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 Replies: 8 / Views: 2,143 |
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Pillar of the Community
Poland
3201 Posts |
I have done some searching and the general opinion seems to be decidedly against buying uncleaned lots of ancient coins.
So, are there situations when it does actually make sense to buy them?
Example: when your intention is to discover an unknown variety of the fallen horseman?
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Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
When I first started collecting ancient coins I would buy uncleaned lots. Back than they were cheap and I would buy 1000+ coin lots. I enjoyed the process of cleaning them and finding a nice coin under all the dirt. There was a lot of culls and unrecognizable junk also, but the lots were cheap so I didn't lose much or any money at all. Now the price of these lots have gone through the roof so it's not worth IMO buying them any longer. The lots have been picked over and all the good coins have been picked out and what you get are the low grade stuff and culls.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3444 Posts |
Almost every seller of uncleaned lots claims they are "unpicked" and that you might find anything including silver and gold.
Unlikely ........ but you might also get struck by lightening too ......
While it can be difficult to determine exactly what has been unearthed the people who do so generally take the time to examine the coins and make sure they are not giving away something for nothing.
By cleaning a few samples they might determine with some certainty what the remainders are and more importantly what sort of condition the coins are in ! Late Romans in XF condition can still bring $20-40 each. While worn or corroded pieces are generally worth a dollars each.
If there is any gold they will surely notice it !
Gold coins are heavy and do not corrode. The dirt is easily removable as oxidation does not occur.
Hope springs eternal so just buy an inexpensive lot to get it out of your system and then move on.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1304 Posts |
I bought a lot, was fortunate to get a decent Hadrian sestertius (probably salted) and have never bought any more. Better to spend your money on what you can see. It's like buying a roll of pennies with an indian head on each end but what is filled in the middle are lincoln cents from the 1940's.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
Depends on your source. I have heard that some vcoins sellers will flip detecting finds with little to no prior cleaning and cherry picking. ebay lots are *all* cherrypicked, sometimes by sellers who don't know their ancients very well. Of the "uncleaned" lots I have purchased, most turn out to be 90% culls or extremely low value, with maybe one or two nice coins to bump the price. In a handful of instances, those nicer coins were worth more than I paid for the entire lot. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
I gave up on the uncleaned lots years ago, simply because I didn't have the patience. Tried olive oil and almost lost my mind waiting for something to happen.
Tried electrolysis but came near to burning my house down a couple times.
Even in a Minnesota winter, I don't consider buying more. I know my patience level just isn't there for waiting for something to appear out of the brown lumps.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1963 Posts |
Quote:
Tried electrolysis but came near to burning my house down a couple times.  |
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Pillar of the Community
 Poland
3201 Posts |
Thank you for your input. Quote:
It's like buying a roll of pennies with an indian head on each end but what is filled in the middle are lincoln cents from the 1940's. Yes, that comparison occured to me as well... Quote:
Now the price of these lots have gone through the roof so it's not worth IMO buying them any longer. The current price range I found is from $900 to $3000+ per 1000 coins. For the record, what was the price back then? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
513 Posts |
When you've got some time to fill and want to do a relaxing hobby where you might get some identifiable, very low value coins in the end.
If you enjoy it then it's great, but if you're just in it for the end result it is not cost effective.
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Replies: 8 / Views: 2,143 |
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Posted 01/17/2017 08:31 am
