Buying Uncleaned Roman Coins

speaking of the antiquities trade, I like UK dug coins because I know these are always dealt with properly.

Also, I have some ancient egyptian stuff which was sold on the streets of cairo to one of my long dead relations (or so I'm told). That's definitely been done illegally, which is quite sad. But they need to be authenticated, I have my doubts about their authenticity.

I haven't bought any uncleaned coins in a long while, when I did they all came from sellers on e-bay.

I've only purchased off ebay also. I only buy them if I can see the actual coins also, prefer a front and back view.

Similar story here My great great Uncle was the Viceroy of Cairo and when he visited my great great grandparents he brought loads of Egyptian furniture over(brass tables, chairs, tobacco jars and stuff). He also brought over a big box of decorated brick work which I would guess is pretty ancient(They now take pride of place in my Grandparents loft gathering dust!). Supposedly some 'really old coins' also came over however I am not sure how true that is. I have not seen/found them .

My motivation for buying uncleaned coins is really quite simple- for the fun of it.

I have the time and resources to do it as a hobby. It also gives me a chance to touch history. I am an avid reader of all things Roman.

Patience is something I have and while the coins are going through the process of revealing themselves I can educate myself along the way.

Recovery of coins isn't always unauthorized or detrimental to archeological sites. Buried coins don't usually figure into the most important finds--such as burials of high-status persons, often pre-dating the coinage period. A good example is the Varna necropolis in present-day Bulgaria. But sure--grave looting goes on to this day as it has for thousands of years. Prior to our modern era where burial objects are valued in their own right, they were simply reduced to their most liquid assets, ie gold, silver, or precious stones, often destroying the works outright and losing all historical context. Today, few looters would melt down a Scythian gold ornament for its metal content--which despite a loss of data to archaeologists, still isn't the total loss as previously.

Specifically to coins, some say that every coin dug outside the auspices of a regulated dig represents a "loss of culture". Naturally, this depends on the context of their burial and what the government considers their cultural history--is a Roman coin found on German soil a "cultural artifact--whose culture precisely"? I won't argue this point; states are free to define their cultural antiquity as it suits them. With some 'history' in archaeology publishing, I see coins more as artifacts of trade than culture. Since coins are often dispersed far outside their cultural point of origin, and were used (and later buried) for monetary worth, what story they tell is more on the coin itself than its context of burial. Coins stand on their own as individual pieces of history--representing the politics, beliefs, and art of the particular state where they were minted. That's why I collect.

Well, that was an earful--if you got this far, thanks for reading.

I've purchased several lots from "oldcoinman" on ebay and will do so again. His lots have included several silver-washed coins and others which have revealed excellent details after cleaning.