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 Replies: 13 / Views: 1,225 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
785 Posts |
At the beginning of the year I made it my goal to get my first ancient coin this year. I have found in Canada there is not a lot of selection and that coin shops won't sell them for under $5 a pop. So Yesterday I just remembered this goal and that I don't have an ancient coin yet. I came across this auction and won these for under $1 Canadian each! http://www.ebay.com/itm/22134300864....m1423.l2649Shipping is killer to Canada (quoted £10.00 or about $18) but I didn't want to pass on this. Probably not the best deal ever but it will get me started in ancients. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1234 Posts |
Congratulation I have similar lumps of corrosion... they are neat but they do show their age.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
4208 Posts |
A tricky lot to learn cleaning with - I was going to bid, but they went above what I was willing to pay. Look about the forum for advice with cleaning, and remember that patience is key.
You've got some variety. I see some barbaric imitations, some larger coins and at least a couple which will come out very nicely. Lets hope you get a BEATA TRANQVILLITAS.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3445 Posts |
Hard to judge from my iPhone !
With some conservation you might get a couple of winners out of the bunch. I see one with a fairly bold portrait that may turn out to be the pick of the litter.
Uncleared material is always an iffy proposition ...... Sometimes you win and very often you do not. Some one with knowledge probably looked them over and decided that they were "ordinary". This does not always mean they are. With uncleared 'stuff' some people will make only a quick 'snap' evaluation and miss a good one. Probably not ...... But you won't know until they get a gentle cleaning. Don't do anything too harsh. Once cleaned it is impossible to go back. Unless you have a thousand years to spare. Soak them for a week in distilled water and brush with a worn out tooth brush. Rinse and repeat. If you see something which can be photographed some one here will advise you.
Good luck ...... Hope you find a winner !
Edited by FVRIVS RVFVS
12/31/2013 1:45 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Congrats, on making your goal. Welcome to ancient coin collecting.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4973 Posts |
post some pics when you clean them up!  to ancients! |
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
785 Posts |
Thanks everybody. I also hope there's a winner in the lot! I will post pictures when I have them in hand maybe after a little cleaning.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
785 Posts |
The coins just came in today, They are soaking in distilled water right now. I'm not sure what else I should do? Should I gently rub them with a toothbrush or something similar.
Also they don't really have any detail, about half of them you can make an outline of where the portrait is and there are 5 with a bit better detail. One of them has really good detail with some of the letters clearly readable (unfortunately looks like it has been severely scratched by a shovel). Will these coins get a lot better (details) after cleaning or not? Thanks, your time and knowledge is appreciated.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
Every batch of coins is different. Sometimes you get culls or blanks with no detail at all. Sometimes you think something might be blank and it will reveal something really good. This happened to me, I found a silvered bronze under the dirt, but it looked completely flat before it was cleaned. Don't expect that every coin will show you something.
I bought a batch of toothbrushes from Asda/Walmart. Trim them down by about half so the bristles are a little stiffer. Soak in DW and change the water as it becomes cloudy. Brush the coins and put them back into soak. It could take hours, days, weeks or months, you have to be patient. It might seem as though nothing is happening, just keep going. You could also use a toothpick to try and clean the surface. Don't try anything sharper until you get the feel for what you are doing. I use a scalpel but I have had plenty of practice. I also use a stereo microscope which I would recommend, but don't go spending money until you decide that you really want to carry on doing this!
Take before, during and after pics. Different dirt will disolve at different rates, you will get a feel for this once you have cleaned a few batches. At the point where you feel as though they are not going to get any cleaner, put them in DW and leave them a couple of weeks, then go back and have another look. Sometimes they reveal themselves very, very slowly!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
785 Posts |
Thanks pishpash, I will leave them in the water for another day or two then see how they look. I will probably put them in clean DW after that.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
If they are in tap water, take them out. Dry them off and wait until you have DW. Tap water not good for them.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
785 Posts |
I know, I am using distilled water and will only use it. Thanks for making sure though.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
3626 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
785 Posts |
Today I changed the water as it was getting cloudy with new, clean DW. Also lightly loosened some of the softened dirt off with a toothbrush. To my surprise many of the coins have shown great detail. One in particular has shown so much detail I can see a date. It's a 195x halfpenny and I can't blame the seller for thinking it was ancient. 1/3 of it was cut off and it is just in awful condition. I will post pictures later. When I received the coins I counted & recounted 41 so not to worry I still get the 40 ancients as promised.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 1,225 |
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Posted 12/31/2013 1:43 pm
