A Cleaning Experiment Or $121.50 Down The Drain

I decided to try an experiment in cleaning uncleaned coins. Some techniques take weeks or months but this is faster (not necessarily better). Coins shown here were tumbled in a toy rock tumbler but instead of the grits used to polish rocks, I used plastic pellets that might more gently remove dirt and also cushion the blows between coins being processed together. I tried both wet (using distilled water) and dry batches and discovered wet was much faster. Some coins emerged from the tumbler after only a couple hours while others took three days before I gave up on them. I tried to remove coins when they were as legible as they were likely to get wishing to avoid wearing them out in the process.

I bought a lot of 60 uncleaned coins from offered on ebay with a photo suggesting at least some of them had detail that might make coins worth saving. After processing there were 6 slugs or coins that I could not identify to ruler. there were also 6 that I might have considered buying individually but not a single coin that I would have paid over $10 for as a separate lot. The rest were in the middle striking me, on the average, being fairly priced at the $2 I paid. Considering I had to buy the pellets and run the tumbler (borrowed from my grandson), this was not a profitable operation unless someone decides they want the coins more than I do.

Of the sixty coins, I could identify 26 fully including mint mark. Fourteen more could be identified certainly except for the mintmark and another 14 were pretty certainly identifiable but required some educated guessing that I suspect I was right more than wrong. On six I had no ID beyound the period (Constantinian, Valentinian or 3rd century radiates).

There were 17 different people (counting things like Urbs Roma and Constantinopolis as 'people') in the 54 identifiable coins. Constans and Constantius II each had 8 coins while Constantine I had six lifetime and two posthumous coins again totalling eight. There was one each of Valerian (oldest coin as well as Honorius (newest) as well as Jovian (best coin in the bunch). There were no rarities (and no Domitian II for sure). I don't have photos of all the coins but add a few here that may give the idea. Before this experiment I was not a believer in buying uncleaned ancients and even if I had cleaned all of these perfectly, I would now be adding many to my collection. I prefer well struck, full legend attractive common coins that often sell for $20. For the same $120, I could have bought six $20 individuals which I would have preferred to these 60 which I value between $10 and zero. Opinions or questions can be posted here or emailed to me as you prefer. Has anyone tried batch cleaning like this? How did it go?

Best coin was the Jovian from Siscia also shown in dirty state:


This Aurelian is fully identifiable but I can't help thinking was thrown into the group knowing it was faulty.


The Constantinopolis should have been removed sooner so probably dropped from a $10 coin to a $5 one at best?


This Constantine II is among the best group. Very few coins had this much detail or centering.




The Gallienus zoo coin is fully identifiable with mintmark and decent surfaces but such a weak strike that it was not much of a coin on the day it left the mint. There were six Gallienus coins in the lot and all had better portraits than this one but none had as good a reverse or more legend.