Cleaning Crusted Roman Coins

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. I am drawn to these coins for some reason. I am still learning about them and until I have my 2 in hand, then I can really start to learn to identify them.

I will have to get a book that shows pictures and some history of the rulers and the period. Have seen little blurbs on ebay about particular rulers and find it all very fascinating.

I read up on the cleaning process that I should follow. One thing that crossed my mind, and it was not even mentioned as a DO or a DONT ........... using an electric toothbrush. I have one that I use. The brush is soft bristles. I think after a good soak in distilled water and then olive oil for the tough ones, that toothbrush would be perfect. Gentle, yet enough force to knock off the loose stuff. Surely, it will not hurt any type of metal.

I think if I attempt to clean some, I will experiment with the low end uncleaned ones. Since I have none, to speak of in my collection, then anything will be good for me to learn off of.

The two that I purchased came from ebay and are not the high end type based on the prices I paid. I think they are the real common ones, but they looked a whole lot better than many others I have seen with worn down details. I will post them when they arrive. Don't laugh at them or my excitement. Remember, these are my first ones. I have never even held one in my hands before.

I don't think anyone here will laugh at them, and quite the contrary, will find each coin interesting. Out of curiosity, do you have the identity of the two coins you purchased off ebay. Which Emperor and which reverse type? As far as I can tell, no one here is a coin snob, and we enjoy helping new collectors. I know I've given this before, but there are on-line resources for identifying your coins, and for researching the history. Once you get these coins, someone here will point you in the right directions. We all started where you are today. Again, welcome to this discussion board.

I'm looking forward to see what you got.

Two nice coins to start your collection of ancients. From what I can see from the sellers picture you are not going to have to clean them. They are fine as they are.

Both coins look in fair condition and are worth what you paid, especially since the seller combined shipping. I looked at some on-line resources and think each coin should be worth slightly higher, but it's difficult to be sure since I can't make out the mintmarks. The reference for the Constans is for the Siscia mint, but I would like to see a better image to be sure that is the case.

Overall, you did well for your first purchase of Ancients. These are common enough coins where you shouldn't get burned and you can learn a lot about how an Ancient of the fourth century should look and feel.

Considering coins, information and prices, the only possible disappointment I can foresee is that both are quite small coins but that was properly described). I would suggest, as did echizento, not trying more cleaning since these are now attributable and have been cleaned to a point that might suggest the 'easy' dirt is gone and what remains would be a problem. You can always clean then in a few years when they are no longer you best coins if you still want too.

Many Roman Imperial coins are thin and weigh between 1 - 3 grammes each. Some of the older coins are thicker and weigh more. I have a Constans coin that is 17mm and only weighs 1.2g. It's almost thin enough to bend or break by hand.

One more thing. The size classification I just talked about is also used when the denomination is not known. Denominations in some cases are unknown to modern numismatists and historians.