How fascinating Alex! When I was a kid on west coast of Vancouver Island we dug a huge hole in our carport. Digging our way to China no doubt? We found a hoard of what we called very strange pennies. Turned out to be Spanish coins dated 1760's The Spaniards had come up the west coast. Surprising how far up from the Alberni canal that the hoard was. This Piqued a lifelong interest in antiquities for me.
I feel sad that you used chemicals on those Roman coins. Distilled water only, I have cleaned hundreds of roman coins, Each one can take up to 4 to 6 hours if you have the patience, Using chemicals causes pitting on the coin and it does not look good, Do it properly & you will be rewarded Love your work.🙂
I 100% agree. Cleaning off the dirt is ok but removing the patina is not a good way to clean old coins. If you want to retain the patina, you can use a non-metal object for starters (like wood, plastic or bone) or a pin/wire made from a softer metal (not iron or steel). If you have gained good control, you can start using iron and steel tools. Using chemicals or a wire brush is completely out for any serious collector.
I'm starting to hate these patina roman coin virtue signalers... this dude just cleaned 50 coins using only the solution in about 45 minutes of work. you spent 4 to 6 hours on one coin. who is smarter? work smart, not hard.
@@mullarky Me!! Because i use no chemicals what so ever, Which leaves its original Patina, Chemicals just pits the coin, Makes the coin look horrible & shinny in a bad way. Spend more time get better results.
@@mullarky Cleaning uncleaned Roman coins is meant to be fun like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Cleaning them properly is rewarding. Throwing them in chemicals to have them look like crap, Where's the fun in that?
I just came across your channel last week and I have been home all week sick so I have gone all the way back to the beginning. I am up to five years. I love your finds and how your whole family pitched in.
I agree @eddieboulos6791 , and if you search the coin talk website, there is a whole page full of people submitting their variations and more information around it.
12 years.. such a short period of history and there it is, a real coin from way back then. I wonder how many coins from us will ever be found.. I mean, we mostly pay digitally now. Cash is getting more rare by the day. Future archeologists might assume we reverted to "no money just trade" or something. Would WE assign our ancestors computer skills and digital money?
@SwirlingSoul I suppose that up to certain decades, pennies will be found everywhere. In middens, dumps, churches, the mysterious horizontal tunnels dotted near historical sites, etc. Of course, in a drought stricken future, future humans have no idea what wishing wells are. 😅😂🤣
that can't be justin ii, looks to me like an isaurian or later, definitely not before. the art style is very similar to that of leo iii/constantine v-.
The unknown coin is probably an early Byzantine coin - I don't know which one it is. The M, means it's 40 nummi, according to the Greek numbering system. These are also known as follis. The follis was reintroduced as a large bronze coin (40 nummi) in 498, with the coinage reform of Anastasius, which included a series of bronze denominations with their values marked in Greek numerals. Edit: Based on the crosses above their heads, my guess is the two figures are Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine, from 610-641. It's similar to a follis from Nikomedia.
I asked my cousin whom collects ancient coins, before I read your comment. He seems to have the same answer. I'm sure Alex will appreciate this, and run with it.
This is one of my areas of expertise, been cleaning ancients for 20 years and the golden age is gone. Now uncleaned coins are picked over so badly you really do get mostly junk unless you know where a few good sources are. Reall the goal is to preserve the coin with its green/brown/black smooth patina, because the patina has displaced the surface detail in most cases. Your solution stripped the patina leaving not many good coins. The one at 6:58 looks a bit better because it has silver content. Its an Antoninianus of emperor Aurelian. The coin at 8:10 looks like Valens (can't read the legend completely) and is a common late Roman empire type. Stripped of patina its not much more than a curiousity but its got nice detail for the type. 12:28 is a campgate of Constantine I and you can see the mint mark, it was struck at Siscia. Your enigma coins is certainly a Byzantine follis, the two figures on the from could be a number of combinations of rulers, the reverse appears to be way off-centered (not uncommon), the large M is the denomination mark (follis) but it also appears to possibly be overstruck on a predecessor's coin. Not sure. But certainly Byzantine.
Honest question (I don’t know much on this topic!): why is some amount of patina desirable and increases the value of the coin? Presumably all coins in their new condition wouldn’t have had any, so I’m curious to know!
