p2c
Bronze Member
- Apr 14, 2009
- 1,356
- 5
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Etrac and Grey Ghost NDT; Garrett Pointer Pro
Well,
I am trying to manage my withdrawls... My only nearby non-FP place south of I-80 is super thin and I am doing good to pull out a wheatie or indian from time to time. So, I spent a little money to buy some uncleaned roman and earlier Seleucid coins. After doing a lot of research, I found it actually pays a little more to buy the 'premium' ones instead of getting 50 for $70, but ending up with 35 slugs, I payed about $4 per coin and they all look like they will clean great and attribute well. The Seleucids were a little more. Included are photos of the 2 uncleaned lots, Plus the first one I have been working on. I am not finished with it yet, but it is cleaning awesome and I have it attributed. When I started the reverse had 2 to 5 mm thick hard black stuff I had to work off. The obverse had black over it too, but not as thick. It's slow working not to damage the patina, but I guess I am about 80% done with this first coin. It will be fun, and adds several neat coins to my collection. My only other 2 romans are both silver denarii, which I had to pay $$$ for.
Roman Follis AE1 to AE4 Seleucid large bronze coins
And a historical side note that in the latter days of the roman empire the Follis Started out large and was coated with silver, to replace the denarius (silver), due to inflation and shortage of silver --- Sound familiar? As time went on, the first the silvering disappeared, then the copper content was reduced (Sound familiar?), which accounts for the 4 different sizes that are classified as AE 1 (27 mm dia or more) to AE4 (17 mm dia or less). This cleaned one is an example of an AE4 and only measures 12 mm in diameter.
I am trying to manage my withdrawls... My only nearby non-FP place south of I-80 is super thin and I am doing good to pull out a wheatie or indian from time to time. So, I spent a little money to buy some uncleaned roman and earlier Seleucid coins. After doing a lot of research, I found it actually pays a little more to buy the 'premium' ones instead of getting 50 for $70, but ending up with 35 slugs, I payed about $4 per coin and they all look like they will clean great and attribute well. The Seleucids were a little more. Included are photos of the 2 uncleaned lots, Plus the first one I have been working on. I am not finished with it yet, but it is cleaning awesome and I have it attributed. When I started the reverse had 2 to 5 mm thick hard black stuff I had to work off. The obverse had black over it too, but not as thick. It's slow working not to damage the patina, but I guess I am about 80% done with this first coin. It will be fun, and adds several neat coins to my collection. My only other 2 romans are both silver denarii, which I had to pay $$$ for.
Roman Follis AE1 to AE4 Seleucid large bronze coins
And a historical side note that in the latter days of the roman empire the Follis Started out large and was coated with silver, to replace the denarius (silver), due to inflation and shortage of silver --- Sound familiar? As time went on, the first the silvering disappeared, then the copper content was reduced (Sound familiar?), which accounts for the 4 different sizes that are classified as AE 1 (27 mm dia or more) to AE4 (17 mm dia or less). This cleaned one is an example of an AE4 and only measures 12 mm in diameter.
