about identifying coins... but I've now had my fill and now buy fewer and nicer coins.

The key is understanding the reality of what your buying and what you'll end up with. If it still sounds cool, the cost can be written off to just the cost of your hobby or entertainment... like going golfing or buying parts for a project car you'll never finish!

Go for it! Enjoy yourself and keep us posted on your progress!

 

Thank you @Orange Julius i will! I'll probably post for each once it's cleaned and I've done the research (or asked help with identifying). I hope to learn a lot about the coin through the process and build from there. I'm sure I'll have my fill of it after a while and, like you, move on to building the collection with nicer examples once I've learned what I want and what not to buy.

 

I spent 20 bucks on 10 uncleaned coins, been soaking them. One of them is a campgate coin and after scrubbing it over i deffinately destroyed part of it. Not really sure why I bought them and I feel bad now. I am going to let them finish soaking for another week and then dry them..and invest in a single nice coin here and there instead of lots.

Your experience might be completely different, yes. But that is just mine.
It doesn't really seem worth it considering the time, effort and risk of destruction.

Good luck my friend.

 

Thank you @tobiask ! I wish your experience was a better one. What did the instruction you have say to soak it in? From what I've been reading it said one day in distilled water to start, light nylon brush scrubbing then back into fresh distilled water for a week for the next round of light scrubbing.

I didn't go the lot route, I thought if I bought more than a few I wouldn't be focusing on the coin in hand, but staring at the pile left to go. I figured 8 isn't something overwhelming to start with.

Post what your outcome is either way I'd be interested to kee up with other cleaners and their successes, mishaps and finds. It'll be a great way for me to learn and share what I've learned.

HS!(happy scrubbing)

 

Yes, I will be glad to share progress.

When they arrived I washed them with warm water and a drop of detergent for a minute to get off the chunks and easy crust, etc. The water turned a bit brown for sure.

Then i completely washed them off, and laid them in a small tupperware cup of distilled water for a day. More dirt came off.

I took the campgate coin, scrubbed with a toothbrush and my fingernail and took some of the detail off within a few seconds.

I laid it back into the water with the others. Now i will just wait.

Best of luck to you also !

 

Let me say a couple of things I am sure some people will take exception to, but it's my opinion . Using distilled or deionized what we to start isn't necessary since it becomes water with dissolved solids instantly. Save the distilled water for a final soak/rinse. If you think you remove detail with a brush, I'm not sure it was there to begin with. A brush I have seen recommended is a toothbrush with the bristles trimmed to half length. These are made of metal and if there is detail left, it is pretty tough.

 

That makes me feel a bit better.

 

I wish I saw this before I eagerly opened the Manila envelopes and plopped the coins in the water lol. Next time. Thank you for this input @Kentucky . And I'm glad that if something "comes off" it probably wasn't there to begin with.

 

So tonight the journey begins. I'll start a thread for each supposed coin type rather than coin (as I don't want to flood the room with unnecessary threads). I have them doing a pre-soak just to loosen stuff up a bit. The "Byzantine" had globs of grey clay on it so hopefully that one will go quickly. The rest...only time will tell.

 

I started coin collecting 3 months ago..I bought a total of roughly 600 mixed coins..cleaned about 250 so far..that includes learning how..I dumped about dozen coins also..messed up few..still have over 200 to work on..getting better..

 

Cool! Remember to take "before" photos but maybe not post them if you're looking to ID them yourself. Some people will be able to take a look at them pre-"cleaned" and tell you all the IDs before you have a chance at trying yourself!

 

@Orange Julius thank you for that. I was thinking about starting the thread and prefacing with "don't tell me how the movie ends" haha. I may just wait till they are cleaned and attributed, unless I need some help doing so (which I probably will). I did take before pictures, but unfortunately I feel the Byzantine, holyland and possibly two of the medieval coins will have no change. The large coin and 2, maybe 3 medieval coins already have some markings showing through. Pretty excited!

 

Yeah, many of us are so excited to help that we can't help ourselves by telling you more than you may want to know! Good luck!

 

I can associate with the OP. I enjoy trying my hand at doing new things just to see if I can do it. Or make it. Or improve it. And, I've been known to make up to 7 or 8 cents per hour doing it. Ha! And know that I just have to try it, to prove to myself that I won't be the best at it.

However, I think that the process of trying these new experiences and the enjoyment or disappointment, is completely separate from just the action and enjoyment of collecting.

 

Haha well you've definitely made more than I have with this venture. And I agree- this is a separate experience from collecting, but it's cool that in the end, success or failure, I will have a piece that will remind me of the experience in the collection.

 

So after 3 days of soaking in the distilled water I noticed a large patch of verdigris pop up on a couple of the pieces. After an "oh shyte" moment I dumped the water, patted them dry and put olive oil in the Tupperware for the next phase. About 3 days ago I pulled them out, gave them a good nylon bristle brushing and placed them back in the OO until tonight.
The larger coins patch of verdigris became soft enough for me to chip away at so out came the crayon a andre set (which was recommended by @LaCointessa, thank you for that).
I was able to remove them completely which exposed some red metal. I used the meche brush over both obverse and reverse and a ton of debris came off. It's starting to look like something. I can see a right facing bust on the obverse and the reverse looks like a figure standing atop a pillar of sorts and a deer/dog shaped animal to the right of the pillar, possibly one on the left. Much of the writing is becoming exposed, but that coin still has a lot of soaking and work needed. I'm hoping the red isn't rust and that I'll be scratching away the best stage of this coins life in my possession. Good thing it will only be a $12 lesson haha.
The "holy land" coin still looks like a big red slug with a lot of verdigris, and the Byzantine cup coin looks like it may be rubbed devoid of markings, but the medieval coins are starting to really come to life. A little more scratching and brushing tonight and back in the OO they go for another week.