Lump Of Metal Or Greek Coin? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,901
malibu Valued Member Canada 304 Posts	Posted 08/15/2008 4:10 pm This was in my collection when I inherited it over 30 years ago. I was told it was "Greek". I soaked it in olive oil for ten days, took it out a few hours ago and dried it lightly with a paper towel to take these pics. It is about 9mm in diameter, 2-3 mm thick and looks like bronze but you'll note many colours in the pics! The first 4 pics (Greek 1-4) are of the same side and the other 4 of the flip-side. Depending on the lighting and the camera angles there are numerous features but nothing too recognizable (to me, just a beginner!) Image: Greek1.jpg 92.41 KB Image: Greek2.jpg 93.05 KB Image: Greek3.jpg 85.99 KB Image: Greek4.jpg 83.57 KB Image: Greek5.jpg 101.67 KB Image: Greek6.jpg 67.09 KB Image: Greek7.jpg 98.38 KB Image: Greek8.jpg 75.22 KB Report this Post to the Staff

Bonedigger Pillar of the Community United States 1267 Posts	Posted 08/15/2008 4:13 pm I would suggest a MUCH longer soak, maybe 3-6 months. If it's still encrusted try heating the coin on a cookie sheet to like 450º and then (carefully) drop it into ice water. That treatment might loosen some of the encrustation. Good Luck Ben Report this Post to the Staff
Bonedigger Pillar of the Community United States 1267 Posts	Posted 08/15/2008 4:17 pm The coin on the left was the result of a treatment much like I described above. Before it looked like a squashed marble of nothing but rust. Ben Report this Post to the Staff
malibu Valued Member Canada 304 Posts	Posted 08/15/2008 9:28 pm 3-6 months!? could I try the oven treatment NOW and see what happens? alternatively, would you advise against using penetrating oil on this tough specimen, followed by the oven treatment? This is a product used in the auto industry to loosen rusted bolts overnight; a good 2 hours soaking usually loosens rusted metal... Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16868 Posts	Posted 08/15/2008 11:29 pm Cleaning ancient coins requires a lot of patience - more patience than I have, at any rate. It's all too easy to do a hasty job and destroy whatever detail remains on the coin. Of course, it's entirely possible to do a perfect cleaning job on a coin and still end up with a corroded slug at the end - the coin may have been heavily worn and corroded even before it was buried, or the conditions it was buried in may have completely destroyed the coin's details. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 08/16/2008 08:56 am Honestly, I think this coin is too corroded to have any detail left. I also see signs of bronze disease which is never a good thing with ancient bronze coins. At this stage it's not really going to hurt the coin to try heating it. Just be careful because coins have been known to shatter when dropped into cold water. Report this Post to the Staff
Bonedigger Pillar of the Community United States 1267 Posts	Posted 08/16/2008 09:32 am Quote: 3-6 months!? could I try the oven treatment NOW and see what happens?. Sure, I suppose if you want to. Try to have some duct tape handy which will help pull off the larger (partially stuck) flakes. Personally, I would advise against penetrating oil, simply because Olive Oil is mildly acidic and is used BECAUSE of it's gentler cleaning properties. Remember, it's easy to quickly ruin an ancient coin, but conservation takes time. E-mail me with your results if you'd like. Take Care Ben Report this Post to the Staff
malibu Valued Member Canada 304 Posts	Posted 08/16/2008 3:33 pm Thanks for the ideas. I tried the oven trick and no major flakes came off. The duct tape pulled quite a lot of black material off the coin which seemed promising. So I tried more heat and colder water successively until I was up to 500 degrees for 20 minutes followed by very cold ice water with no better results. I still can't see any recognizable details, so its back into the olive oil for a few more months! How does one get a coin X-rayed? Report this Post to the Staff
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