Uncleaned Ancient Coins off of eBay

SilverEagles92 · November 4, 2006 7:48AM

I know this should probably go in the world coin forum, but...

Has anyone had success in buying these? Just bought a few lots... What should I expect?

cullenbryant · November 4, 2006 7:57AM

i bought a lot once before. soaked in olive oil forever.
some descent results.
before it was over though, i had to get the dremmel out on a few

SilverEagles92 · November 4, 2006 8:03AM

I had heard of the olive oil... Any certain type I should use? Virgin? Extra-virgin?

Russ · November 4, 2006 8:07AM

<< <i>Just bought a few lots... What should I expect? >>

Mostly chunks of dirt with a couple corroded coins salting the mix.

Russ, NCNE

robertpr · November 4, 2006 8:09AM

<< <i>

<< <i>Just bought a few lots... What should I expect? >>

Mostly chunks of dirt with a couple corroded coins salting the mix.

Russ, NCNE >>

Usually, what Russ said. However, you'll still have fun and they're generally pretty cheap.

SilverEagles92 · November 4, 2006 8:14AM

Yeah, I spent $8 and I'm expecting to get around 25 coins. Are there other ways to clean them?

billboat · November 4, 2006 8:17AM

I've done it and regreted it---spend a few more dollars and get some really nice greek and roman coins. No gunk, attributed and well worth the money. Ancients are really not that expensive. You can find some really nice examples for under $20. It beats soaking hunks of corroded bronze in olive oil and scrubbing with a toothbrush--most often to no avail.

GoldenEyeNumismatics · November 4, 2006 8:23AM

i've never found anything spectacular in uncleaned roman coin lots, but the thrill of the hunt makes it a lot of fun

chiefbob · November 4, 2006 10:12AM

If you Google ancient coins, there are some good dealers out there and they have some extensive cleaning info on their web sites.

What's really bad are the eBayers who claim "gold found" in their lots. I did some of these a few years ago, had some fun doing it and one coin cleaned up looking like a gold coin. I put a digital pic on one of the ancient coin forums and the experts told me I had a shiny bronze coin. They even provided the attribution.

Some of the other coins were real nice, though, and I was able to attribute them using one of the dealer sites. I gave it to my friend's son and he was flabbergasted that he was holding a Roman coin in his hands that was over 2,000 years old. I told him a gladiator might have even owned it back then. It made his day!

Have fun!

SilverEagles92 · November 4, 2006 10:17AM

Now THAT'S what I was after! I don't care if I get gold, silver, or not. I paid a few dollars for a bunch of thousand year old coins! You can't beat that by much. Depending on how many coins are sent, I might try a few different methods of cleaning. Should be a great little project!

billboat · November 4, 2006 11:07AM

Good luck--but don't expect much. The $19 plus shipping that you spend could be put toward buying a nice cleaned and attributed AE20 or larger Roman bronze (even Greek--I purchased a Phillip II, father of Alexander the Great, bronze for $20 a few yearsa ago)or better coin without the work. That said, it is fun, if somewhat frustrating, to clean your own. Just don't get your hopes too high. Most of the "Uncleaned coins" aren't worth it--if they were, the sellers wouldn't be selling. And for sure don't expect to find gold. You may find some silver washed Roman coins (debased copper lightly coated with silver for various reasons by the emporers needing cash to finance their wars and pay their legions)--but even these are not that common and can be ruined via novice cleaning techniques.

SilverEagles92 · November 4, 2006 11:09AM

I only spent $11 total, and I assure you that I should not be disappointed. Even if all I get is common coins, they're still thousands of years old, and instead of only buying one coin, I'll have a few to show.

billboat · November 4, 2006 11:11AM

Post again in 6 months--I'd like to hear about what you come up with--and I'd like to be wrong.

Edited to add: Everyone should try it at least once. I'll admit that I spent several months(almost a year) soaking my purchase in olive oil and periodically removing them to gently rub them with a toothbrush and pick dirt out with q-tips and toothpicks. Guess I just had bad luck--nothing worth keeping. But why should my experience keep you from having fun. When you give up, if you do, spend a few bucks on a nice specimen. Also--try the world coin forum--the folks there have lots of info.

Uncleaned Ancient Coins off of eBay

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