Ancient Coin Collecting

"From the Local and Aesthetic to the Brutal and Bureaucratic: Dramatic and Theatrical Representations of Roman and Greek Statehood on Coins."

2011-06-22T16:22:00.003-05:00

as promised long, long ago in a land far, far away...

Curtis Jackson-Jacobs, June 22, 2011. Ancientcoincollectors.com. (Please acknowledge web-reprints and contact for print. "Some rigts reserved" [contact].)

"From the Local and Aesthetic to the Brutal and Bureaucratic: Dramatic and Theatrical Representations of Roman and Greek Statehood on Coins."

Coins are clearly not merely instrumental, fungible monetary lumps of metal. They may have begun that way (in Lydia, perhaps around 700 BC), but quickly acquired symbolic significance. First there was the head of a growling lion on electrum (a naturally-occurring alloy of gold and silver) coinage from the 7^th century BC—full of motion and emotion. Within the century the lion head had found a ram into whose shoulders and throat to tear—a ram seemingly quite capable of putting up a good fight.

That they were struck with imagery at all is of interest in its own right. They were tokens – even totems – not only in a literal but also a figurative sense. Moreover, the imagery itself was an important phenomenon to the people of the time, so it should also be so to us. It took many hours to craft a single die, which had a lifetime of maybe 100 strikes before it dulled or cracked.

Indeed, the symbolic imagery often has an overtly dramatic character. Even as static metal tokens, many numismatic items are, indeed, narrative depictions of battle scenes or historic events. One might say they are slices of theater. Thin slices, to be sure, like Ernest Hemingway’s six-word story[1] — but theater nonetheless. Those warriors confronted one another, for some reason; one horse had fallen somehow; now one of them has victory within his reach. (Because he is Roman!)

The Greek coins were individualistic and artistically- and even sensually-inclined. Each city-state had its local favorite icon (sometimes an animal, sometimes a deity, sometimes both, sometimes multiple). The coins emphasized artistry over standardization, in contrast to the culture 500 years-to-come (to an extent the Macedonian Kings, from Phillip II to Kassander, deviated ever so slightly from that trend, but not nearly so far as the Romans). Don’t get me wrong – I’m not a classicist and do not claim the Greeks lived peaceful lives. Indeed, current anthropological evidence shows that even recently the territorial shepherds use their staffs against other humans more than against their sheep. At that time it is safe to assume the bloodshed was greater in daily encounters.

READ "THE REST OF THE STORY" HERE.

The island of Aegina (Aigina) had its sea turtles. It used the stater as the standard weigh (roughly 12 grams). In the 5^th century Attica (Athens) – the center of power in mainland Greece after defeating Sparta – had its famous owls on the reverse and the goddess Athena on the obverse of its archetypal 16 gram tetradrachm (using the 4g/drachm standard).

Even three hundred years later the more nuanced and evolved “New Style” Athenian tetradrachm depicted the owl and Athena, and it also weighed 16 grams. Miletos had its own standard. Its preferred its lions with incuse geometric patterns on the reverse.

Corinth used a widely shared standard 12g stater that was used and copied across the region, and depicted its classic local hero Pegasus. Often these coins bore no inscriptions whatsoever, or, if they did, minimalist ones such ΛΦΣ in Attica/Athens (in front of the owl, as you can see).

"Happy Days Are Here Again."

The late Roman Imperialists, by contrast, emphasized standardization and relished in brutality. Their sense of "glorious violence" was very different from ours today (and indeed, the Greeks' before them, who depicted boxers, wrestlers, and fights--not murders). Today we tend to root for the underdog. The Romans? Not so much. (Note: This is happening well after Constantine halted the slaughter of Christian martyrs for entertainment; only that single class of targets was spared a particular punishment, though the populace was less scrupulous, fighting among themselves, at least, until Constantine convened the Council at Nicaea in the province of Bythinia.)