@@poephila It is because the patina has displaced the originl surface, the detail is usually preserved in the patina. Take the patina off and you remove some or all of the design on the coin and are left with a rough surface, or a lunar-like pitted slug. It is sometimes not the case, occasionally you get a decent coin when you remove the patina, but it is garish and gaudy as bare metal, so most who do remove the patina darken the coin with a false patina, which should always be disclosed if you sell the coin. These bronzes were usually silver washed and appeared silver in color, not bronze, so its impossible to re-silver them, so we generally preserve the patina. There is a great beauty in a nice, smooth, glossy, emerald green patina.
@scotmhead That is so interesting! Thank you so much for the explanation. You did mention the loss of details in your first comment but I understand better now. I also had no idea about silver washing, it's fascinating. I know a little bit more today!
Well boy and girls, this was an amazing video as to how NOT to clean coins. This is the equivalent of cooking a brisket in a microwave vs in a smoker....I weep for the patina....😢
Hello Everyone, I watch a mudlarking group that might have a idea what coin that is, Si-Finds And Nicola White are a group of people who collect from the River Thames and several other places. They might have a clue. Chill Bill, Nugget Noggin are also enthusiastic about coins. British Museum of Artifacts, (is a good guess on the title there), might have a clue too. Very historically accurate attempt by the whole group. Really enjoyed the video. And I will be glad to watch again.
What a fascinating project! Thanks for pointing out that you only did this because the coins had no value otherwise. You know to never, ever clean a coin that's worth something.
You actually ruined most of these coins by over cleaning them, you would have had some pretty nice pieces but you stripped all the Patina off of them. You do not want the coin to look like bright shiny copper, that means that all of the protective Patina layer has been stripped off of the surface of the coin and exposed the very sensitive copper core of the coin which is very susceptible to corrosion and bronze diseases that result from the exposed copper surface metal interacting with environmental factors. The Patina is a darkened protective layer over the surface of a copper or brass coin that forms thru oxidization of the metal interacting with the chemicals in the soil and surrounding climate and takes many years to properly form, so once the Patina is stripped off the surface of the coin it is pretty much impossible to restore it. Not only does stripping the Patina ruin the integrity of the metal of the coin by making it extremely vulnerable to many factors that can completely ruin and corrode the coin, but it also destroys pretty much all of the market value of the coin by making it much less appealing to collectors and numismatists because virtually all collectors prize a nice Patina on a coin and is one of the first things the look for, especially with a bronze coin. Aesthetically speaking the Patina accentuates the eye appeal of a coin and also brings out the details and gives the coin a more antique and authentic look. When you take the Patina off of a coin it also takes much of the details away as well as making the coin much less appealing on the eye. This is why you should never use harsh chemicals or acidic solutions to clean ancient coins. And if the coins are at all valuable then the job of cleaning should be definitely left to experienced experts, but when it comes to very common and affordable late Roman bronzes like these, it is not such a big deal to clean them, but the best method for cleaning is, to soak the coins in a bowl of distilled water for a few days to loosen the deposits, and then carefully and patiently remove the loosened dirt and deposits on the surface with a wooden toothpick and then after use a thin needle or thin diamond tipped pen to more thoroughly go around the details and devices of the coin, while being very gentle and careful not to scratch too deep into the surface so that you are only removing dirt and not the actually Patina of the coin. And then afterwards put on a safe wax to help seal and preserve the surface of the coin, a good wax that I would recommend is called, Renaissance wax
rest in piece to any patina, plus that metal brush probably did a great job of tearing up some nice coins, its a shame when people who aren't know ledged in a hobby go and tear up pieces that someone with better knowledge could have done a really good job with
This was absolutely amazing. I watched it when you found them but I don't know but I finished it because I live in a nursing sometime and I had to stop because they need me to do something.😊
When cleaning ancient coins you should try and leave as much of the green/black patina as possible. Scraping away until you get to the underlying copper greatly reduces the value of the coin.
It’s the age-old argument between leaving the age patina on the coin or removing the dirt and polishing it up. You have many numismatists (coin experts?) leaving comments. They are the experts. Interesting vid.
