thejewk Posted November 17 · Member Share Posted November 17 Does anyone know a good coin cleaner who accepts customers? Preferably in the UK, but I'm getting less picky as my search remains without fruit. I have these two coin: LMCC 5.03.009 – Not in RIC DN MAXIMIAN(O P) F S AVG Laureate and cuirassed bust right MARTI PACIF Mars, in military dress, lunging left, right hand holding branch, left spear and shield PLN – London Mint 4.64g, 26mm, 23mm beaded circle November - December 307 AD IMP CARAVSIVS PF AVG Cuirassed and draped bust right, holding shield in left hand, spear in right MONETA AVG Moneta standing left holding scales and cornucopiae 20.5mm, 3.29g The first is the third known of its type, one being in the ANS collection and another recently sold by CNG that was previously in the Vogelaar collection, and it is quite possibly the best known. I received it in a considerably more muddy condition and I cleaned it to the point that you can see above but I do not have the skill to fully clean the coin without fear of marking it. The second is a unique Carausius coin in very good condition, let down only slightly by a weak reverse strike. The bust type with spear and shield is by itself incredibly rare, and this coin is one of the prides of my collection. Again, I received it in a much muddier condition, and cleaned it to this point, but do not have the skill to fully clean it. I would love to be able to pay to get these two coins properly cleaned of the remaining muck, but quite simply can't find anyone to do it. Any pointers or references would be much appreciated. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted November 17 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted November 17 (edited) There used to be a UK outfit called Crusty Romans that cleaned coins and offered them for sale in bulk. However, I am not sure if they are in business anymore. Edited November 17 by Ancient Coin Hunter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambr0zie Posted November 17 · Member Share Posted November 17 Check with @galba68. The before and after photos show a dramatic change and a perfect cleaning. From what I understand, he is a metal detectorist so his coins are initially in much worse shape. Perhaps our colleague will have tips and tricks or perhaps even clean them himself. Disclaimer - I don't know our colleague in person and we never discussed privately but his results are impressive. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted November 17 · Member Share Posted November 17 I love the patina on the first one. Unless there's hidden BD, I'd be super happy with #1, as is. I'd be interested to see the answer, too. There's bound to be a coin or two I'd like cleaned better. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Ancient Coin Hunter Posted November 17 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted November 17 1 hour ago, ambr0zie said: Check with @galba68. The before and after photos show a dramatic change and a perfect cleaning. From what I understand, he is a metal detectorist so his coins are initially in much worse shape. Perhaps our colleague will have tips and tricks or perhaps even clean them himself. Disclaimer - I don't know our colleague in person and we never discussed privately but his results are impressive. Good idea. Whoever helps Galba with the cleaning does a great job!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galba68 Posted November 17 · Member Share Posted November 17 3 hours ago, ambr0zie said: Check with @galba68. The before and after photos show a dramatic change and a perfect cleaning. From what I understand, he is a metal detectorist so his coins are initially in much worse shape. Perhaps our colleague will have tips and tricks or perhaps even clean them himself. Disclaimer - I don't know our colleague in person and we never discussed privately but his results are impressive. Thanks guys for mentioning me about coin cleaning...The best and closest method that my friend uses is following- http://www.romanorum.com/docs/A Method for cleaning ancient coins. Romanorum.com.pdf The only thing he mentioned to me is that he never soaking bronze coins in distilled water, it does not help in removing problematic parts and only softens the patina.. Thejewk, only practice and practice, at first with the cheap ones, of course, and if you are good at cleaning ancient coins, in the UK you can earn decent money 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted November 17 · Member Share Posted November 17 I'm not sure how much you're wanting to clean them? The first one is truly special with the patina. Think of how many cleaned nummi we have. We don't have that many on the market like that. The Carausius could probably use some minor TLC. I don't know much about cleaning, but at some point it might not be possible to get a significant amount of gunk off without damaging the patina. What about enquiring around through UK dealers? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejewk Posted November 17 · Member Author Share Posted November 17 30 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said: I'm not sure how much you're wanting to clean them? The first one is truly special with the patina. Think of how many cleaned nummi we have. We don't have that many on the market like that. The Carausius could probably use some minor TLC. I don't know much about cleaning, but at some point it might not be possible to get a significant amount of gunk off without damaging the patina. What about enquiring around through UK dealers? The Maximian doesn't need anything fancy doing to it at all, like you said the patina is great. I just want the remaining dirt removed to ward against the potential for something unpleasant to happen underneath it. It's not challenging to remove it compared to a lot of encrustations and the like, but it requires a sharp implement and a steady hand at this point and I have neither! On the Carausius it's a similar story but spread over most of the coin and in all the details. You can see the patina on the high points of the face and the rim of the coin, and it is typical of the fabric of good Carausius coins. It's just too dense to move with easy and safe tools and needs something abrasive to work the areas that if done carelessly will lead to damage. I think contacting UK retailers and auction houses will be the next step, good idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerosmyfavorite68 Posted November 17 · Member Share Posted November 17 You have excellent taste to not do much with the Maximian. We all look forward to seeing the final results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor Victor_Clark Posted November 17 · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted November 17 The surface of the Carausius is flaking off, especially on the obverse on his face. It needs to be handled very carefully or else there will be more loss of the surface. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heliodromus Posted November 17 · Member Share Posted November 17 There is someone, Georg5, with god-like cleaning skills, both mechanical and chemical on the German board numismatikforum.de. I've never seen anyone else even remotely close. You need to read all his posts on both these threads (chemical and mechanical) to understand what he is capable of. Every coin gets a custom approach according to it's needs. He's mentioned cleaning coins for other people, but never offered to do so, so you'd have to ask and see. https://www.numismatikforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=62368&start=360 https://www.numismatikforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=62355&start=300 The pictures really tell it all, but of course you can paste the link into Google translate to read these threads. I've seen individual coins cleaned well by other people - removing greenies off silvered LRBs, or mechanically cleaning hard dirt, but never the range of approaches that Georg5 demonstrates. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejewk Posted November 18 · Member Author Share Posted November 18 9 hours ago, Victor_Clark said: The surface of the Carausius is flaking off, especially on the obverse on his face. It needs to be handled very carefully or else there will be more loss of the surface. Thankfully those same patches were exposed when I purchased the coin in 2019, and there has been no change over time. It is very stable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejewk Posted November 18 · Member Author Share Posted November 18 For reference, here are a couple of bad pictures I took of the coin on the day it arrived. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejewk Posted November 18 · Member Author Share Posted November 18 And here is the Maximian as received, when I thought it was a mule of the more common Constantine type with the same reverse. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.