The most striking piece of evidence may be the so-called "fallen horseman" series. An armor-clad Roman soldier on horseback drives a spear into the gut of a fallen “barbarian” combatant (trapped beneath his own “fallen horse,” holding his arms up in a gesture mercy, and usually looking away or making an expression of agony). The “victims” (as we would see them 1680 years later) are almost always smaller in stature (true also of another series with the same legend, in which a gigantic soldier leads a tiny barbarian out of his grass hut, either toward “civilization” or slavery, depending on one’s interpretation). Sometimes, judging from hairstyle, facial hair, and battle gear, they “victims” appear to be Gallic or Germanic boys, young and shirtless, often with dreadlocks, and sometimes they appeared distinctly Persian (magnification helps). Never mind that it would be Arabs and Persians who preserved this culture during Europe’s dark ages (even re-issuing its coins, though less skillfully, not having had a millennium to practice. Then again, the very later Roman celators [minters/engravers] also seemed to forget the first lessons of the Greeks: depict faces sideways so the features don’t rub off, make your coins as round or flat as possible, and use proper alloys so they don’t shatter when you drop them). The same dynamic is visible in Byzantine Art and Coinage: It is as if they forget how to depict three-dimensions (although, they there reasons.

Issued by Julian II, Constantius II, and Constantius Gallus (and, rumor has, perhaps a few by Constans), the “horseman” series’ reverse legend reads “FEL TEMP REPARATIO.” If your Latin is a bit rusty, that translates to “Happy Times Restored.” Think Franklin Delano Roosevelt—his country was in a great Depression, both saved by World War II. (Click to listen there or any other youtube video.) Compare the portrayals of glorious violence only 1600 years apart – almost diametrically opposed.

Many series bore that legend, almost invariably showing a Roman kidnapping a barbarian, holding slaves bound by the wrists, killing them, tying them to trees, or stepping on their heads. The proudest previous series may have been the many “IVDAEA CAPTA” issues, in which the Roman ravaged a tiny kingdom that defended itself to the very end and then committed what today we would consider honorable mass suicide on Mt. Moussad to prevent certain slavery, torture, rape, and murder. Then, they probably experienced only despair.

It is somewhat ironic, from a 20^th century perspective, who the Roman considered the Barbarians to be. Let us try to be historicist, not presentist, however unpalatable it might fell. (Note: The French and other Europeans were still have public torture-execution rituals as late as the 1800s, to which entire families came to watch the entertainment—infant to aged. Ancient Romans had no monopoly on downright cruelty for cruelty’s sake.)

***

Even more remarkable than the content, is the form. By the 4^th century, Rome, unlike Greece, had become an empire proper. Like their successors 1000+ years later, they sought to “make the world Rome.” Even Alexander the Great had no such ambitions. Alexander III sought to conquer, to be sure. But he allowed the cultures of imperial Greek states to remain as they were, albeit paying tribute for the cultural “enrichment” he provided. The Romans, by contrast, sought to dominate, as expressed in the imagery of spearing of soldiers, or their “Ivdaea Capta” series, in which Judaean princesses and slaves were depicted bound to trees or seated and crying.

And, to dominate was, for Rome, to make the world Rome. More importantly, to dominate was to manage, to keep accounts, to develop a system of common tax, trade, and administration – in a word, bureaucracy. Bureaucracy and domination so towering that the world had never seen the scope or likes of before and wouldn’t again for a century (save, possibly, China).

Early in the life of a conquered Roman province (formerly a Greek imperial state), the coinage still depicted local symbols and legends were written in local vernacular Koiné Greek – a sort of lingua franca spoken by multilingual Mediterraneans, from about the time of Attica’s emergence as the major power among the city-states, until the 4^th century, when the Roman Empire had eradicated it.

The new style of coinage – reflecting a modern, administrative state – formed the foundation for numismatic representation that persists worldwide, even today. Imagery on the obverse was the bust of an important, valorized individual. (Then, Constantine the Great, now George Washington). Around the perimeter of the coin was an honorific legend. This legend was typically very specific in form. It began with either the name of the ruler depicted or a series of titles.

