Author Topic: Should I clean this, or not? (Read 5214 times)

Jason G · « **on:** June 25, 2006, 02:02:42 am »

Hey everyone,

I just picked up this Julia Domina Denarius from Forum (thanks Joe

) and I was wondering if it is a good canadate for a cleaning? Or should I just leave well enough alone?

If it is a canidate for cleaning, how would you go about cleaning it? Lemon juice? Thanks,

Jason

Nico Creces · « **Reply #1 on:** June 25, 2006, 07:08:49 am »

Question: the black surfaces, are they just dirt? Or is the the coin a fouree?

Nico

areich · « **Reply #2 on:** June 25, 2006, 07:20:59 am »

If it's just dirt - the desription didn't say fouree - gentle scrubbing with a tothbrush and soaking in distilled water should work.

Andreas

Mayadigger · « **Reply #3 on:** June 25, 2006, 11:19:19 pm »

Ave!

Quote from: Jason Grimes on June 25, 2006, 02:02:42 am

Hey everyone,

I just picked up this Julia Domina Denarius from Forum (thanks Joe ) and I was wondering if it is a good canadate for a cleaning? Or should I just leave well enough alone?

If it is a canidate for cleaning, how would you go about cleaning it? Lemon juice? Thanks,

Jason

Jason, no lemon juice, please! Your coin appears to be silver...rather than billon. Try this: mix one oz. of straight ammonia with one oz. of distilled water. Place the coin in the solution and let it rest for at least 24 hours; 48 woud be best... Not to worry, this will not harm your coin.

Then use a Dremel soft bristle brass brush to remove the now-soft encrustations. It will come out like new.

Best,

K

slokind · « **Reply #4 on:** June 26, 2006, 12:00:52 am »

Was this one of the lovely burnt coins? They are a nice batch, apart from how they came down to us. They are more fragile. Pat L.

Jason G · « **Reply #5 on:** June 26, 2006, 03:53:08 am »

Quote from: sseverus on June 25, 2006, 07:08:49 am

Question: the black surfaces, are they just dirt? Or is the the coin a fouree?

Nico

Sorry, I'm not sure, I don't have the coin "in-hand" yet.

It's not a fouree.

areich and Mayadigger - Thanks a lot, I will definetely give that a try and see how it comes out.

slokind - I don't know, we would have to ask Joe.

Jason

Jason G · « **Reply #6 on:** July 03, 2006, 10:53:16 pm »

Well the dirt is a bit tougher then I thought.

The coin has been soaking in the amonia/water mix for about 4 days and I scrub it with a toothbrush every day. Only about 40% of the dirt has come off and the amonia has turned blue. Is this normal? I replaced the mixture once already and it starts to turn blue pretty quickly, about a day. Am I hurting the coin? Thanks,

Jason

Mayadigger · « **Reply #7 on:** July 03, 2006, 11:00:16 pm »

Ave!

Jason, the blue color is normal, so not to worry; no harm to the coin. But a toothbrush will not help. Again, use a battery-powered Dremel tool with a soft bristle brass brush to remove the encrustations.

Best,

Kevin

Joe Sermarini · « **Reply #8 on:** July 04, 2006, 11:13:10 pm »

Quote from: slokind on June 26, 2006, 12:00:52 am

Was this one of the lovely burnt coins? They are a nice batch, apart from how they came down to us. They are more fragile. Pat L.

This one was not from the fire hoard.

Mayadigger · « **Reply #9 on:** July 06, 2006, 01:54:38 am »

Ave!

Fire Hoard? Sounds cool, but I must have missed the post. Help!

K

peterpil19 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 06, 2006, 09:31:45 am »

They are recommended Kevin. From what I've seen, their only fault is that their flans are a little warped and the metal is a little brittle (but not noticeably so).

Here's a Hadrian Denarius I won from FORVM auction--a lovely coin! I assume it came from the Fire Hoard?

--Peter

jesse · « **Reply #11 on:** July 07, 2006, 10:55:25 am »

If it is dirt i would use a little toothpick and a jewlers scope to clean all that dirt away without ruining the detail.

