They need to be cleaned (carefully) because right now they are lumps. Thoughts/ideas/suggestions/instructions/care? "It's my first time"
1. Remember these are ancients, not uncirculated coins from bank rolls. 2. A good first step would be to brush them with a stiff brush to see if you can bring out detail without further cleaning. 3. I really wouldn't even bother with distilled water at first, just good hot water and let them soak for a couple of days before brushing them with a stiff toothbrush to see if detail is coming out or not. This can be a time to separate ones that look like they are going to have details or be slick rounds. 4. Let us see them then. 5. Good luck
Super disappointed so far... I just opened up my package from "Nerocoins". I ordered a variety of different kinds and he shipped them all together in aluminum foil... I don't know what's what.. :/ I took pictures though so far! I'll likely start a thread and update as I go
I ordered coins like those in the picture, from dirtyoldcoins in 2004, when the coins were actually uncleaned - it's incredibly rare to find actual uncleaneds now. The guides that are available now weren't available then. I tried 'best practices' of the period, following the directions on the packages. I tried gringott's mix (boiling them) and then olive oil. What a disaster. Many stayed in for years and got no better. There's a few decent videos on youtube about cleaning. Most of the ones that I liked used mechanical cleaning, very carefully doing it with a wooden tool. I have little patience, I'm not good with hands-on stuff, and I don't enjoy the process. I learned to buy better, already cleaned stuff, preferably with a great patina. I did buy a decent number of better uncleaneds this year, but it was to leave them as uncleaneds, to have before examples for each denomination. This isn't the exact video I was thinking of, but you get the idea. My advice on the uncleaneds; Don't rush into anything. Find a good video, or get advice from experts, who actually have cleaned a lot of stuff. I completely suck at cleaning stuff, so I'm not the one for the hands-on advice. Victor Clark and other people here have cleaned a lot of stuff. The 1990's were the glory days of uncleaneds. I remember getting As-sized imperials and provincials from Matt Kreuzer for $1.50 each. Most of those were cleaned (the trachea weren't). While they weren't any world-beaters, most were VG or F, with very little bronze disease. 99% were able to be identified. If you can find good bulk deals on cleaned stuff, that'd probably be the best route. Dr. Fishman has retired, but I happily bought all the $25 tetrarchal-era Nummi I could from him, around 2009. They were VF and pretty nice. Even the AE3/centenionalii were pretty decent, for $5/each.
Cleaning ancients seems like a tedious task, but a fun one. Finally getting to the end of the process and seeing all the details is fantastic. Does anyone know where I can get a few of these to wet my whistle?
I looked at his site...junk coins. Notice he also sells some coins-- these are picked out of the uncleaned lots that he gets and then he sells the other junk. This listing on his page is remarkable-- it shows he doesn't have much knowledge and that he is ripping off people that don't know better. He advertises this coin as a "silver siliqua"... it's not! It is a junky bronze coin worth about $3. He originally listed if for $228 and then marked it down to $114. He is either ignorant or a crook or both.
It's not a great way to clean unless you are very careful. I have cleaned hundreds that way; but don't recommend it. My ultrasonic cleaner--
Dirtyoldcoins has a 'few' genres which are uncleaned/close to uncleaned. I sampled most of the genres last year. Most of the 'uncleaned' genres were NOT uncleaned. The circa $7 'medieval' European ones (although most were 17th c. Spanish were the nicest. The $7 or 8 buck Antoninianii size ones were uncleaned, but commensurate with the price. The Byzantine cup-shaped coin (trachy) was uncleaned (but decrepit) and the Justinian 16 nummi was semi-uncleaned. The $12 'premium' Middle Eastern 'uncleaneds' weren't bad, but they weren't uncleaned, per se. They were the orangey type of desert patina highlights, probably a faux patina. Most of those were post-reform radiates. That's just my experience. That was a year ago, and the stock may have changed. IIRC, the uncleaned Spanish were the only ones I had somewhat luck with, of the cheapie genres. Stay away from the $3-4 ones. The $7 ex-dealer stock provincial 'uncleaneds' were NOT uncleaned. Filthy, yes. Uncleaned, no. Out of three, I got one fairly nice one, one was decrepit, and one was decrepit with terrible BD. I'd have been better off just getting a $30 decent one from a dealer. I think the 'uncleaned' silver for $30 is a terrible deal. Looking at the pictures, I could get an equal or lesser terrible one from a dealer for $15 or 20.
Good idea, I've started with boiling water but have never boiled them like on a stove. If you put one in some water and microwave it, you can boil the water...if you try this with two, they start to spark!
Thoughts on these? My limited understanding makes me feel like the metal on these coins are stripped and they will never be cleaner than they are now. Is that true? Or, do you all think these can clean up to something interesting?
Yeah, those were actually better than the $3.00 Holy Land 'uncleaned' ones I received, although one can't expect anything much for $3. They wouldn't be bad for a school project, or something like that. Most of the 3 buckers were identifiable, they were just stripped and ugly, and some had BD.
The best thing to do with them is to send them to me! Hey, just trying to help. Then you won't have to clean them!
As did I. I haven't cleaned the ones I received yet, but so far the middle-east one he is right about. I'm not sure if the patina is fake, if it is I'll end up getting rid of it despite liking the look because I think it's dishonest. I'd rather the coin have a natural patina than something equivalent to paint. I got a holed one in my Balkan lot that I hope comes out nice, but now I'm worried. I'd heard nothing but good things about him. But, to answer the original question, distilled water & time has been my method, and then MS70 & Q-Tips (picks as well).
I did put a few in a small container of distilled water. I'm not sure I understand how that works since the water is extra clean.. I don't really get what it's "doing" to the coin. It's all a learning game at the moment anyway
Distilled water soaks are not very effective. You have to be in for the long haul and do lots of scrubbing. I have soaked coins for over a year with minimal difference. Plus, sometimes the distilled soaks can actually make the coins rusty looking. A good saying to remember when working with uncleaned coins-- "garbage in, garbage out" and soaking sub-par coins in anything other than a magic elixir will yield disappointing results. For low grade coins I go straight to something like TSP (trisodium phosphate) or alconox; but neither of these are magical and your results are only as good as the coins or rather the potential of the coins.