About 35 years ago at Birks Jewelers store, they brought in sunken treaure from an old ship. You could view these gold coins or buy one, which was very expensive back then
Sounds like about the right time frame for when the treasures from the shipwreck “Atocha” were on display. I saw a similar display at a jewelry store in Boise. Incredible Spanish treasure. Gold, silver, coins, emeralds. Amazing things that were on the Atocha, sunk in a storm in the Caribbean in 1622 and found after years of searching by the Fisher family.
The coins are awesome.......imagine Roman history coming alive to tell stories thanks to Alex! Alex, mudlarkers in England use a solution with electric wire and they come out almost totally clean. Just a thought.
The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right? But wait! There's been a change! The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!
Hi Alex! Rather than being condescending or patronizing about the way you're cleaning those coins (you do you), I am legitimately quite curious what effect that rust solution had on your bone folder. Did it permanently turn green from the oxides? Did it get chalky at all from the corrosive solution? As far as your mystery coin is concerned, I would search through Byzantine coins. The Byzantine Empire is also considered the 'Late Roman' Empire. The time period would be just after your Roman coins, and that iconography looks fairly Byzantine.
That was SO interesting to see!! I can never get enough of ancient history. I mean, a coin in the era that Jesus was walking around? That's such a special time to have an actual, real artefact from! I can't help but imagine you with the loup to the eye to see what's on the coins. My grandfather was a gold and silver smith, and he used to have this loup he could clamp with his eyebrow and cheek, he sort of just "popped it on his eye", to inspect whatever he was working on. A very happy memory. I miss my grandpa. If it were my choice, I'd want to see every single one of those coins close up in all angles, and if that video would be three hours long, I'd be still watching intently. All this, just to say, that was awesome to see, thank you! 🥰
Years ago I bought one of these lots. So many of the coins were broken or very tiny. I think your coins are nicer. I didn't know about the cleaning solution.
You did very well young man. Perhaps using toothpicks for cleaning would be process you develop, for the restoration of the coins. Nevertheless, they are your coins now. It was a great find. Well done!
It looked like one of the coins was clipped - this was done at one time when coins were actually made of precious metals and people took clippings This was stopped as the coins were potentially getting devalued and the use of base metals introduced
Shaving coins was common up until the late middle ages, which is why weight was a more common way to measure the worth of coinage. As the Roman Empire began to suffer from inflation, commodity currency became fiat currency, which lead to the devaluation of the metal content in the money. Clipping was used to check the metal content inside a coin, and also to round out a transaction, which is why smaller coins would be clipped. Going back to shaving of coins for their metal content, people who did this illegal practice in the late middle ages were known as chiselers, which is where we get the word chiseler for a penny-pinching miser.
Are the 2 figures a Saints coin? Why back when I was young I seen a Saint coin that had 2 figures. I have no idea who they were but they were definitely part of the Roman Catholic Church. I almost swear your coin looks similar. Anyway what a great video.
You know your product better than I do, but I am surprised that you never replaced the old murky stuff with a new bath. Also, if you have the patience for it, you might want to try gently bouncing a medium to soft straight bristle brush on the coins while they are in the bath.
It is probably Theodosious and Justina. He was the last Byzantine Emperor to rule over a sort of unified Empire. His wife Justina was a co-ruler who helped keep him in power during the nucca riots.
You might want to get one of those cell phone microscopes that you can attach over your phone camera. You can get some pretty good pictures using that. Plus it's fun to mess around with. ☺️
This English guy that mudlarks in England does that same thing he takes total flat ones and puts pencil lead back on the flat coins and it catches on the lost edges and helps see the details for dates and other marks. The graphite dust helps.
Not to much heat though🤷🏼♂️ Could be a funny experiment finding the balance… If the metal does not getting a blueing… Cooper reacts very fast on heat, and that blueing Can be hard to remove without hard polish🤷🏼♂️ Like his result though coin people might go🤯VANDALISM🤣 Most important is to rinse of with water to stop the process after that chem removal
By accident I discovered a nice cleaner/polish for copper and silver, Mrs Meyers Clean Day Cream Cleaner with a soft toothbrush. It's a baking soda formula, works great on my copper and silver jewelry and pennies to remove light patina/tarnish and restore shine. I haven't tried it on really heavy copper patina but it worked well on a piece of blackened silver.
