Forum Uncleaned Coins

[awl]

I was woundering if anyone had experience buying uncleaned coin from the forum shop?

Did you find any interseting coins? (rare, silver, gold...)

[areich]

THERE IS NO GOLD IN UNCLEANED LOTS

I have bought uncleaneds from FORVM in the past and was surprised that there
were quite a few silver/silvered coins in there.
But the quality varies not only from seller to seller but also over time.

Andreas

[arizonarobin]

As already stated.. You will not find gold in uncleaned lots.

This is a great page to read when you start with uncleaneds:
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Complete%20Guide%20to%20Uncleaned%20Coins

As for the Forvm uncleaneds:

Did you find any interseting coins? (rare, silver, gold...)]Did you find any interseting coins? (rare, silver, gold...)

They are great! One of my favorite coins came from an uncleaned lot on Forvm (Aquilia Severa Silver Denarius) 

~Robin

[Vitruvius]

Awl,

I recently purchased some uncleans from Forum.  These are some of the best I've seen yet.  A real good mix.  Highly recommended! 

V

[Andrew Courtney]

I recently purchased my entry in the Never Ending Coin Cleaning Competition.  These are by far the best uncleaned coins I have come across.  I don't think I will be buying any off ebay again.

Andrew

[Andrew Courtney]

I received my second uncleaned purchase of ten (actually received 12) coins today.  Outstanding quality.  Out of the bag and a light rinse showed a Greek coin from Thrace Maroneia ca. 400 B.C. and a nicely silvered Fel Temp.  There is also many larger coins than of received from other uncleaned suppliers.

[peterpil19]

THERE IS NO GOLD IN UNCLEANED LOTS

The only gold you will find in uncleaned lots is gold that has been put there by sellers, and they are not roman nor greek gold coins but tiny gold coins that are otherwise available for $10 -$20. Also, many buyers apparently mistake bronze coins as gold somtimes, explaining the "gold found" claims in eBay sellers' feedback.

--Peter

[saholz]

I haven't bought any uncleaned coins from Forum, but just ordered a lot of 100 of their $1.40 "better" uncleaned coins.  We'll see.  The last few months my results have been pretty dismal, as far as finding any good lots of uncleaned coins.  Regardless of who sells them, regardless of the price, regardless of the claimed point of origin, I've been winding up with nothing but corroded junk.  A ton of very common Fel Temps and Gloria Excertitvs in poor condition, and some very small  AE4's from Theodosius and Arcadius in equally poor shape.  It's been frustrtaing since it wasn't all that long ago that almost every batch I bought yielded something of value, either through condition or rarity.

I'm hoping this new group from Forum reverses this trend.  I'll let you know how this latest cleaning venture turns out.

[peterpil19]

Make sure you post some pictures of the end result for everyone to see when:)

--Peter

[saholz]

I just got my 100 unsorted coins in on Thursday, have had them soaking in DW, and have done some light brushing on most.  Results are very preliminary at this point, but I am encouraged.  So far I've found two decent silvers, a few silvered coins, some smaller coins in EF condition, a few large coins too encrusted to see anything yet, one really nice but holed large Gordian with a COL IVL reverse from Pella, a virtually mint veiled Constantine/quadriga, a lovely little green campgate, at least one nice Greek, and some assorted provincials and Islamics.  There was a 10% overage, so I got 110 coins.  A few are chipped, some badly, including a partial beautiful denarius...rats!  About a quarter are crusties.  Sizes are mostly AE4's and AE3's, with a smaller number of larger coins.  Overall, a very good mix of sizes and styles for $1.40 per coin. 

This lot is better than almost all the "premium" uncleaned coins I've thrown money out on over the past year or so.  The only source that matches this lot for quality has been Old Coin Man on eBay.  His stuff has been similar in quantity, albeit a bit more costly.  My great sources from years ago all seem to be gone now, so this lot from Forum has me very encouraged.  Just a note...I've ordered from every "direct" source for "unpicked" coins I have found.  I've had coins come in from all over Europe and the Middle East and have routinely been disappointed in what was actually shipped.

As I get further along in the cleaning process I'll post some pictures.  I expect to be busy with this bunch for quite some time and expect a few pleasant surprises along the way.

