Should I clean my Octavian denarius?

[Panathas]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased an Octavian 37 B.C denarius. The coin has a dark black tone. Much detail is obscured by this. Under bright light the coin features show fine. Is there anyway to make the coin shine more? Should I use lemon? I don't want to ruin this hard to get coin.
Below is a photo of the coin. Note: It looks brighter in the image than it actually looks to the eye.

[Andrew McCabe]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased an Octavian 37 B.C denarius. The coin has a dark black tone. Much detail is obscured by this. Under bright light the coin features show fine. Is there anyway to make the coin shine more? Should I use lemon? I don't want to ruin this hard to get coin.
Below is a photo of the coin. Note: It looks brighter in the image than it actually looks to the eye.

It should be this colour. It looks right. If you feel it needs a little freshening up, perhaps wash with some ordinary soap and water using just your hands, rinse well, pat dry. Don't rub. It may then seem a little brighter.

Don't lemon-juice it. Don't use Silvo. Don't abrade. It took 2,000 years for a pleasant dark patina to form. It adds age and value to the coin. Serious collectors like that toned look. It makes worn coins look better. Believe me, if you LJ it, it may just look white and invisible. And you will have damaged it.

It's also generally considered nice to show both sides of any/every coin discussed. Because you don't know what people might say about the other side, or the coin as a whole - even on this matter of toning.

[Panathas]

Thanks for the reply. I had problems uploading on forum today. Here are two photos i managed to upload of the coin. Both sides are included. I might try the soap and water. I don't want to ruin the coin since it is not easy to find. Just to look a bit brighter or better to say show more detail.

[Andrew McCabe]

Thanks for the reply. I had problems uploading on forum today. Here are two photos i managed to upload of the coin. Both sides are included. I might try the soap and water. I don't want to ruin the coin since it is not easy to find. Just to look a bit brighter or better to say show more detail.

It's a nice condition coin and a scarce type to find in reasonable condition. Actually it photographs pretty well which to me means it is not too dark. You can also adjust the exposure of the picture to brighten the image somewhat without touching the coin.

Have a look at the picture below: this coin doesn't need cleaning at all: It's already a perfect colour. It's beautiful. (I boosted the exposure, shifted the yellow-blue balance and removed the background: more effective than any amount of soap and water).

[Panathas]

Thank you very much for the insight and the photo. The photo shows the coin in great detail and does it justice. I won't bother the coin at all. I was really happy to find a coin of this era(my first) and the condition it is in.
 Since most of my other denarii have a brighter shinny surface, it just crossed my mind if it was possible for this coin also. I am aware of toning and patina and their importance. Just wanted to be sure for.

Thanks again.

[Optimus]

In a word, no. Don't touch it. You will just lower the coin's value.

[Randygeki(h2)]

yeah, it looks good

[Robert_Brenchley]

Leave it alone. I have a Parthian drachm which must have been polished at some point. It was probably many years ago, and a nice toning has developed since. It's impossible to get rid of the unnatural shine, though. Lemon juice would not improve its appearance, just leave it looking white and dead.