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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GregH, post: 2279932, member: 75936&quot;]My first experience with uncleaned coins was when I was a newbie to ancients - I won a group of 50 &quot;Greek&quot; coins for about $80 in an eBay auction. When I received the coins, I was really disappointed. They were so tiny, covered in muck, hardly recognisable as coins. I soaked them in distilled water and forgot about them.</p><p><br /></p><p>A few months later, I came back to them, and gave them a gentle scrub - this time, I could see actual portraits and designs on the coins. My interest renewed, I cleaned them all up and found they were small Seleucids and Judean coins in reasonable condition. Nothing exceedingly rare, but collectible! I ended up selling them and doubled my money.</p><p><br /></p><p>After that I was hooked. I bought Roman uncleaned lots. It was exciting at first - but soon I discovered that all you get is the same half dozen 4th century emperors, and the same familiar dull reverse types. Very occasionally, I&#039;d find a low grade 3rd century silver denarius, but never gold of course.</p><p><br /></p><p>So then I became very particular about the uncleaned coins I bought. The best lots were large uncleaned coins (1st-2nd centuries) - and these were the most fascinating: interesting provincials, nice big sestertii... low grade, but mostly identifiable. I haven&#039;t seen these being offered for a long time.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think Dirty Old Coins still offers a good selection of uncleaned coins. There&#039;s a lot of junk on eBay though.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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