It just amazes me to imagine who once held those coins in their hands. Just a person. Maybe even a Dad. But would you think they could have thought when holding it, who one day, would hold it again? I hope you get some info on these Alex. Just really fascinating. ✌🏻🤍
Real interesting to watch. I know cleaning old coins is usually a huge no no. But like these being just not identifiable junk I'm sure you cannot go backwards. For people like me who aren't as worried about investment value and just fascinated in holding something close to 2000 years old is very cool. If you are actually to get your money back would be super interested. To hold a coin that could have been in circulation while Jesus walked to earth would be super interesting to me. The opportunity to see something that he could have seen. Not the exact coin but just the image. Really cool.
Cleaning is almost always necessary for ancient coins, except for gold coins they will all have need for conserving. Especially bronze coins, the goal there is to gently remove the dirt and mineralization slowly over time (sometimes days, sometimes it takes months or years) to reveal the coin with its patina intact. Its an enjoyable hobby but the coins available to conserve these days are typically not very interesting coins, just late Roman bronzes of which there are millions upon millions.
15:00 I noticed you occasionally turning this coin to the reverse and then rolling it (to see which way is right side up). If it's a coin, the reverse would flip top over bottom to remain properly viewable. If it's a token, turn it side to side for the coin to remain properly viewable.
These were Constantine and his mother, Helen. Such coins are still used today in the Balkans, worn as pendants to guard the owner from the evil eye. There are many counterfeits, though.
How fascinating Alex! When I was a kid on west coast of Vancouver Island we dug a huge hole in our carport. Digging our way to China no doubt? We found a hoard of what we called very strange pennies. Turned out to be Spanish coins dated 1760's The Spaniards had come up the west coast. Surprising how far up from the Alberni canal that the hoard was. This Piqued a lifelong interest in antiquities for me.
That is so cool!
What an amazing find!
Thank you for sharing. 😊
The straight of Juan de Fuca is called that for a reason...
I feel sad that you used chemicals on those Roman coins. Distilled water only, I have cleaned hundreds of roman coins, Each one can take up to 4 to 6 hours if you have the patience, Using chemicals causes pitting on the coin and it does not look good, Do it properly & you will be rewarded Love your work.🙂
I 100% agree. Cleaning off the dirt is ok but removing the patina is not a good way to clean old coins. If you want to retain the patina, you can use a non-metal object for starters (like wood, plastic or bone) or a pin/wire made from a softer metal (not iron or steel). If you have gained good control, you can start using iron and steel tools. Using chemicals or a wire brush is completely out for any serious collector.
I'm starting to hate these patina roman coin virtue signalers... this dude just cleaned 50 coins using only the solution in about 45 minutes of work. you spent 4 to 6 hours on one coin. who is smarter? work smart, not hard.
@@mullarky Me!! Because i use no chemicals what so ever, Which leaves its original Patina, Chemicals just pits the coin, Makes the coin look horrible & shinny in a bad way. Spend more time get better results.
@@mullarky Cleaning uncleaned Roman coins is meant to be fun like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Cleaning them properly is rewarding. Throwing them in chemicals to have them look like crap, Where's the fun in that?
@@mullarky I think it comes down to collector preference. Many like to have the patina intact.
hint: when cleaning never us metal on metal, toothpicks work quite well and are a lot kinder to the coin
I just came across your channel last week and I have been home all week sick so I have gone all the way back to the beginning. I am up to five years. I love your finds and how your whole family pitched in.
14:10 this is a Justin II and sophia coin and its from the Byzantine empire between 565 to 578 A.D
I dunno. Doesn’t look it. Couple hundred years after the others too.
I agree @eddieboulos6791 , and if you search the coin talk website, there is a whole page full of people submitting their variations and more information around it.
12 years.. such a short period of history and there it is, a real coin from way back then. I wonder how many coins from us will ever be found.. I mean, we mostly pay digitally now. Cash is getting more rare by the day. Future archeologists might assume we reverted to "no money just trade" or something. Would WE assign our ancestors computer skills and digital money?
@SwirlingSoul I suppose that up to certain decades, pennies will be found everywhere. In middens, dumps, churches, the mysterious horizontal tunnels dotted near historical sites, etc. Of course, in a drought stricken future, future humans have no idea what wishing wells are. 😅😂🤣
that can't be justin ii, looks to me like an isaurian or later, definitely not before. the art style is very similar to that of leo iii/constantine v-.
