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 Replies: 19 / Views: 2,662 |
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
Hey again..Just wanted to ask what are your favorite techniques in cleaning bronze coins with hurting the patina..I've soaked these two coins in distilled water for a day know and managed to remove some dirt on the second pic manually However they pretty much look the same.. I guess bronze coins need a lot more patience than silver ones I'm very curious to find out what they exactly are! The top one could be an earlier Roman and the bottom one could have is a lot bigger and couldve been during the crisis of the third century.. Thought, ideas and advice would be greatly appreciated ! Thanks!   |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
Lots of patience needed, you may have to soak for weeks or months, it all depends upon what the deposits are made from. Can't tell from the legends just yet. The second coin appears to be female, the bust sat in a crescent. Can you give size and weights for each coin?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
You can speed up the cleaning (well, I say speed) y using olive oil. Brush it occasionally, and be patient.
The two coins here are both mid/late empire. Ill leave you the chance to ID them as more detail is exposed (the bottom one can be IDed now, the top I reckon needs a couple more letters, or perhaps sharper pictures).
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
I would suspect that the first one is a Constantine I follis, but I cannot be certain. The second one I cannot make out at all. I am almost certain these are AE1's of the early 4th century AD.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
I can tell you Constantine I didnt issue the first type. The second coin is a female bust of the 3rd century, complete with crescent. Enough of the legend is there to tell who it is.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
I believe the first to be a follis of Diocletian with SACRA MON VRB AVGG ET CAESS NN reverse.
The second is an antoninianus of Salonina (wife of Gallienus) with SALVS reverse.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4981 Posts |
what did you use to remove the dirt? just the soak? hit it with a toothpick, if stuff doesn't yield, move to the olive oil and let it set for quite a while and hit it again.
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Valued Member
 United States
138 Posts |
I just soaked it with water then used a toothpick..
The bottom one actually had a beige sand patina..not sure if it had to be removed or not but it was covering at least 80% of the details...
How much would a coin like that be worth?
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
If you've noticed the lass pic.. There seems to be some sort of white dirt on the coin.. It's starting to be more prevalent now.. Any ideas on what that may be?
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
It's actually reflective .. I just checked ebay and found the same coin.. Apparently it's a silver bronze alloy... Can anyone confirm? How do I clean it? |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
'billon' - no. Well, it technically should have a tiny amount of silver in, but you'd never know it. Clean it in DW or olive oil, and be careful with both, they sound like they have weak patinas. The white stuff might be a form of BD.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
946 Posts |
I agree with Furius on the ID of the two.
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
The coin initially had some beige sand patina..I've cleaned some of it but I'm slightly regretting it because the sand couldve been aesthetically appealing if it was cleaned correctly..
Im also worried that the some of white stuff could be a form of BD if I dont clean it properly...but some of the white spots glimmer under the sun...
Is the Salonina/Salvs coin rare? If so what is its worth?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
These coins were produced at a time when the economy of the empire was dealing with rampant inflation and mints throughout empire were running at full throttle. If they were in gem XF condition they might fetch between 50-100 dollars. In this condition they are very common and worth closer to $10.
The value to a 'real' collector is always hard to pin down. The thrill of actually finding something ?
Priceless
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Valued Member
United States
138 Posts |
It was almost covered in sand patina..shouldnt that preserve its details?
How can I tell if its in good condition? The details seems to be there the more its been cleaned
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3446 Posts |
The patination will help to protect the surface but the question is how much wear and tear the coin was subjected to before it ended up in the ground (and out of pocket !). The Salonina may well have much more to offer than is currently visible. Careful and slow removal of the encrustation will improve its eye appeal.
The 'whitish' shiney patches are from the silvering which once covered the entire 'bronze' surface. Silvering is of course a good reason to hope for the best. The silver layer was/is quite thin and any remainder on raised areas or open fields suggests minimal wear. You need be patient and soak this piece for many months if not years ! Any harsh cleaning will remove the silver.
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Replies: 19 / Views: 2,662 |
Posted 06/12/2014 06:06 am
