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Also wondering about a few things is there an FAQ somewhere? lol.
Unfortunately not relating to ancients, just ask the questions and someone will help you out eventually.
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I read somewhere that collectors prefer their coins not to look 'brand new'/clean and shiny and that cleaning them up that much will make them lose value.
Yes and no, all ancients have been cleaned at some point, its true that you should try to keep the patina on the coin when cleaning if possible.
http://coins.about.com/od/coinsglos...n_patina.htmQuote:
Also with spotting fakes is that something that comes with experience and/or research? because I'm tempted to buy some nice cleaned coins but I do not want to pay a large amount for a fake and am paranoid about it being new.
I'd say mainly experience, certain Emperors and coins are more faked than others, generally the 4th century is the safest and best place to start to avoid fakes.
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Are scales essential? Do they help define the authenticity of a coin? Why is weight important? (I realise in gold or silver it would increase the value, but for bronze?)
No, not when starting out but they can help to work out what denomination a coin is and can be a factor when deciding if a coin is fake, not definitive, just a deciding factor.
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Is there a preferred way to preserve or store coins? i.e wax or some kind of coating, plastic sleeves and/or other.
Personal choice really, keeping them dry is the only really important thing, most people just use silica gel pouches for that, the kind you get in the box when you buy shoes is fine. I sometimes use Renaissance Wax but not all the time and I just keep my coins in a wooden box on trays, many others use
plastic sleeves
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Do uncleaned coins come with the possibility of being fake or are they all guaranteed to be genuine?
Very unlikely to be fake but it has happened, generally fakers will fake higher value coins, its relatively rare to see $50 coins faked, almost unheard of to see $10 coins faked.
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Is there a chance you can get Fine or VF quality coins in uncleaned lots or do they all come in average-good condition, or does it depend on the sellers specification?
Is possible, some sellers are better than others but usually 'uncleaneds' have been sorted through three or four times for anything good before being sold in bulk. The finder will check them, the local dealer he sells to, the exporter, the importer etc. Godd and rare coins do still sneak through but they are few and far between.
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One seller has said any other seller that says you could find gold in an uncleaned lot is a liar and another seller has advertised that somebody found a gold coin in one of their lots a few years ago with a screenshot of the feedback on their page. What are your thoughts?
Finding a nice Roman gold coin in an uncleaned lot would be about as likely as winning the lottery every week for about a year
Anyone who says 'gold found!' in their lots is either lying or has included some tiny (and I mean tiny) Asian gold coins that are barely worth having. Gold does not tarnish so it will come out of the ground instantly recognisable for what it is, no finder would allow it to be sold along with crusty bronzes.
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Also one of the coins I have has orange on it that looks like rust?
It could be bronze disease, 99% of the time its green but it can be other colours too. Best thing to do is soak it in distilled or de-ionised water (yes, answering the question in the other thread, both are the same, just purer H20). I dont know if the other coin above also has BD, best thing to do is soak them both. Link to a BD article, might help, searching the threads here would prob help too:
http://www.collector-antiquities.com/89/I've not used many of the chemicals mentioned in some of the articles, distilled or de-ionised water has always done the job fine for me.
Posted 10/26/2012 11:52 am
if that helps. 
, the mintmark is clearly CONSB meaning it was made in Constantinople, I also think it may have a wreath in right field and a palm branch in left. It is most likely of the Emperor Valens, here is a similar example from another mint.
