Buying An Uncleaned Lot Of Romans, Advice Please?

My only advice would be don't buy from sellers who say gold possible.

Hi Ben,

What I am after, I think, is a cheap way to learn and collect Romans where I can be firstly comfortable of authenticity,
I would like a batch that I have a fair chance that once cleaned they are profitable (although I won't be selling them on, my son may do one day so slight investment need)
I would want the chance that they will be nice looking coins once cleaned, which would probably cover the good value for money part.

I don't mind the gamble. So I would prefer spending 100 if it was a coin flip to end up with 400 or 0 worth of coins, because to me, that is good value for money.

My goal is to learn and start these collections without just buying ready valued coins with a lack of knowledge.

I have learnt enough about uk coins and gold roman/Byzantine coins that I won't make many mistakes when looking for good value for money, but the rest of roman coinage I think it would be ignorant to think I can learn well without experience with chunks of coins. So buying uncleared lots seems a good learning ground

Thanks Pish,

How much would you say is a reasonable price to pay maximum for this bundle?

This may seem like a silly question, but, when a batch like below is cleaned, will some look as nice as the picture underneath?

What I am trying to ask is, the coins that look like a flat stone with traces of a head for example, are these just very uncleaned or are they 'baddies', hope I am making sense?

The coins in the picture are dug up in europe and wont turn out like that - perhaps none of that colour, but also the patina will be different. Thats a desert dug coin which would turn up better.

If you want investment coins, theres often (about monthly) coins from a site in Slovenia. Not the best ethically, but nice coins and a good price. Otherwise,desert dug lots come up which are nice but often very pricy.

The lot you posted a picture of is nice - varied - but very few really nice coins ands might be a challenging clean for a beginner. I really recommend a desert dug lot (Syria is a good place for them, but currently not so easy to get coins from) for a beginner. Stronger patina, easier to clean and doesn't take as long as some UK dug coins.

An easy way to start might be to look for some of the 'semi' cleaned coins I see being sold individually on ebay. If you low ball enough late Romans you could probably get a small handful (say around 20-25) of possible winners that have some details showing and good underlying patina which makes the whole exercise so much more satisfying. If you put in the time and effort to give them a good 'washing' they will certainly be worth more than you paid. Plus you need not worry about half the coins being 'duds' and can be assured of getting the variety you are looking for. Of course 'bottom feeding' is an art too. Patience and putting in the time to look at endless listings.

For a true collector the hunt for the elusive 'bargains' is half the fun !

Uncleaned coins are always a gamble much like buying scratch tickets. You will find many more duds than winners (usually). If you have 100 uncleaned coins it will take much time and patience to clean them properly. If you calculate the time and effort many sellers prefer to simply dump the lot and take the money and then re-invest the proceeds and do it again. Proper cleaning can takes weeks months and possibly years. Time is money !