Magnvs Maxcimvs, before and after

[Nikko]

I think i really improve the obverse but maybe not the reverse.

[Nikko]

I hardly worked on the reverse with a thin blade and this is the result.

[stlnats]

You've got some great coins you're working with!  And, as I said in another post, I do like your conservative approach.

  

[Tony A]

Before going further, you may want to look at Salem's cleaning lesson on Desert Patina's. Of all types of surface covering, they are perhaps the most diificult to "finish". I'm reluctant to call desert patinas and sand fill "encrustations" due to the negatice connotations such as rock-hard dirt and crystalized surfaces from wet climates. Sand fill is typically less bonded to the coin and softer - which is why removing it is very difficult without damaging the patina as well.

So far, it looks as though things are progressing nicely, but extreme caution is needed with this type!

Tony

[SC]

Nice job Nikko.

That soil plus the fact it is a Magnus Maximus makes me guess it is a Spanish coin.  I find they often have these light coloured sandy adhesions which are very hard to remove.  They are not desert patina despite the similarity and do not yield to any of the desert patina strategies.  They are very very well stuck on.  In my experience only blade cleaning will work.

Shawn

[Nikko]

Thanks men

Shawn is right, this wasn't a desert patina but neither a spanish one. The coin comes from France and i think the dirt was a sort of mud or clay.
I could quickly removing the dirt from the obverse before i put the coin under the water. Then, i had to work hardly and with much more precisionon on the reverse, especially over and between the letters, because the mud became toughter and darker.
I hope this job could help me to sell this coin better.

Nicola

PS
here a picture of my tools.

[Tony A]

Nikko -

 I've been saying for months it's time for that visit to the eye doctor - and now you proved it. (And I was hoping to get a coin order in, too! ) Anyway, it looked - at first glance - like a desert patina with sand fill. I haven't cleaned anything that looks like your coin and wasn't from the Middle East, so this was my lesson for the day!

Question: Did you use the blade point or work the edge across?

I like your coin! (Wish I had one as nice.)

Tony

[Nikko]

Tony,
i have to go to the eye doctor too: this the last time i clean such a tiny coin!

I generally work the edge across but in this case (thin, flexible blade with wide edge) i had to use the point to be more accurate.

Regards
Nicola

[Tony A]

Nikko -

I've been scaling back recently to nothing smaller than Ae3! Time to forgo that next order, swallow my pride, and make an appointment.

I checked through my back-burner uncleaneds and came across a few coins that were similar to yours. I remember setting them aside because at first glance they looked "desert-y" - but didn't feel or look quite right. The fill seemed harder than sand, but softer than some other encrustations. I put them away for another day - and I'm glad I did. Your cleaning example gave me some ideas on what to do with them. (Most of my coins come from the Middle East or Central Europe, so this was a fairly unique type for what I'm used to.) Thanks!

Tony

[SC]

Tony,

Do you use a stereo microscope?  It takes care of the eyesight issues.  But sadly long periods with the 90 degree bend in the neck aren't so good for the spinal column.

Shawn

[Tony A]

No, I use a magnifier lense with the built-in lamp - for the reasons you pointed out. The headset type are even harder on the neck if you wear bi-focals as I do.

too bad we can't afford sestersius only sized collections! 

Tony

[Nikko]

Nikko -

I've been scaling back recently to nothing smaller than Ae3! Time to forgo that next order, swallow my pride, and make an appointment.

I checked through my back-burner uncleaneds and came across a few coins that were similar to yours. I remember setting them aside because at first glance they looked "desert-y" - but didn't feel or look quite right. The fill seemed harder than sand, but softer than some other encrustations. I put them away for another day - and I'm glad I did. Your cleaning example gave me some ideas on what to do with them. (Most of my coins come from the Middle East or Central Europe, so this was a fairly unique type for what I'm used to.) Thanks!

Tony

When you'll approach them don't forget: keep them absolutely dry! Soaks looks  deleterious!

N.

[Tony A]

I won't soak a desert patina, but how about this type? The patina looks to be formed similar to desert patina but the fill is clay, right? A type of "low moisture" climate patina, with enough water to form clay? Will a DW soak damage the patina too much as well as soften the clay? How about a dunk as opposed to a soak?

Tony

[Nikko]

I don't know what that dirt exactly was but if i had kept the reverse dry, it would have been easy to clean as the obverse.
A DW soak or dunk don't damage the patina but make the mud darker and harder to identify. This dirt was  sufficiently soft to be removed even dry.

N.