Regards,Jesse

Jason G · « **Reply #12 on:** August 28, 2006, 10:28:31 pm »

Well, it has finished cleaning, thank you to everyone who gave me suggestions. Mayadigger, I went and did it the slow way, just by soaking.

I had the time and didn't mind, I did, in the end, use a needle under a microscope to get the really tough stuff. Here is how it came out, let me know what you think.

Here is the origional and then the cleaned version.

Jason

Mayadigger · « **Reply #13 on:** August 29, 2006, 01:34:13 am »

Ave!

A+!

Kevin

peterpil19 · « **Reply #14 on:** August 29, 2006, 06:00:45 am »

Much better than I thought it would turn out:)

Peter

Diederik · « **Reply #15 on:** August 29, 2006, 06:37:25 am »

Fine job!
Your photo was obviously taken in the daytime (lots of blue on a blue background, too). I played with the picture a bit - looks even nicer!

Frans

Scotvs Capitis · « **Reply #16 on:** August 29, 2006, 12:37:43 pm »

THAT is what cleaning coins is all about! Fine work!

Jason G · « **Reply #17 on:** August 29, 2006, 02:05:28 pm »

Thanks everyone.

I like how it came out. Much better then I was expecting too, given that I had never done this before. The surface is very rough but the details are amazing. I'm not sure about the spot in the middle of her hair, I can't tell if it is wear or maybe a weak strike? The rest of the coin looks to me to not have any wear at all, even the tops of the letters still have their pent roof or chisel like tops to them. What grade would you guys give it?

Thanks Frans, your picture does look better then mine. I tried to futz with it but the histogram was so flat I didn't think I had much to work with.

Jason

Scotvs Capitis · « **Reply #18 on:** August 31, 2006, 12:33:36 am »

Nice coins too, Julia actually looks semi-attractive in that particular coin!

I was just digging around looking for attribution info on my own Domna denarius that has a VENVS FELIX reverse and the weave hair style obverse. With Forum member help I found that this variety is likely unlisted in RIC and other major works. I don't know if FORUM had attributed it for you when they listed it. If not, you might want to look up Alexandria mint coins:
http://bpmurphy.ancients.info/severan/jdalex2.htm

Raymond · « **Reply #19 on:** September 07, 2006, 10:55:49 am »

Just received this today. The rev is supposed to be Herakles wrestling with the Nemeian lion. If I let my imagination roam, and angle the coin in just the right way, maybe I can just see the outline of a man (particularly his legs) facing right and an unidentified blob to his right, presumably the lion.
Do I even want to try to soak this in a) water, b) olive oil, c) TCP solution, c) CIL, d) bring out the alligator clips?

Akropolis · « **Reply #20 on:** September 07, 2006, 11:14:10 am »

My opinion: Don't touch it.
PeteB

Bill Perry · « **Reply #21 on:** September 07, 2006, 11:28:03 am »

Its all up to how much detail you want - or think you can get. Everything has risk - however if it were my coin - I'd risk it to see the detail - purely my opinion. You must decide on what you'd like to do with your coin. A safe slow way is best - distilled water for a few days - light brushing and drop in the olive oil for a few weeks with light brushing. If it looks like more detail is coming out - happy trails - if nothing is happening or less detail then stop. For sure everyone has there own opinions on how to proceed - your just going to have to find your own path and see where it takes you

areich · « **Reply #22 on:** September 07, 2006, 11:43:07 am »

I'm not so sure there is all that much to clean.

That green spot on the obverse looks suspicious.

Raymond · « **Reply #23 on:** September 07, 2006, 12:13:45 pm »

suspicious = ominous = bronze disease? Would soaking in distilled water accelerate this? Should I start with olive oil?
Or file this coin away as a donation to my son's school numismatic club?
By the way, the scanned picture looks much better than the actual coin.
Raymond

areich · « **Reply #24 on:** September 07, 2006, 01:03:32 pm »

To me the coin looks worn, not in need of cleaning.
I just got one myself in a significantly lower grade.

And yes, the spot looks like it could be BD, there are many articles here on how to treat it,
though I've never done it successfully yet. If it's soft and powdery and comes off very easily it's BD.

Andreas

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Author Topic: Should I clean this, or not? (Read 5214 times)

Nico Creces

peterpil19

jesse

peterpil19

Bill Perry