The unknown coin is probably an early Byzantine coin - I don't know which one it is. The M, means it's 40 nummi, according to the Greek numbering system. These are also known as follis. The follis was reintroduced as a large bronze coin (40 nummi) in 498, with the coinage reform of Anastasius, which included a series of bronze denominations with their values marked in Greek numerals.
Edit: Based on the crosses above their heads, my guess is the two figures are Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine, from 610-641. It's similar to a follis from Nikomedia.
Constantine was my guess given the crosses...
I asked my cousin whom collects ancient coins, before I read your comment. He seems to have the same answer. I'm sure Alex will appreciate this, and run with it.
This is one of my areas of expertise, been cleaning ancients for 20 years and the golden age is gone. Now uncleaned coins are picked over so badly you really do get mostly junk unless you know where a few good sources are. Reall the goal is to preserve the coin with its green/brown/black smooth patina, because the patina has displaced the surface detail in most cases. Your solution stripped the patina leaving not many good coins. The one at 6:58 looks a bit better because it has silver content. Its an Antoninianus of emperor Aurelian. The coin at 8:10 looks like Valens (can't read the legend completely) and is a common late Roman empire type. Stripped of patina its not much more than a curiousity but its got nice detail for the type. 12:28 is a campgate of Constantine I and you can see the mint mark, it was struck at Siscia. Your enigma coins is certainly a Byzantine follis, the two figures on the from could be a number of combinations of rulers, the reverse appears to be way off-centered (not uncommon), the large M is the denomination mark (follis) but it also appears to possibly be overstruck on a predecessor's coin. Not sure. But certainly Byzantine.
I'm glad you said this, I saw this video and was cringing when I started to see raw copper.
Honest question (I don’t know much on this topic!): why is some amount of patina desirable and increases the value of the coin? Presumably all coins in their new condition wouldn’t have had any, so I’m curious to know!
@@poephila It is because the patina has displaced the originl surface, the detail is usually preserved in the patina. Take the patina off and you remove some or all of the design on the coin and are left with a rough surface, or a lunar-like pitted slug. It is sometimes not the case, occasionally you get a decent coin when you remove the patina, but it is garish and gaudy as bare metal, so most who do remove the patina darken the coin with a false patina, which should always be disclosed if you sell the coin. These bronzes were usually silver washed and appeared silver in color, not bronze, so its impossible to re-silver them, so we generally preserve the patina. There is a great beauty in a nice, smooth, glossy, emerald green patina.
@scotmhead That is so interesting! Thank you so much for the explanation. You did mention the loss of details in your first comment but I understand better now. I also had no idea about silver washing, it's fascinating. I know a little bit more today!
What solution do you use to preserve old coins? @@scotmhead
What a great episode! I've followed you for a few years now, and you're still full of surprises.
I like these types of episodes, seeing these coins is very interesting!
Well boy and girls, this was an amazing video as to how NOT to clean coins. This is the equivalent of cooking a brisket in a microwave vs in a smoker....I weep for the patina....😢
No matter what I am watching your channel comes on I watch
How cool!!please do another video to update us with the coin info! Very interesting and cool! Maybe it was from the templar age
Hello Everyone, I watch a mudlarking group that might have a idea what coin that is, Si-Finds And Nicola White are a group of people who collect from the River Thames and several other places. They might have a clue. Chill Bill, Nugget Noggin are also enthusiastic about coins. British Museum of Artifacts, (is a good guess on the title there), might have a clue too. Very historically accurate attempt by the whole group. Really enjoyed the video. And I will be glad to watch again.
love watching Nicola White and Si-finds!
Very interesting Alex. One time I got a Jerusalem coin in Jesus time and I gave to my sister . Love old coins❤😊
What a fascinating project! Thanks for pointing out that you only did this because the coins had no value otherwise. You know to never, ever clean a coin that's worth something.
Oh no you have ruined them 😮🙈
I love that you work to find new and interesting content to show us. I loved this.
Wow. That was interesting. Can’t wait to hear the history.
