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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,281 |
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
449 Posts |
Hello all! I haven't been very active on the forum over the last few months however hopefully I can get back into the swing of things over the coming weeks. I have been chatting with a Spanish detectorist over the last few weeks about the coins he sells as in the past I have bought some very nice semi-cleaned bronzes from him. He has offered me a lot of 100 uncleaned, "unsearched" Romans for the price of 59 pence each which I don't think seems too bad. I thought before I pull the trigger I would get your opinion on the lot and whether or not any good coins could come from it? .jpg)   Edited by Coinage123
11/19/2013 11:32 am
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
From what details I can make out is that they all appear to be late Roman. If there are no culls in the lot than the price isn't bad. It's always a bit of a gamble when dealing with un-cleaned coins. With that in mind I would ask if he would drop the price some.
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Valued Member
384 Posts |
59 pence for late Roman bronze coins uncleaned is not too far off the mark, but only if they have the tell tale signs of good detail showing through, which these appear to have. With a few good cleaning methods up your sleeve you should be able to turn them into presentable coins. If they have no detail at all and are thickly encrusted, 20-30p per coin would in my opinion be better, especially as late Roman bronzes, which these all appear to be, are not that expensive, even in very very fine condition.
As for the 'unsearched' or 'unpicked' claims made by sellers, don't believe a word of it.....nothing rare will have intentionally been left in there. If you are happy with that fact and allow for 2 to 3 out of 10 coins which will clean well, then I would 'pull that trigger'!!
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Valued Member
384 Posts |
Maybe ask for some front on group photos of obverse and reverse...maybe 9 coins in a group (a representative sample, not the best) I am sure your man wont mind. Post the pics back, I'll cast my eye over them and see if there are any likely 'rarer'types and also give an opinion on likelihood they will clean. Also, further to my last, there is a lot of time involved with the cleaning as I am sure you are aware, so use this as your bargaining tool too...
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Valued Member
 United Kingdom
449 Posts |
I have sent a message to him as requested so I will see what I get back. As far as cleaning is concerned I'm still trying to perfect a method. I have spent many, many lunchtimes sitting in my works lab experimenting with a variety of chemicals for those crusty ancients  |
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Valued Member
384 Posts |
They look to have already had a quick wash with a toothbrush and some water....which I think supports my previous post concerning the 'unpicked' nature of the coins. We are all human and I doubt any of us would let 100 coins go if we hadn't checked for rare ones first.
A good long soak in some DW first or olive oil, depending on your preference. Olive oil is mildly acidic, so you will already have gone down the chemical avenue with this method. Sometimes you can heat up a coin before placing in DW and this will (sometimes) speed up the process. It has worked for me in the past with 'Balkans' dirt. Main thing is, as I am sure you appreciate, to try not to disturb the patina. It can be impossible and you may have to repatinate, but not a good thing and can be viewed as deceptive if selling and not disclosed. I wouldnt know how you do this, but I am sure the answers are out there somewhere if you need them. Echizento has cleaned in the past, so maybe he has some thoughts on where to start also.....
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Valued Member
United States
104 Posts |
I agree with YOC about the "picked" nature of these lots. However, every once in a while something gets missed. When I worked at CNG years ago we bought a hoard of late Roman centenionales, split with another dealer. The other dealer wound up with a high grade Nepotian in his half... We weren't so lucky.
Cheers!
John
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Valued Member
384 Posts |
It would be great if you did come up with something rare in this lot!! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
449 Posts |
Just received a email from the guy saying that he will photograph a few in the morning. As the nights are getting darker and much, much colder here I suppose it will give me something to do in the evenings |
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Valued Member
384 Posts |
I remember when I was 18 I didnt clean coins to keep myself occupied on cold evenings! Wish I had, it would have kept me out of trouble......
Get the photos on......look forward to seeing them.
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Valued Member
United Kingdom
449 Posts |
It seems with people my age we go out party etc in the summer; but then when the rain and cold nights start we all hibernate and the communication happens on Facebook and Twitter I suppose you could class us as seasonal... |
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Valued Member
384 Posts |
Beer never tastes better than by a fire in the local hostelry........
Didnt have twitter etc when I was a lad (he says pipe in hand), TV stopped at about 9PM and then it was the ZX spectrum, listening to taped TOTP, or bed.....good times.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,281 |
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Posted 11/19/2013 12:03 pm