Fittingly enough, the standardization of obverse legends began in rudimentary form with Julius Caesar (ca. 47 BC – 17 BC) himself, and was fully enshrined with Rome’s first Emperor (ca. 39 BC – 14 AD), that is, Rome’s first “Augustus” (formerly Octavian). The obverse legend on a coin of Augustus might read, running clockwise, the top of each character close to the perimeter, something like “CAESAR AVGVSTVS” (Sear RSC 347), i.e. Augustus the Caesar, or head of the Senate.

Romans were big on titles, so the coins came to frequent included strings of abbreviations – especially characteristic of later Imperial issues – but notable in the early years as well. “IMP. CAESAR AVGVS. TR. POT. IIX” (Sear RSC 343) on reads for Imperator Caesar Augustus (as he had named and entitled himself), the Tribunate of Power, Year 8 of his rule (Historia Numorum, Barclay Head, 1887, Oxford University Press).

Later inscriptions became increasingly complex (as did the names/titles of the rulers and other administrators of the empire). This form continued for some time into what we now think of Byzantium, or Romaion coinage (members of which society might have thought of themselves as Romans or Greeks or simply local “peoples” being taxed by the former). There was no sharp break between these states, as we now define them. But, to be rather arbitrary (accepting Sear, King, and Cohen’s RSC Volume 5, London: Seaby), the final obverse legend attributed to any Roman silver coin was DN ROMVL PF AVG: Dominus Nostur, Romulus, Pius Felix, Augustus (“Our Ruler, Romulus, Pius and Faithful, Augustus”).

While obverse legends extolled the titles, powers, and accomplishments (e.g., GERM[ANICVS] for leader who had been victorious over Germania—or Germanicus, himself)[2], reverses often made inspirational statements glorifying the empire (GLORIA EXERCITVS; Glory to the Army), referring to victory (VICTORIAE P; Perpetual Victory), or making promises (VOT V MVLT X; Vows of Five, Maybe Ten Years of Good Rule, presumably before being killed by a usurper or ambitious family member, or by one’s gurard after going insane, as in Caligula/Cauis’ case. He was replaced by his own Praetorian Guard by a “feeble” –we know not mentally or physically—uncle, Claudius). The major difference between American coinage and Roman on this point is that living figures are not engraved; however, through Europe, especially its monarchies, and the rest of the world, this practice is utterly ordinary.

In most cases there was an “exergue,” or space for a mintmark (as in modern American coinage). At the bottom of the reverse one might read ANT for the Antioch mint, or PLN or PLON for Londres (London). In the United State, today, the exergue is on the front and indicates minting in Philadeplia, San Francisco, or Denver. (The silver and gold coinage of the American 19^th century placed the mintmark in the exact location as Roman coinage: bottom center. For instance, think “Carson City”/CC on American Liberty Dollars.)

Thus, one potential contributor, aside from low prices, to the popularity of collecting and cleaning/restoring Imperial Roman bronze coins, unearthed using metal detectors in the Middle East and throughout Europe and Great Britain. They are easy to understand. We recognize the continuity in Western culture and bureaucratic nature, even if some humanitarianism has bullied its way in.

[1] Reportedly, “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”

[2] The formal Roman names of the aristocracy are so foreign to our own that entire essays and volumes have been written; one acquired such name-titles over one’s lifetime. Germanicus (Germanicus Julius Caesar) was originally named Nero Claudius Drusus after his father. When his father, a conqueror of Germania, died, the name Germanicus was posthumously endowed as an honorific name-title.

Phoenician/Egyptian 1/4 sheqel weight, about 1000BC or older

2011-06-09T07:01:00.014-05:00

(See the whole gallery at the link above.)
This a decorated, disc-shaped Phoenician weight (3.8 grams, 14mm; a 1/4 sheqel or 1/20,000 of a Talent), not a coin exactly, but more of a "numismatic object" or a form of "exonumia." '

I'm not sure where you draw the line "coin" vs. "not coin." After all, the early electrum (EL) coinage of Greece (e.g. Lydia; Miletos; see the post(s) below also), were simply bean shaped blobs of metal, less "coin-like" than this object. We got it for, I think $0.38 in 3-kilo box of ancient coin a couple years ago (best purchase ever! almost every coin sold for several dollars, and there were about 1,000). I suppose it's worth somewhere between $38 and $3,800. I'm not an expert in this rare so I can't say for sure.

