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 Replies: 41 / Views: 4,046 |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
I just ordered 10 Greek and 10 Roman uncleaned coins...
You may take this opertunity to wish me luck, and you can expect many questions from me over the up and coming months.
I haven't done this before and all I know is; don't rush it, check the coins regularly, think before acting and don't use powertools!
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Good luck DavidUK!!  Yah, one day I'm gonna man-up and try it!! ... => it must be a bit like trying to "whittle", or maybe kinda like learning to "tattoo" ... ummm, how hard could it be, right?  |
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Good luck, hope you get nice coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
 We'll be waiting for your questions. Good luck |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4973 Posts |
i bet I know what is going to happen here....  best of luck to you! I think you have the basic down great...patience and no power tool is 80% of it probably...80% of my mistakes have been patience failures. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
I just want something with some details, I will probably need most of the help in attribution (therefore I guess I will need to purchase a USB microscope or find some other way to take decent images of them)
My plan is...
1.Scrub with toothbrush
2.Leave in distilled water/scrub/repeat a few times
3.Sort the coins into batches
4.Olive oil the better coins, olive oil with a teaspoon of lemonjuice the worst ones
5.Change the oil regularly
6.Regularly check the coins
7.Have a pick now and then
8.Ask questions if I get stuck
I spent a total of about £48 on these 20 coins from a recomended seller, I figure I only need one good one to make it worth my while.
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Pillar of the Community
Mexico
1304 Posts |
You know, call me crazy...but I'm suddenly interested too. Is there a primer for collecting ancients?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5155 Posts |
Yes, yes.....collect ancient coins....collect coins.....collect ANCIENT coins....you are interested...
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Good luck with your cleaning project! |
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Pillar of the Community
Mexico
1304 Posts |
hahaha...cientnoob, you got a chuckle out of me.
Is there a thead you can point me to showing before and after photos?
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
I googled and found a long PDF explaining how to restore ancient coins... http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...CUQFjAB&url=http://www.nobleromancoins.com/down.php%3Ffile=art.of.cleaning.coins.pdf&ei=LnpKUIHLG-On0QWctIGIDg&usg=AFQjCNHmYvDoiUaIbAL8iX4Irl8CbJ4Lug&sig2=KIJa46evq-hSDiOA3pp1bg Some of it seemed sensible advice... I don't think I will go in so hard at first (Maybe if I have a real problem I will buy these dental instruments and scalpels but I will try slower techniques first) I have also been shopping, I got a cheap USB microscope so I can photograph coins I need help identifying, and I got distilled water, some glass jars to soak the coins in, olive oil and a stiff toothbrush. Edited by DavidUK
09/07/2012 6:59 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4253 Posts |
Quote:
I got a cheap USB microscope DavidUK, how about letting us know how this USB microscope/camera works. I've been thinking about getting one, but will let you be the guinea pig. |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
If you are going to pick at the coins occasionally, use an orange stick. (something like a sharpened high quality toothpick)
Some of your coins are going to clean up better than others
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Valued Member
United States
209 Posts |
Grats on the newfound interest and welcome! Over at the ancient coin forvm there are a couple of helpful sections. There is a whole section devoted to cleaning ancient coins in general, with links to useful discussions. Also, there is the neverending coin cleaning contest section where you can see the coins people got and see what they did to their coins (with varying results). There are a couple of people active on those boards that know pretty much all there is to know about cleaning ancient coins. I got one of those USB microscopes too, but the one I got ended up being way too much magnification to be useful.
I would only advise to have fun with it, and go slow. It's better to leave some for later than to overdo it, but if you ruin some that is fine (and perfectly normal). Most of all, keep us updated with pics!
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2624 Posts |
JW, I will let you know...you will see the results because any photo's I post will be taken with it :P I saw one on ebay for £12 ($18) and I couldn't resist taking a punt on it... if it issn't any good its no big deal for that kind of money. (220x magnification, Win7 compatable. No light source so I will have to use daylight) Sel, I haven't got any picking tools as yet... I was thinking a cocktail stick might be worth a try before I go hunting for any proper tools. Maybe an orange stick and a cocktail stick are the same thing, I am not sure... I am excited to see the postman in the morning but so far he has been empty handed, I am waiting on several items including a trade that I did with another member that was posted almost 3 weeks ago from Turkey... I will post cursory photos when my uncleaned coins arrive... |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
David - I found a toothpick didnt work. I've been using a sewing needle to clean coins and only used a dental pick on the really tough jobs.
I recently found a craft knife where the scalpel blade can be taken out and replaced with the disposable ones and found that that made a very good holder for the needle. It also means that, because the pin is held quite far back, that if you apply too much pressure, the pin will bend instead of scratching the coin. You can even angle it.
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Replies: 41 / Views: 4,046 |
Posted 09/04/2012 8:30 pm
