Charles VII Blanc

bronzemat

I'm always a sucker for affordable medieval coins & this was listed fairly cheaply and as uncleaned. Since I am a tad more comfortable cleaning some very old silver with this kind of crust, I decided to get it and clean away.



A few days of soaking in diluted lemon juice & picking resulted in a much better looking coin. I probably could do better but some of that green copper is stubborn and I dont mind some gruff still on it.



Either way it's much better then before.



Also this king has big historical ties to Joan of Arc, another appeal.



Before







After





Charles VII le Victorieux, (1422 - 1461 A.D.)

AR Blanc à la Couronne

O: +KAROLVS FRANCORVM REX (castle), royal coat-of-arms within in trilobe; three crowns around; O pointed; annulet under sixth letter.

R: +SIT:NOME: DNI:BENEDIC:TV (castle), cross pattée with crowns and lis in opposing quarters; all within quadrilobe; O pointed; annulet under sixth letter.

25mm

2.53g

Duplessy 519A; Ciani

lordmarcovan

Nice. I know what you mean about being a sucker for cheap medievals.



If you squint at it just so, that cross-within-quadrilobe really brings to mind the ones on Spanish-American cob coinage.

bronzemat

Originally posted by: lordmarcovan



If you squint at it just so, that cross-within-quadrilobe really brings to mind the ones on Spanish-American cob coinage.

Your right, never saw it like that.



I have his dad, Charles "The Mad", think it was posted here awhile ago.

lordmarcovan

Forgive me for saying this (and I'm not suggesting you "ruined" the coin by any means), but I rather prefer how it looked in the "before" pictures, because it appears to have had more design contrast. But you're the one who has it in hand, and if you think it looks better now, I'll trust your judgment. Perhaps it did need a little judicious cleaning.



Certainly it still looks OK and if it retones a bit over time, then I'll agree that it looks better than before.



Perhaps the "Taco Bell Napkin In A Windowsill" trick would be beneficial.



(For those outside the USA, I will explain that the Taco Bell fast food restaurant chain uses brown paper napkins which can, over time, impart an attractive sort of "album toning" to coins that have been wrapped in them and left alone for a while, much as old tissue papers often did.)