You actually ruined most of these coins by over cleaning them, you would have had some pretty nice pieces but you stripped all the Patina off of them. You do not want the coin to look like bright shiny copper, that means that all of the protective Patina layer has been stripped off of the surface of the coin and exposed the very sensitive copper core of the coin which is very susceptible to corrosion and bronze diseases that result from the exposed copper surface metal interacting with environmental factors. The Patina is a darkened protective layer over the surface of a copper or brass coin that forms thru oxidization of the metal interacting with the chemicals in the soil and surrounding climate and takes many years to properly form, so once the Patina is stripped off the surface of the coin it is pretty much impossible to restore it. Not only does stripping the Patina ruin the integrity of the metal of the coin by making it extremely vulnerable to many factors that can completely ruin and corrode the coin, but it also destroys pretty much all of the market value of the coin by making it much less appealing to collectors and numismatists because virtually all collectors prize a nice Patina on a coin and is one of the first things the look for, especially with a bronze coin. Aesthetically speaking the Patina accentuates the eye appeal of a coin and also brings out the details and gives the coin a more antique and authentic look. When you take the Patina off of a coin it also takes much of the details away as well as making the coin much less appealing on the eye. This is why you should never use harsh chemicals or acidic solutions to clean ancient coins. And if the coins are at all valuable then the job of cleaning should be definitely left to experienced experts, but when it comes to very common and affordable late Roman bronzes like these, it is not such a big deal to clean them, but the best method for cleaning is, to soak the coins in a bowl of distilled water for a few days to loosen the deposits, and then carefully and patiently remove the loosened dirt and deposits on the surface with a wooden toothpick and then after use a thin needle or thin diamond tipped pen to more thoroughly go around the details and devices of the coin, while being very gentle and careful not to scratch too deep into the surface so that you are only removing dirt and not the actually Patina of the coin. And then afterwards put on a safe wax to help seal and preserve the surface of the coin, a good wax that I would recommend is called, Renaissance wax
Amazing video...i know nothing about coinsbut throughly enjoyed and the time period is amazing ....🥰🥰
rest in piece to any patina, plus that metal brush probably did a great job of tearing up some nice coins, its a shame when people who aren't know ledged in a hobby go and tear up pieces that someone with better knowledge could have done a really good job with
Ouch! You dont depatinate ancient coins like this! 😭
This was absolutely amazing. I watched it when you found them but I don't know but I finished it because I live in a nursing sometime and I had to stop because they need me to do something.😊
Don't use metal scrapers!!
When cleaning ancient coins you should try and leave as much of the green/black patina as possible. Scraping away until you get to the underlying copper greatly reduces the value of the coin.
I too love holding something someone in the past held. Excellent video ❤
I have a bunch of ancient Roman coins too, so I'm anxious to see what happens!!!
Cool coins Alex!! Nice bit of history there.
The portcullis you showed on some of the coins was still on British three penny bits until they went out of mint in the 1960s!
Great episode.
It’s the age-old argument between leaving the age patina on the coin or removing the dirt and polishing it up. You have many numismatists (coin experts?) leaving comments. They are the experts. Interesting vid.
Excellent history knowledge!
Alexander,
That looked like fun, tedious but fun:)
Cheers,
Rik Spector
About 35 years ago at Birks Jewelers store, they brought in sunken treaure from an old ship. You could view these gold coins or buy one, which was very expensive back then
Fascinating!
Sounds like about the right time frame for when the treasures from the shipwreck “Atocha” were on display. I saw a similar display at a jewelry store in Boise. Incredible Spanish treasure. Gold, silver, coins, emeralds. Amazing things that were on the Atocha, sunk in a storm in the Caribbean in 1622 and found after years of searching by the Fisher family.
Those coins are gorgeous!!!!
Interesting post. Thanks for including us
Fun to Watch the process!
And how Nice the Crud preserved Them💯
Did you rinse of in water to stop the process??😁
Very interesting, I love this kind of history!
Ruined so many coins. There is a way to slowly clean these types of coins. Alex showed how not to. Very sad to see.
By the way Si-Finds had a video he used a Silicone nib pen to remove more residue with. Fun one to watch. You might like it too.
Totally enjoyable video!
The coins are awesome.......imagine Roman history coming alive to tell stories thanks to Alex! Alex, mudlarkers in England use a solution with electric wire and they come out almost totally clean. Just a thought.
