i got these coins as un cleaned ancient roman coins and just got them clean was wounding what they where
You got them as uncleaned, then you cleaned them? That's the biggest no-no in the hobby....a quick dip, tolerable, but other than that, cleaning is a 4 letter word in this hobby. They also look to have some degree of corrosion...especially the bottom one.
well i didnt use any chemicals or anything just a tooth brush and water they were caked in dirt just got the dirt off u couldnt even see what they looked like there was so much dirt on them
This is utterly untrue when it comes to ancient coins. When a coin is caked with centuries of dirt, it is not only acceptable, but necessary to clean it. Furthermore, neither coin is corroded - there is a thick encrustation on the bottom one, though. This one actually needs more cleaning, but I will leave it to another to advise on that. If you're not familiar with ancient coins it is best to not give advice on them. The top is a coin of Valens, the bottom is not yet clear, but certainly a coin of Valentinian or his contemporaries. Numismania - I know that's Don Rickles, but is the quote from Dirty Work? I love that movie!
thanks for that and i dont think i could get anything more off of ether of these haha enless i use other methods of cleaning like a battery or something crazy like that and i dont want to ruin the coin
Both are Valens. There is a trick here. Valentinian is a much longer word than Valens and usually is written in smaller letters so they all fit. There is a faint SPF infront of the face so it is Valens.
Both are extremely common and easily available in better condition so price would depend on who is selling and where the transaction takes place. I have seen such things sold by telemarketers or back of magazine ads for $19.95 but $1 is probably closer and you would not be offered even that by most of us simply because we already have all the low grade late Romans we want. There is no consistent market for these. An odd situation is that uncleaned and unidentified coins can sell for more than identified ones. Some people would pay $100 for a hundred unknowns but not $1 for a common Valens. The reason is they are buying the thrill of the search and the hope that the 100 will include a few different, better and valuable coins while a fully researched but nothing special coin offers none of those thrills.