I'll certainly welcome comments and suggestions!

An uncleaned Theodosius II (402-450) ... what?! Mystery coin or dummy blogger?

2011-06-04T09:33:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago I opened a jar of coins soaking in water. They'd been in there about a month since their last chekup. I rubbed them all with my thumbs before putting them on "the drying towel."

This coin clearly looked like it was silver or had silver on it. Okay, I've got a Theodosius II light miliarensis -- or at least a fourée.

So I check my Sear RSC v4 and no such silver coin existed. I searched wildwinds (everyone ignores the top line of my Christmas list: Roman Imperial Coinage, vols 1-10, 1927-1981, London: Spink; I should probably just get Sear's RCV). No such coin.

The "Facing Bust" obverse is evidently the RIC volume 10 #100 variety (the Rx is too encrustred to be certain, but seems so as well).

The facing bust. Bronze, yes. Gold, yes. Silver, no.

What could this be? Perhaps the obverse bust is diademed right, rather than facing and there is my mistake. Was there ever a ruler named Smeodosium? Is it a lead test-strike? Stolen dies, mule? Barbarous imitation? Modern manipulation of some sort?

What should I do? If it's a cull, should I just leave it in the low-grade uncleaned water bottle til July to find out real slow without destroying a possibly silvered coin (is that possible)? Should I soak it in vinegar til noon to find out real quick whether it's silver, silvered, bronze, or plutonium?

Lose one, find one!

2011-04-16T11:22:00.000-05:00

Lose one, find one! Constantius Gallus/Roman solder spearing a fallen horseman. Last time I posted about one that blew away in the wind.
This morning, while digging around in some old luggage, I found one of my favorite coins inside a glove, lost for over two years (not a vabluable coin, but I restored it from a virtual rock of encrusted oxidation, so I came to love it deeply)!

Fel Temp Tryptich (c) CJJ, 2011

If you can't see the detail or read Latin, that's a Roman soldier spearing a fallen barbarian (in this case a Gallic boy, though sometimes it's a Persian or Celt), and the legend reads "FEL TEMP REPARATIO," or "Happy Times Restored!" -- we collect these in particular because the irony is so amazing and revealing of Roman cultural values.
There's something deep and comsic about all this, given the one I lost last week!

Gone with the wind!

2011-04-11T06:50:00.000-05:00

This has to be one of the most frustrating things ever. I was photographing a "budget" Trajan Decius silver Antoninianus outside for a client (I find outside light is best).

Then, with no warning, a gust of wind lieterally picked my coin up and blew it away.

I never could find it, so I figure, at best, it will be in the ground another 2000 years before someone finds it. Here's the pic. Lemme know if you find it!

Newest, Tiniest Coin: An Ionian Tetartemorion

2011-03-09T15:30:00.000-06:00

A photo of one of our newest, and our smallest coin. The coin is an Ionian Tetartemorion, 5mm, 0.19g. Attribution: Sear GCV2: 4345. AR tetartemorion. Obv: Laureate head of Apollo faving. Rev: TE monogram.

As you can see from the closeups, the problems of ordinary 4-megapixel cameraphones become apparent!

The solution (get it?) to Bronze Disease?

2010-09-17T11:39:00.000-05:00

For those who saw the Hadrian Sestertius gallery below, you may have noticed the clear B.D. infection, the terrror of classical numismatics -- all AE antiquities, in fact. Here's a glimpse from the Discussion Board (click above; read the full story here; or backtrack all the way to the original FORVM thread where the solution was graciously proposed by the heroic chemist-numismatist, Daverino):

Roman “Barbarians, Captives, and Slaves,” and Greek artistry, animals, and deities. A preview of the next gallery-essay.

2010-07-10T00:29:00.000-05:00

(RIGHT-CLICK any picture for a zoom-in view; run the mouse over it for more details about the coins shown.)
First, Greek Silver, as promised:

Next, Barbarians, Captives, and Slaves on Roman Coins:

Please visit back for the link to the gallery-essay, in more detail.
Also coming soon...timeline gallery: ca. 500 BC - 1500 AD

Byzantine ID? John V Palaeologus AE follaro (Sear 2515)

2010-07-03T16:09:00.000-05:00

(Click title or here to backtrack to the original post on Forvm Ancient Coins --> Byzantine, which got really heated for numismatics discussion! Interesting stuff, a lot of it outta my league!)