Electrolysis… fun science project!
The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right?
But wait! There's been a change!
The pellet with the poison's in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!
Thanks Alex!
Hi Alex! Rather than being condescending or patronizing about the way you're cleaning those coins (you do you), I am legitimately quite curious what effect that rust solution had on your bone folder. Did it permanently turn green from the oxides? Did it get chalky at all from the corrosive solution?
As far as your mystery coin is concerned, I would search through Byzantine coins. The Byzantine Empire is also considered the 'Late Roman' Empire. The time period would be just after your Roman coins, and that iconography looks fairly Byzantine.
Fascinating! I’m a history geek.😊
Interesting, leaves a lot of questions.
What a fun treasure hunt!
That was SO interesting to see!! I can never get enough of ancient history. I mean, a coin in the era that Jesus was walking around? That's such a special time to have an actual, real artefact from!
I can't help but imagine you with the loup to the eye to see what's on the coins. My grandfather was a gold and silver smith, and he used to have this loup he could clamp with his eyebrow and cheek, he sort of just "popped it on his eye", to inspect whatever he was working on. A very happy memory. I miss my grandpa.
If it were my choice, I'd want to see every single one of those coins close up in all angles, and if that video would be three hours long, I'd be still watching intently. All this, just to say, that was awesome to see, thank you! 🥰
Years ago I bought one of these lots. So many of the coins were broken or very tiny. I think your coins are nicer. I didn't know about the cleaning solution.
Use a toothpick for scraping
Love old coins so amazing
You did very well young man. Perhaps using toothpicks for cleaning would be process you develop, for the restoration of the coins. Nevertheless, they are your coins now. It was a great find. Well done!
Hundreds of millions of people died, while those pieces of struck metal stayed under the ground.
It looked like one of the coins was clipped - this was done at one time when coins were actually made of precious metals and people took clippings This was stopped as the coins were potentially getting devalued and the use of base metals introduced
Shaving coins was common up until the late middle ages, which is why weight was a more common way to measure the worth of coinage. As the Roman Empire began to suffer from inflation, commodity currency became fiat currency, which lead to the devaluation of the metal content in the money.
Clipping was used to check the metal content inside a coin, and also to round out a transaction, which is why smaller coins would be clipped.
Going back to shaving of coins for their metal content, people who did this illegal practice in the late middle ages were known as chiselers, which is where we get the word chiseler for a penny-pinching miser.
Are the 2 figures a Saints coin? Why back when I was young I seen a Saint coin that had 2 figures. I have no idea who they were but they were definitely part of the Roman Catholic Church. I almost swear your coin looks similar. Anyway what a great video.
You know your product better than I do, but I am surprised that you never replaced the old murky stuff with a new bath. Also, if you have the patience for it, you might want to try gently bouncing a medium to soft straight bristle brush on the coins while they are in the bath.
It is probably Theodosious and Justina. He was the last Byzantine Emperor to rule over a sort of unified Empire. His wife Justina was a co-ruler who helped keep him in power during the nucca riots.
BTW this is Alex and Amanda from Leavenworth.
I wonder if you used an ultrasonic cleaner with your solution
It would work well with cleaning all the jewelry that you pick up. I have one for cleaning carburetors on motorcycles.
Very Interesting!
This was fascinating!
The coins look in better shape than some currently in circulation.
Interesting project but please use a toothbrush or bamboo skewers instead of metal for picking at the coins.
You might want to get one of those cell phone microscopes that you can attach over your phone camera. You can get some pretty good pictures using that. Plus it's fun to mess around with. ☺️
Where did you buy these from. Would be fun for my grandchildren clean those up.
These look mostly as metal detector finds, and by just looking at them in their rougher shape, they are late Roman and early Byzantine coins.
OMG! You are going to clean the coins?! I hope it’s with nothing more than a brush and some water.
🙋♀️❤️. Be careful! Coins are addicting! ❤️❤️❤️
It's like traveling back in time
Interesting, thanks for sharing.
YOU SHOULD NAME THE VIDEO HOW TO RUIN ANCIENT COINS AND TAKE THEIR PATINA OFF
But they're so shiny now....🙄😥
Alex a sonic watch parts cleaning bath would have cleaned those coins and less risk if damage to the surface
COOL!!! Do take care. Fl., USA
When is your next auction with Kastner . Will you be selling the antique dolls?
