The original "before" posting of these coins contains a discussion of the photography so I thought I would post the original photographs along with the "after" photographs in the one post. I don't own any of the
RIC volumes so the
RIC references are taken from
Helvetica's extremely useful tables.
Cleaning notes and
attribution:
Coin #1
This coin required no cleaning other than a wash. It has a beautiful dark green
patina but most details are gone.
Unattributed As, 26mm (widest), 7.19 g,
die axis: 0
Obverse:
head only, right, laureate
Inscription: Only visible
inscription: ...TONINV...
Reverse: standing, facing female figure, perhaps with
sceptre in right hand
"S" in left
field, probably "C" in right
fieldReferences:
Wildwinds partial
inscription search for ...TONINV... yields coins of
Marcus Aurelius,
Commodus,
Antoninus Pius,
Caracalla,
Diadumenian, and
Elagabalus with ANTONINVS in the
obverse inscription. To my eyes the
portrait bears the closest resemblance to those of
Antoninus Pius but also resembles many
portraits of
Marcus Aurelius and
Commodus.
Coin #2
This coin was cleaned with repeated soaks in demineralized water followed by brushing. Dirt obscuring the inscriptions was carefully removed with a scalpel. The coin has a green
patina with some bronze showing on high spots.
Arcadius (383-408)
AE4, 14.5 mm, 1.29 g,
die axis: 180,
Siscia (384-387)
Obverse:
Arcadius,
bust right, pearl diadem, draped and
cuirassed Inscription: DN
ARCADIUS PF
AVGReverse:
Victory advancing left with
wreath in right hand and
palm branch in left
Inscription: VICTOR - IA
AVGGGExergue: ASIS
References:
RIC IX Siscia 39d (from Helvetica),
Van Meter 42
Coin #3
After an initial soaking and brushing this coin began to disintegrate with large parts of
the patinated surface flaking off. Except for further soaks and rinsing, I stopped any
mechanical cleaning at this point. Some of the details used to attempt
attribution are no longer evident on the existing coin and are taken from the "before" photographs, e.g. the pearl diadem.
Unattributed
AE3, 16 mm (widest), 1.30 g,
die axis: 180
Obverse: male
bust right, pearl diadem
Reverse: Emperor walking right,
standard in left hand, dragging captive with right
This is a
GLORIA ROMANORVM AE3 which were minted throughout the Empire from 364 to 388 by Emperors Valentinian,
Valens, Gratianus,
Valentinian II,
Theodosius, and
Arcadius. To my eyes the
portrait most closely resembles
Valentinian II.
Coin #4
Most of this coin cleaned up fairly quickly with soaks and brushings. Small areas of
remaining dirt were carefully scraped off with a scalpel. There are two areas of
mineralization on the
obverse that I left alone.
Constantius II (337-361) AE3/4, 17mm (widest), 1.45g,
die axis: 0,
Heraclea (337-341)
Obverse:
Constantius II,
head only, right, pearl diadem (the pearl diadem is inferred as
Helvetica shows no
head only, laureate
type with SMHB
mint mark)
Inscription: DN CON...N - .... PF
AVG (DN CONSTAN - TIVS PF
AVG - for the letter size there are too many letters for
Constans who minted an identical coin)
Reverse: Two soldiers facing with spears, one
standard between them
Inscription: GL... - ...ERC - ITVS (GLORI - A
EXERCITVS)
Exergue: SMHB
References:
RIC VIII Heraclea 35 (from Helvetica)
Coin #5
What appeared to be just dirt on both sides of this coin hid areas of reddish corrosion
that could be
reduced to the level of the coin faces but not removed. The coin otherwise has an attractive black
patina.
Valentinian I (364-375)
AE3, 18mm, 2.77g,
die axis: 180,
Heraclea (367-370)
Obverse:
Valentinian I,
bust right, pearl diadem, draped and
cuirassed Inscription: ...... - ANV. .. ..G (VALENTINI - ANVS PF
AVG)
Reverse: Emperor standing, facing right in
military dress; in left hand,
Victory with
wreath on globe;
standard with
cross in right hand
Inscription: RE.TITV - TO. .... (RESTITV - TOR REIP)
Exergue: SMHA
References:
RIC IX Heraclea 4a (from Helvetica),
Van Meter 45
Coin #6
This coin was by far the most difficult of the lot and provided the biggest surprise.
Removal of a thin layer of grey dirt revealed a black substance. Soaking and brushing
with a toothbrush and later a
brass brush revealed bronze in some of fields and the tops of the inscriptions. The coin repeatedly became covered in brass from the brush without much of the black being removed and I worried about slowly abrading those parts of the coin's metal that were showing. Finally, a couple of soaks in mineral spirits and brushing removed most of the black and careful
work with a scalpel removed the rest. Since the mineral spirits softened it, I suspect the black was a resin of some kind that protected the surface of the coin from oxidation as there is only a faint
patina.
Constantine I (306 - 337)
AE3, 18mm, 3.68g,
die axis: 0,
Ticinum (318-319)
Obverse:
Constantine I,
bust right, helmeted, laureate,
cuirassed Inscription:
IMP CONSTAN - TINVS
MAX AVGReverse: Two Victories placing
shield on
altar.
Shield has
VOT above PR;
altar has an
eight-pointed
star below a garland. The
Victory on the left points to the
shield inscription Inscription:
VICTORIAE LAETAE PRINC PERPExergue: ST (widely spaced; there is possibly a six-pointed
star before the "S")
References:
RIC VII Ticinum 87 (from Helvetica); Guido
Bruck identifies a
star below a
garland on the
altar as minted in
Ticinum
