uncleaned coins - before and after

I do think that the reverse looks better than before, but agree that the obverse is worse.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I feel like half the time I try this, its a cointoss on which side turns out. So many times I get one great side and an obliterated other side. There's gotta be a better way.

(oh wait, there is a better way - buy coins that are problem-free to begin with... LOL)

 

Some great looking coins there guys. I've got a lot of coins I bought from Noble Romans in the process of cleaning, finished with around half of them so hopefully will post a review soon. I've been taking the slow and steady approach with distilled water and am getting decent results.

 

The cleaned coins are great but I still have no clue as to why it's okay to clean ancients but nothing newer. Duh, maybe its just me but it keeps me scratching my head. I'm not an ancients collector that is probably why I don't understand. They are a pleasure to view though thank you.

 

Almost no ancient coins have survived above ground for the 2000 years. Those buried in pots or lost in the dirt require cleaning. When there are no coins like modern collectors require and all coins are cleaned, the question is whether you collect 'details' coins or no coins. We certainly expect coins be cleaned gently; perhaps what you would call conserved rather than scrubbed so how well a coin was conserved/cleaned is as important as grade.

There are metal detectorists who find US coins from the 1790's, clean their finds and enjoy them. In a few hundred years all those 'toned' silver coins will be black with tarnish. I wonder what the 'rules' will be then if there are still coin collectors at all.

 

Blame it on the ridiculous market standards these days. Saying you collect details coins is like saying you collect monkey guts in some circles.

the problem is that the modern coin market simply will not bear “cleaned“ coins. Like Doug said, who knows what the rules will be like in the future, but for the past 100 years and for likely the next 100 years, cleaning “modern” coins destroys resale (And investment) value

 

Thanks again hotwheels makes sense now but I'll let you know in a 100 or so years whether it is okay or not... Ha

 

I'm terrified of uncleaned coins --I have zero talent where cleaning them is concerned, which kind of makes the whole enterprise look like a crap game. It's cool to see examples from people who actually know what they're doing!
Congratulations on the set! That was a real coup!

 

It's definitely a learning process, I've failed to do a few coins justice in the past with bad cleaning. But I'm pretty happy with what I can do now. Sometimes you just get bad coins that don't clean up well, I'm currently cleaning a lot where half (or more) of them have really bad patination

 

This is one of the main reasons I only attempt to clean coins that were VERY cheap. Most of my "subjects" cost between $0.80 and $2.50. That way, if I fail, then I'm out 1/2 of a quarter pounder.

Once (if) I get good enough, I will be more comfortable paying more money for potentially better payoffs, but until then I'll waste my money and my time on sacrificial lambs where nobody will care if they get ruined.

I won't attempt to clean a lifetime portrait Julius Caesar, but I will absolutely try my hand on a pile of Constantius II FTRs.

 

I took a minimalist cleaning approach on this one. I just wanted to excavate Hadrian's portrait, reveal more of the eagle, and better see letters in the legend. Finding the exact presence of Hadrian's nose was the biggest challenge.



I used long soaks in Distilled Water followed by careful, tedious, mechanical cleaning using a scalpel blade under the stereo microscope.

Overall I'm pleased. In-hand I can now see the eagle's eyeball, the emperor's eyebrow, some beard detail, and even Hadrian's mustache. Plus all 8 letters of the reverse legend, and the first 5 letters of Hadrian's name.

 

I was looking through my coin photos and realized I had done a little cleaning "touch up" on this Philip I sestertius, ridding him of some dirt from his nose and eyes. Finished with some renwax.

Before


After

 

I like that approach. I've been too "optimistic" about some coins and, in trying to remove everything, I ruined the overall effect.

This lends the impression of an "uncleaned cleaned" coin, where it looks great and nobody can tell that it was worked on. Sort of like cosmetic makeup - if you can see it, there's too much.

 

I had similar results to @hotwheelsearl w/ vinegar - it just brings out the pink on a bronze ... did anyone actually post/recommend vinegar for bronzes or did we both just cowboy it?

 

On bronze coins do mechanical cleaning as much as possible , using a brush , bamboo skewers , metal scalpel , etc...... , only if is extremely hard to remove some encrusted layers you can use an acid solution , can be vinegar, lemon juice , lye , etc... Important: the metal surface should be strong otherwise the acid will make the details disappear , treat each coin individually , they are very different.

 

This Commodus was so discolored I didn't even realize it was silver. Except that the rare Herculi Romano reverse only exists in gold and silver.

After soaks in vinegar, lye, and some overly harsh mechanical attacks, here's the result. I scratched it up rather badly as I didn't realize how much softer silver is than bronze. This really sucks, but I guess everybody needs to learn the hard way.

 

the obverse portrait with the lion skin is also rare , I saw two on vcoins , are quite expensive

 

Hi,

Any idea on how to improve on these two?

- reduced follis of Fausta:




- maiorina of Magnus Maximus:

 

You already know my answer....

 

How can a 2000 years old coin which was under ground be in this superb condition? Any coin which was under ground should have some traces of patina even if cleaned but this example from British Museum has no trace of ever being underground.