(Or here to backtrack to Cointalk, which went nowhere fast; a surprising reversal of my EL Hekte? postings to those same boards!)

It turns out this little coin--not too impressive to look at--happens to be a "museum piece," in the sense that Oxford's Ashmoleum Museum has one...maybe others. And mine seems to be one of the best known examples. To think, I got it for $1 (well, in a big lot of coins that were like $300/300). This one could pay for that whole lot.... For the private collection, or for sale? Tempting, for sure--both ways!

Mostly I just post images of coins from our private, no-sell collection. However, I *might* sell this coin later, though I've had it in my personal collection, unattributed for about five-six years. I've just never been quite sure what it is (not that unusual!); nor does it have any sentimental value (which means automatically "keep it"). But recently I've gotten some help (see above and below) from people more knowledgeable about late Byzantine coins. (I know a LOT more about Roman, especially Imperial.)

I have a lot of trouble with Byzantine coins from this time, since there were rarely any legends and the designs were so crude and variable within issue. But I have a tentative attribution. Would anyone weigh in on it, either way?

I think it's Sear Byzantine #2515 (I should buy the reference, but never got around to the Byz one, just Greek ones, and some Roman--definitely wish I still had my catalog collection from when I was a teenager in the 90s, but my parents tossed it (well, I shouldn't blame them, since I was complicit)--CNG, CCE, Ed J Waddell, etc. Not as bad as my grandma depositing my dad's seated liberty dollars in the bank when he was a teen! Ha!)

Where I got this id--after scouring everything I could for countless hours over a couple years--

Switching obv/rev, and making them the same size, here's mine thumbnail size. The little fellow on the left clinches it for me:

Wildwinds (text is linked):
John V Palaeologus Æ Follaro. 1.95 grams. Constantinople mint, 1379-1391 AD. D MH TP C P, Demetrius standing facing, holding spear, shield, & globus cruciger / Facing bust of John, holding cross-scepter; pellet to left. (Sear 2515)
Coinarchives (text is linked):
John V Palaeologus (1341-1391). Copper follaro (1.59 gm). Constantinople. Bust of St. Demetrius facing / Crowned bust of John facing. Bendall 331.2. Sear 2515. Very rare. A little weakly struck in spots, otherwise very fine

Yet another image, generously posted by Glebe to Forvm:

I tracked it back to here, a Harlan J Berk auction this past March, and scrapped togeter some images:

Mine: 16mm, 1.2g. A little light (similar to the Harlan J Berk auction item), but doesn't seem unreasonable for the time, given the degree of variation within issue.

I'd love to have any input on this coin from anyone, so please comment!
Thanks! --Curtis JJ

Hadrian Sestertius from the Private Family Collection.

2010-07-02T23:41:00.000-05:00

We'll be publishing photos from our private collection from time-to-time (not sale coins). Unfortunately, our safety deposit key left the country for a couple of weeks to go to an academic conference in Amsterdam. Once back, we'll put some Greek silver up, but for now more Roman bronze. Every bit as interesting: heck, I've climbed over this emperor's famous wall (actually stepped easily over, since it's just a line of stones now, in the middle of English farm land)!

So here's another one from the private collection (you might need flash player). Run your mouse over the the image of Hadrian, or click on the "visit this author's gallery" icon (the little person) and see some more interesting views of it (especially if you can click on the image that looks like this :

Doug Smith "weighs" in on EL Hekte?

2010-07-01T10:31:00.000-05:00

Backtrack to http://www.cointalk.com/t116516/#post936651 and original post about the suspected Elecetrum 1/6th stater.

