uncleanead roman lot - before and after

[singig]

Last month I bought a 10 uncleanead roman coins lot. I would like to share with you my cleaning results.
For the moment I finished to clean only two coins , but I will continue with the others...

I used: lemon juice , water , bamboo sticks for bbq , small plastic brush , wax at the end

Antoninus Pius Æ Dupondius, RIC 658
Macrinus, Moesia inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum , Varbanov 3487

[Sam]

Good job.
Bravo !

[SC]

Yes, they look much nicer now.

Lemon juice and other acids are usually a strict no-no for bronze coins but yours are an exception.  There appears to be no original patina present and so little to harm.  That said, acids can damage the copper or brass itself so it might be best to start with just water and limit acids to where strictly necessary.  (Maybe you did that, but for the benefit of others.)

Shawn

[singig]

Thanks,
I kept booth coins in lemon juice for only 30 minutes in total (two rounds of 15), long enough to loosen the dirt and to not destroy original darker color of cooper surface.
To remove any residue of the citric acid, after the cleaning, I kept the coins in water for 48 hours.

Unfortunately for three other coins I decided to remove completely the broken patina (to bare metal), they are too shiny right now but with enough details to be identified.

[Sam]

Water ?
Or distilled water ?

Do not use regular water to clean , if no distilled water around you ... use boiled water ( and let under the sun to dry well well ).

[singig]

it was water, but I will start to use boiled water
to dry well the coins I use the oven on low heat

[Sam]

Great .

No distilled water around , where you live ?
If not search online how to make it your self.

[singig]

Quebec,
hard to find this water here, I searched in some big stores and I renonced after...

[Sam]

Should be found in any pharmacy .

[SC]

Distilled water is used because it has no chlorides.  Boiling water does not remove the chlorides and so is no different from regular water.

For coins in his condition there is no need to use distilled water.  On ones with patina that might survive, sure.

Shawn

[Sam]

The idea of the distilled water or the boiled water - if no distilled water - , here is just to remove the lemon juice remainings .
( For better results use it nice warm )
However and in general a bath of nice warm  distilled water for a good nice Bronze ( then drying well ) makes pretty.

[singig]

Two others coins from the same lot, here I decided to remove completely the broken patina.
There is no wax applied for the moment, I will wait some months to naturally darken the coin

Basil II and Constantine VIII 976-1028 AD AE Class 2 anonymous follis. 976-1028 AD. ,SB 1813 (1)
Gordian III 238 - 244 AD Thrace, Hadrianopolis. AE 26mm. Moushmov 2713

[singig]

The sellers are positioning the best coins in front when they are taking photos.
The possibility to find another good between the rest of the coins (not visible) is very low, for me always the rest is scrap. Base your price on visible coins and consider the rest scrap.

Faustina I AE As. RIC 1192A
maybe? Gordian III Deultum , Artemis standing right with bow and drawing arrow from quiver
??to be identified

[singig]

and the last identifiable coin from this lot , no wax applied for the moment

Caracalla AE29 of Serdica, Thrace. Moushmov 4899 , Tyche standing left with rudder & cornucopiae.