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 Replies: 26 / Views: 2,341 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36839 Posts |
About 20 years ago I purchased through the mail a group of ancients from a dealer in Haifa Israel. When I received them, I was disappointed to see that most were junk. Guess they were what he said they were, coins pulled from recent dig sites. I tossed them in a clasp envelope and forgot about them. Today while looking for something else, these turned up. After looking at all the ancient Romans you guys have been posting, these have now sparked an interest. Here is what I have  I pulled one coin that I can half way see something on. Not sure which is obverse or reverse, not even sure if it is up side down or sideways. Can anyone make out what this is?   Coming from the middle east, no telling where these are from. Some appear to be Roman based on the heads of rulers. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
I have no clue what that single coin is that you posted.
20 years later, you now have a pile of ancient coins to work on and identify. Some might reveal more details with some light cleaning, maybe. Be careful.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
36839 Posts |
Not sure how or what to do to make these identifiable. I wrote these off as a total loss many years ago so if I can salvage at least one piece it will be a win.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
Looks like a tripod in the first picture maybe a Seleucid or macedonian with tripod.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
946 Posts |
Wondering if the coin shown is an early Islamic fals. See some examples here: http://www.grifterrec.com/coins/isl...zantine.htmlThe coin seems to look Byzantine on the obverse side, and Sassanid Persian on the reverse, such as the "O" around the edge. If you are a member of Forum Ancient Coins, there are a number of specialised threads there for such coins to be identified. The coins might range from the Hellenistic era, the Herodian era and right up to the early Caliphate of the 640's AD. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
Some of the coins you could soak in distilled water for a couple of weeks. Change the water everyday or so, also give the coins a light toothbrush scrub. Use a stiff toothpick to pick at a coin. Whatever you do, do not remove the patina from a coin from harsh cleaning methods.
The single coin you posted, I wouldn't do anything to it. It's fine the way it is. It looks like it has a partial desert patina which is hardened sand on the coin. Some coins don't need cleaning, some do. You have to judge which would improve and which are fine as they are.
I notice Roman Imperial, Medieval, Roman Provincial and a few others in that pile. The coins certainly ain't high grade but I think you might have a few keepers in that pile.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36839 Posts |
jessvc1, thanks for the tip, I will take a look at some examples of Seleucid or Macedonian and maybe get lucky.
Masis, I am like a fish out of water with ancient coins and am not a member of Forum Ancient Coins. Guess that is another area I will have to check out.
Gil-galad, thanks for the tip on cleaning. Never knew distilled water would work on something this crusty. I thought about Verdi-care, but will try the distilled water first. I will try it on a couple of the more intact pieces. The piece I posted above is about the only one that had enough detail to try to ID so I did plan on leaving that one alone.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2044 Posts |
Distilled water is known to be the safest way to clean coins, to some. It also takes a long time to clean coins. Patience is the key. Never rush cleaning them, or the coin(s) could get ruined.
If you're unsure, post single coins and ask if they should be cleaned or not. Some may require more aggressive cleaning methods by using mechanical tools. That is more advanced cleaning methods. Not recommended for a beginner.
Yes, do post single coins when you decide to work with them. Not to mention learning how to attribute the coins is also a learning process.
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Valued Member
United States
209 Posts |
Pretty cool group of coins you have there. I love cleaning coins, it is meditative for me. I agree 100% with Gil-galad. I think everyone has their own special techniques that they like to use, but really the main idea is to take your sweet time. They won't clean up in a day, some of those might take weeks of soaking and gently scrubbing. Careful with those sandy ones though. Sometimes a very thin layer of sand makes a coin look to be in better shape than it really is, and if you remove all of the contrast you might end up with a slug. I look forward to seeing your progress, hope to see you post some during and after shots.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1549 Posts |
I agree with Masis in that it is Islamic and suggest that the proper top is pointing left in your photos. Both sides strike me as Arabic writing and I don't read Arabic. I am not saying that there is an exact match on this page but this is where I would look in the hope that something looks similar and might suggest a better way to search. http://www.mcsearch.info/search.htm...=&c=&a=&l=#0I suspect that someone out there would look a this and say we are all fools since the coin probably says exactly what it is if only we read the language. I don't collect Islamic coins and the few I have are IDed with greatest difficulty. If you go to a show where Stephen Album has a table, I suspect everyone on his staff would be able to tell you what you want to know. http://db.stevealbum.com/php/home.php |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36839 Posts |
dougsmit I have turned the coin 90% clockwise to put the top where it should be. I used medal rotation for the reverse. I'll take a look at the site you recommended.   I'll go through the pile and post single coins to see if they are worth bothering with. I'll do that in this thread to make it easy to keep track of things. Think I'll just blow the rest of the lot off on eCrater as I don't think it will be worth the time that I will need to put into these. I appreciate everyones help. Edited by IndianGoldEagle
07/15/2012 5:24 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
The coin does appear to be Islamic, some soaking in distilled water or olive oil should reveal more detail on most of the rest.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36839 Posts |
Here's the second coin. It appears to be only a portion of what it once was. Size is about 3/4" wide x 1/2" high   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2596 Posts |
Edited by jessvc1
07/15/2012 6:08 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Thisw last coin looks Roman, possibly Tetricus but that is only a guess
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
36839 Posts |
Thanks jessvc1, it does look similar. I will continue to look for this one under Islamic Abbasid. I might get lucky and actually ID this piece.  |
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Replies: 26 / Views: 2,341 |
Posted 07/15/2012 2:58 pm