I wouldn't ordinarily add a new post for someone's comment, but I got a response from Doug Smith , a respected numistmatist (his website is linked left under favorites), on a different website http://www.cointalk.com/t116516/#post936461. He was gracious enough to agree to be quoted, but also humble enough to ask that this disclaimer be posted:

I am an amateur collector ... I recommend that you research your questions rather than accepting blindly anything posted here... [and] apply this same degree of care in using any other source material online or in hard copy. ... No claim is made to serious scholarship. Read the full disclaimer.

On to his comment, which I found quite interesting, at both a numismatic and a psychological level:

I see the lion head right on the top two and left on the bottom two. ... we see what we want to see. ... would have expected electrum to have weathered differently... Unless you[r] specific gravity test is off, it hard[ly] can be anything else but I'd stop short of saying the item is identifiable....

Exactly! Very interesting about "seeing what we want" -- a lion head no matter how you turn the coin! Serious cognitive science commentary required!

Worthless or Gold? ID of an odd bean-shaped coin: probability theory, measurement, and density/specific gravity.

2010-07-01T00:03:00.000-05:00

I mean that literally--wothlesss junk coin, or is it an electrum (EL) "Hekte" (1/6th Stater, the standard denomination in the Greek world, though it varied by city-state/island)? These were some of the earliest coins, and often looked like little more than little beans, just made of a silver-gold alloy.

To set the context, for anyone unfamiliar with these, check out THIS PAGE (http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/ionia/uncertain/t.html) to see how crude these coins appear and how one might end up looking like the coin in the slide show (especially considering that it might be a fourée coin--ancient forgeries, collectibles in themselves--and had been test-cut repeatedly because it "didn't feel right.") Notice that those are uncertain, minimally documented, mysteries of ancient coins. Who made them? Too crude to be sure.

Slide show (run your mouse over the image to see the reverse and side views):

If you don't have Flashplayer, see the exact same images HERE and HERE. Also try my public gallery HERE.)

"Why is it important to learn statistics," students used to ask me back when I taught. Answer: Because whatever your educational background, formal or informal, your tools of experise come in handy in ways and places you cannot predict--even in coin collecting. (I wish I understood this when I took "hard sciences" and engineering classes.) Fortunately, my statistical training at Wisconsin, Arizona, and UCLA came in handy here...
That, plus my experience as a youth haging out in Tucson's (now closed) brick-and-mortar Glass Shop Coins, the location of a dazzling private/commercial collection of ancient coins.

Opinion has been split on this coin. Some people think it's a fourée (a fake ancient coin meant to imitate the real thing) filled with lead (heavy enough to feel almost like Electrum) and covered in a thin layer of gold or EL, others think it's an Electrum 1/6th Stater, and some think it's a shiny piece of brass. I doubt the last, but I don't think it's identifiable to enough certainty to call it one way or the other. I lean toward EL, but if my measurements were off, it could be a fourée (still, a highly collectible coin).

For this one, since it's hard to tell by looking, and the size is consistent with such a coin (13-14mm, 2.8g), I had to go into more depth: measuring specific gravity, more commonly known as density.

I don't have the scientific equipment to measure specific gravity(called a "hydrometer" I think), so I did a DIY test: I filled a 1/8 teaspoon with as much water as it took to spill over (like 1.7cc or something like that). Next I emptied and added the coin. I then put the coin at the bottom, filled an oral cat/baby syringe with 1.7cc of water, and added until it spilled over. I took repeated measures (10 total; range = ~0.1cc - ~0.35cc -- extremely wide!) and got an average of exactly 0.2 cubic centimeters. That means the density, if measured accurately, was 14.0 grams per cubic centimer.

The reason for repeated measures is based on probability theory: the astronomer (and general scientist, including social science) Adolphe Quetelet recognized in 1835 that no matter what you measure, if you do it over and over again, you find that the measures vary (this is true even in the most precise modern statistics). Therefore, if you do it enough times, you expect that you get closer to the "correct" figure.

On specific gravity:
Less dense, less valuable materials:
Brass and Bronze are about 8.5, depending on alloy (min 7.4 – max 8.9). Copper about 8.9.

Denser, more valuable:
Silver 10.5. Gold 19.3.
Electrum 13-16 grams/cubic centimeter

So it would seem this coin is electrum, right?
Please give me your opinions, in favor or against my EL hypothesis.

