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 Replies: 16 / Views: 3,374 |
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
Hey guys.. I'm truly gutted here.. I recently found a Gordianis III silver coin while on a hike that was heavily encrusted with small stones, rust and major iron deposits due to the soil's rich minerals. It was literally covered in green crust and a hardened brown brust. I couldnt tell what era or civilization it belonged to The edge at the bottom of the coin had some hard and I mean concrete tough iron deposit on it that would not remove..so I would carefully clean it by placing it in lemon/oil in a bowl and placed it in hot water. After it chipped off I realized that the silver might have been cracked which might have formed all the rust since it wasnt pure silver.. Anyways...I'm truly sad since it just happened 15 minutes ago..this is my first disaster ever...If any could recommend me a good dealer selling this exact coin that would be great.. :/ I think mine could have been in mint condition..which kills me even more  Edited by PhoenicianX
06/11/2014 07:59 am
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
That is still a great coin. OK not perfect but it could have been a lot worse.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4981 Posts |
so is it a fouree? if it is, and it looked like you described it, i'd say you have a smashing success there...and not a failure.  |
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Valued Member
 United States
138 Posts |
what do you mean by a success and not a failure? Edit:Here is the coin before the cleaning .. it was a lot crustier too  Edited by PhoenicianX
06/11/2014 09:53 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
797 Posts |
I think it still looks gorgeous with that little flaw. Great details! That would be one I'd be happy to have in my steadily growing (newish)collection
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
I think it looks great too!! The details on the portrait is incredible compared to the other Gordian III coins I've seen.
However I dont think this could be a fouree..
During the Crisis of the Third Century, constant wars required a lot of coins to be produced, leading to heavy debasing of precious metal coinage. The antoninianus was eventually debased to the point where flans (blank metal disks) were produced with 5% silver or less, and pickled to dissolve the copper from the surface producing a spongy surface of almost pure silver. When these coins struck, the force of striking would produce a thin shiny layer of silver on the surface, which would quickly wear away. These "silvered" coins are not considered fourrées, since they are not actually plated since the metal is actually a continuous layer and these coins were not created to deceive.
This is what I read from wikipedia..Can anyone tell me if mine is an actually fouree or not?
If so..what could this coin be worth?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
The flaw is clearly visible in the "before" photos. I don't think you have done any damage at all. In fact, if you let me have your address, I have several silver coins that could benefit from your ministrations!
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Considering the condition in which you found the coin in, you did a fantastic job cleaning it up. IMO the coin is still a keeper. If your trying to find another example check out vcoins.com.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
797 Posts |
I'll gladly let you dispose of this "destroyed" coin...My Address is incoming LoL
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
Thanks! Id like to think I did a good job although I can't help but feel a little bit sad hahaha..I'd like to see what coins you have in mind, pishpash! I'll email you shortly.
Edited by PhoenicianX
06/11/2014 1:20 pm
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
I've tried searching Vcoins for an exact match but no luck! They all have slightly different profiles or maybe I'm just too sad and picky at the moment hahaha! Still gutted that a small part of the silver was chipped off! :/
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
The damage appears to have been done well before you got to the coin, and I don't see how this can be considered anything but a huge success. I'd love to clean one and have it come out like this, let alone find one! Although I am in the US so it'd be a little less likely to happen upon one, haha.
If it is any consolation Gordian IIIs aren't super valuable, so it's not like the chip is the difference between a 4 figure find and a three figure find.
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
Here's a pic with its details.. I tried to carefully and manually remove the stubborn crust with a needed gently.. However, I guess the rust managed to bubble its way to the top which is why it easily cracked open Even if you guys think it's a success..somehow this will manage to haunt me forever *dramatic*   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
That damage is not your fault at all. That was done long ago. If anything you demonstrated a wonderful attempt at conservation. Kudos to you and well done. You did not abrade any of the fine minty surfaces so I think you did alright.
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Valued Member
Netherlands
59 Posts |
I actually really admire how you cleaned that coin up. What a beaut! I'm assuming you didn't do it the usual way with distilled water/olive oil right? I've been working for a month now using those methods with coins Pishpash kindly donated but the results are not spectacular.
Now I realise you don't want to spill any secrets! Really; nice cleaning job.
Edited by MichaelS
06/12/2014 12:50 pm
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
No secrets at all!
Here's what I did:
Place your coin in a ceramic bowl..Pour almosta cup of olive oil and a teaspoon and a half of lemon juice
Then Place the bowl in a pot of water that is filled right below the rim of the bowl.
Boil the water just below boiling point and leave it for 45 minutes
Come back and see all the green or brown goo fill the bowl xD
Do some manual cleaning to remove any stubborn dirt
Repeat if neccessary
If you look at my last picture...you can see the details of the coin being there..but I had no idea that the coin wasn't fully silver..
I assumed the brown rust was there because it was covered in soil rich in iron..the soil here is like blood red
So I would manually remove the reddish brown crust with a needle..I didnt know the silver was cracked so I guess I weakened that part of the coin and after I proceeded to boil it again..that small part chipped off..*sigh*
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Replies: 16 / Views: 3,374 |
Posted 06/11/2014 09:33 am