Yours in callouses and dirty fingers,

Stan

[Buzzygirl]

I just purchased a small lot of ten uncleaneds here, plus a couple of small brass brushes. After I receive them, I'm going to try the DW soak first, and if that doesn't work, I might try some gentle dish soap and some more elbow grease. I don't think I'm patient enough for the olive oil treatment.  I will probably also purchase some Ren-Wax after I get them clean.

I'm not very good at coin photography, but if I manage to get them looking real good, I will try and post some pictures.

[Buzzygirl]

Got my FORVM uncleaneds today. One is a silver denarius of Gordian III... a simple rinse with some DW cleaned it up very nicely. I'm still trying to determine the legends though; the obverse is very slightly off-center, just enough to make it hard to read the last part of the legend. The back is a Pax figure.

The others... well, not quite sure what they are yet, but I can see a few will clean up quite easily, a few others may need a bit more work.

The bowl of DW is already dirty... good sign I guess!

Now, I just need to buy a denture brush and a dental pick, and I should be all set.

Anyone use Vulpex cleanser with any success? I did a search on Vulpex on these forums, but couldn't come up with any posts that contained testimonials either way.

Thanks for the nice batch of uncleaned coins, Joe!! You shipped FAST too.

[areich]

I had the impression that Vulpex was a little better than the regular stuff for washing dishes,
but I'm not sure. It smells like urinal cakes and the bottle it came in is very leaky, which means it will smell a lot!
So, in a nutshell, I would only reccomend getting it if you're ordering something else anyway.

Andreas

[Buzzygirl]

Andreas-- thanks-- I think I will hold off on buying Vulpex until I see how this batch of coins turns out. Maybe I won't need it after all.

[feltemp68]

Anybody have any updates on how their uncleaned lots from Forum have turned out?  I know it's a hit or miss thing and can vary, but I'd like to know your overall impression of what you got now.

[Matthew Raica]

I ordered a batch a couple months ago.  I have been happy with them thus far.  They are a decent mix.  A few greeks, a lot of Romans, and one coin I believe is of Russian orgin.  While most of them are still soaking, a few have come out nicely. These were from the "straight from the bag, no sorting slugs, bent, broken or chipped", a good number look like they will turn out nicely.  They were advertised as E-bay quality.  While not premiums, they are a little better than advertised.  Overall, I'm happy with them.

[feltemp68]

I was looking over some materials that I had printed out in early June and I noticed that the price for a 50 coin lot (UCS50) back then was $85.00 but now it is $100.00.  Does anybody know if this was changed just because of a general increase in suppliers' prices or was there a new "better" lot that got in that cost more?

[His Star]

. .  . .as far as finding any good lots of uncleaned coins.  Regardless of who sells them, regardless of the price, regardless of the claimed point of origin, I've been winding up with nothing but corroded junk.  A ton of very common Fel Temps and Gloria Excertitvs in poor condition, and some very small  AE4's from Theodosius and Arcadius in equally poor shape. 

This is why I have been shy of buying uncleaned. . .
but it seems several have bought Forum's unlceaned and are pleased.
I also read through the unclean coin contest, what fun! but back to point,
if it seems to be a consensus of satisfaction, I may give forum unlceaned a try.

keep us informed.

[Joe Sermarini]

What we charge for uncleaned is always based on what we pay for them.  Since we don't clean any of them, we rely solely on our suppliers pricing to indicate how good they are and what we should charge.  Prices change as our costs change.

[feltemp68]

Thanks Joe,

I understand of course that you have to change with what your suppliers charge.  I was wondering if you had any special insights as to the current selection.  Not that you can guarantee anything, but would your guess be that somebody buying the current 50 coin lot at $100 would have a good probability of being happier than somebody that bought the 50 coin lot at $85 back in June, or have the same general quality coins just gone up in price?  If you don't have any idea I completely understand, and didn't mean to irritate at all.

[Istinpolin]

Uncleaned coins, the gateway drug.

[His Star]

Oh my gosh, I think I'm going to throw up. .. .
I bought uncleaned coins from forum. . .

Oh, I hope they are nice,
Uggh, I hope I can clean them,
uhhh, these were my pennies this time!

Here are the coins.

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