This English guy that mudlarks in England does that same thing he takes total flat ones and puts pencil lead back on the flat coins and it catches on the lost edges and helps see the details for dates and other marks. The graphite dust helps.
Hey Alex would electrolysis work? You can make a small tank pretty easy with an old battery charger.
I wonder if you could get some of the persistent crusting off by heating the coins and dropping them in cold water. Thermal shock the crap off :D
Not a bad idea na dprobably worth experimenting with. I might give it a go myself. Of course you'd have to be careful, but it could indeed help.
Not to much heat though🤷🏼♂️
Could be a funny experiment finding the balance… If the metal does not getting a blueing… Cooper reacts very fast on heat, and that blueing Can be hard to remove without hard polish🤷🏼♂️
Like his result though coin people might go🤯VANDALISM🤣
Most important is to rinse of with water to stop the process after that chem removal
The unidentified coin looks very similar to a gold coin with Leo IV The Khazar and Constantine VI from 778 AD I found on Thomas Numismatics.
I did enjoy this .
By accident I discovered a nice cleaner/polish for copper and silver, Mrs Meyers Clean Day Cream Cleaner with a soft toothbrush. It's a baking soda formula, works great on my copper and silver jewelry and pennies to remove light patina/tarnish and restore shine. I haven't tried it on really heavy copper patina but it worked well on a piece of blackened silver.
That cleaning stuff was fantastic
Fun haul to check one by one’s.. left over can be for art, craft, display… to be reuse in a nice way! Do not discard
Very cool Alex 😎
I wonder if one of those parts tumble cleaners would work? They have abrasive materials inside and parts or whatever go up and down the abrasive? 😮😮😮
I think abrasive materials wouldn't be recommended as they might wear down the details on the metal itself. 🤔
The Alex version of the TikTok trend: 'This is my Roman Empire'
Fascinating thanks for sharing ❤
Would there be an advantage to using an ultrasonic cleaner?
It just amazes me to imagine who once held those coins in their hands. Just a person. Maybe even a Dad. But would you think they could have thought when holding it, who one day, would hold it again? I hope you get some info on these Alex. Just really fascinating. ✌🏻🤍
Find them quite often in the uk metal detecting.
you need to get your hands on an ultrasonic cleaner, works great on everything from old coins to old carbs :)
Jewellery too.
Those are awesome, thank you for sharing ❤
Alex, perhaps the coin is Byzantine?
Real interesting to watch. I know cleaning old coins is usually a huge no no. But like these being just not identifiable junk I'm sure you cannot go backwards. For people like me who aren't as worried about investment value and just fascinated in holding something close to 2000 years old is very cool. If you are actually to get your money back would be super interested. To hold a coin that could have been in circulation while Jesus walked to earth would be super interesting to me. The opportunity to see something that he could have seen. Not the exact coin but just the image. Really cool.
Cleaning is almost always necessary for ancient coins, except for gold coins they will all have need for conserving. Especially bronze coins, the goal there is to gently remove the dirt and mineralization slowly over time (sometimes days, sometimes it takes months or years) to reveal the coin with its patina intact. Its an enjoyable hobby but the coins available to conserve these days are typically not very interesting coins, just late Roman bronzes of which there are millions upon millions.
How about putting the rough one in a fresh batch of the rust remover and they may be better
That was actually a really nice Emperor Aurelian Antoninianus coin
15:00 I noticed you occasionally turning this coin to the reverse and then rolling it (to see which way is right side up). If it's a coin, the reverse would flip top over bottom to remain properly viewable. If it's a token, turn it side to side for the coin to remain properly viewable.
maybe on US coins but not all nations past or present do it the same way as the us. in fact current AUSTRALIAN coins need to be rotated left to right.
@@spud4242 Correction accepted. Thank you.
This is so interesting for me
C'est vraiment dommage sans la patine elles ne valent plus grand chose
I have a couple roman coins I'd like to clean up. I just have no idea where to start.
whats the website or sources do you use to identify roman coins?
These were Constantine and his mother, Helen. Such coins are still used today in the Balkans, worn as pendants to guard the owner from the evil eye. There are many counterfeits, though.