Many thanks!

2010-06-27T22:12:00.000-05:00

The site looks great! Thank you the invitation and I look forward to being schooled. Again, thanks and cheers.

The Rules of Order

2010-06-24T13:51:00.000-05:00

This is a blog for anyone who wants to participate and discuss anything about ancient coins. You'll just need to contact us (jjacobsc@hotmail.com) in order to be added as a member. Then you can post content (or just send it in an email). We're posting member galleries--your coin cleaning in progress, your best coins, your worst coins, anything.

Send it in!

How not to Clean Coins (and the pitfalls of selling coins on Ebay!) [PART ONE]

2010-06-24T13:37:00.000-05:00

This is a story from when I was just getting started in the Ebay coin business, maybe a year or two in. (In fact, I was still using a scanner rather than camera to get my images--LOW quality solution!)

Here was the original listing from 2006: "Lot of 30 Quality Ancient Uncleaned AE3s." In other words, coins over about 15-17 mm. Nice and round with detail showing.

I even gave some instructions on how to clean coins for beginners (e.g., "soak in distilled water or olive oil," "try using a toothbrush or other soft tool first to remove dirt"). Nothing about using power tools or sand paper or wire scouring pads or anything like that.

Here's the image: not great coins, not terrible, just regular quality AE3s, as advertised. I measured and weighed the coins, which--although I can't remember the exact vital stats--becomes important as the plot develops. They were about 2.5 grams or so, and about 17 mm mostly.

Fair enough, right? There were a bunch of bids, and some guy got it for $29. I sent it down a few zipcodes to him with my thanks and wishing him good luck.

I figured I wouldn't hear much more about that sale except maybe some feedback in a few days.

Oh, was I wrong! To read what happened, check out "How not to clean coins [Part Two]."

How not to Clean Coins (and the pitfalls of selling coins on Ebay!) [PART TWO]

2010-06-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

What happened to the 30 coins
I received a return with a refund request shortly, since I had misrepresented the coins. It turned out, according to the buyer, they were not "quality." In order for him to discover this, though, he first had to "clean" them. ALL OF THEM. "His way." I was horrified. Mostly I was left with a handful of bits and pieces of coins, none weighing more than 2 grams or measuring more than 10mm across. Furthermore, it appeared that they were different coins entirely. I wondered how the coins could have transformed so dramatically in a few days (including mailing time).
The buyer explained that he "didn't clean coins in the usual way. I just soak them in water two days then take the crust off. This brings you down to the patina. It is then a person can tell if it is a good coin or not. I do not take off the patina. But occassionally I do scratch the patina."

Clearly the coins had been sand-blasted, scrubbed with steel wire, or blasted with a power-sander. Most were flattened on at least one side, and not a single one had a patina that was even remotely intact. Most were broken, weighed considerably less than the original, were smaller, and unrecognizable. Of little use as collectibles: I would not give him a refund, I explained, because he had gone ahead and destroyed ALL the coins. If he had destroyed only one or two, perhaps. But why did he need to sandblast them all?

I would mail them back, I said. "No," he responded, "do with that junk what you will. I don't want it."

He was greatly offended that I said they were destroyed. "I have two picture frames of these on my wall," he told me, whatever that means. In any case, it didn't sound good for the coins.Naturally I never tried to sell the coins. I still have them, four years later. They look considerably worse in hand. I'm considering selling them as a lot of total culls on Ebay and donating 100% of the final sale price to charity. But for now they still sit in the basement just as raggedy as their sad, torn up, brown bubble pack from 2006.

LESSON? ONE: TAKE YOUR TIME! Two days is not long enough to soak (unless you're talking silver coins in dilute vinegar, and even then...). Power tools should be limited to The Dremel or other rotary device, with soft attachments. No sandpaper or steel. (Rarely, a little steel wool, and more commonly brass brushes, used gently.)
TWO: If what you're doing ruins the first 10 coins, or even the first 1 or 2--DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!
THREE: Seller beware!
FOUR, and most important:Don't destroy things of art that are thousands of years old, even if they are only worth a few dollars!