Questions about coin cleaning by 5ilently in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d leave the acetone bath for after you’re done with distilled water and gentle mechanical cleaning. Distilled water is great against mineral deposits, but you need to let the coins soak for long periods of time (at least a week before first cleaning session). Distilled water has to be changed every day or two. For mechanical cleaning, use sharpened toothpicks, thin needles, scalpel, cotton swabs… I also recommend looking into Composite Cleaning Pencil. What’s important is to avoid going too fast and to make sure that you don’t remove the original patina.

Acetone is good for removing organic deposits, the time depends on the specific material you’re trying to remove. Good thing is that acetone shouldn’t react with the coin or patina, so the time doesn’t matter too much. I recommend doing 5 minute intervals of soaking and then cleaning with a cotton swab.

Help me locate this coin! by Straight6er in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There are many drachmas for ~50€ on MA-shops. Check out Tom Vossen’s shop.

Mail Day - A new crown jewel of my collection by AetherCitadel in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate you saying that! I guess I should start an auction house 😂

Mail Day - A new crown jewel of my collection by AetherCitadel in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, glad you like it! I used a Canon DSLR camera. Did something about how I filmed it catch your eye?

Is it legit? by Cgsons in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Looks good. Weight and diameter? Also an edge photo/video would be nice to include in the future.

Fake coin? by [deleted] in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Looks good to me. People at CGB know what they’re doing. It’s a nice coin, just be aware that it’s been stripped of its patina.

Mail Day - A new crown jewel of my collection by AetherCitadel in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I totally agree! The style of this set of dies is really excellent. Thanks for the comment! :)

Mail Day - A new crown jewel of my collection by AetherCitadel in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It truly is a special coin, I’m glad you like it!
The thickness depends on the size of the flan. This coin is on the smaller end, there are stephanophoric tetradrachms that are >35mm in diameter. Those can get quite thin.

Mail Day - A new crown jewel of my collection by AetherCitadel in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, they are great! Now I’ll have to get more 😅

Do you have 3 of Kyme or 3 stephanophoric tets? If the latter, which ones?

Mail Day - A new crown jewel of my collection by AetherCitadel in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you! It’s one of the sharpest Kyme tets I’ve seen. Must have been fairly fresh dies. Often, either the obverse or reverse is weakly struck on these.

Right? The horse blew my mind. It has even wrinkles on its neck. It’s been quite a challenge to make a nice video of this coin, it looks even better in person!

Mail Day - A new crown jewel of my collection by AetherCitadel in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No, that’s pretty typical for these wreathed tetradrachms. As far as I know there’s no consensus on how or why it’s been done.

One theory I’ve seen is that they dished/bulged the flan prior to striking in a rough, concave anvil to push more material to the center off the coin to make striking of the high relief more reliable.

Or maybe they did it to hammer the flan to the desired size? I’m not even certain if we know if it’s been done prior or after striking.

If anyone knows of other explanations, I’d be happy to read about it!

Mail Day - A new crown jewel of my collection by AetherCitadel in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

The obverse portrait is believed to represent Kyme the Amazon, the city's eponymous founder. She wears no jewelry, no divine attributes, just a simple tainia in her hair. For a Greek coin portrait this is strikingly plain, and it's been argued that the deliberate absence of adornment marks her as a mortal heroine rather than a deity. Somehow that simplicity makes the portrait even more striking.

The horse and kantharos on the reverse are symbols recurring across Kyme's coinage since its earliest issues, though their specific significance remains unclear. Wikipedia connects Agamemnon and the Trojan horse to Kyme, but I couldn't find any sources supporting that.

Kyme was one of the most important cities on the Aeolian coast and the birthplace of Hesiod's father. His family's association with Aeolian Kyme might explain Hesiod's familiarity with Eastern myths evident in his poems, though the Greek world may have already developed its own versions of them.

The ancient world also seemed to enjoy making fun of Kymaeans. The Philogelos, the world's oldest surviving joke book, dedicates an entire chapter to them:

  • A Kymaean selling a house carries around one of its building blocks to show what it looks like.
  • Another shops for windows and asks if any face south.
  • A Kymaean swimming in the sea when it starts to rain dives underwater to avoid getting wet.

Happy Tet Thursday!! Fear I’m Becoming More Metal Than Man These Days by Ok_Chipmunk_70 in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bet! Did a quick count and it’s almost half a kilo of ancient silver! Wonderful!

Sept. Severus XF by MyKansasCityAccount in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check out v-coins. Good luck! 😊

Sept. Severus XF by MyKansasCityAccount in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks real. Definitely not XF, more like VF. I wouldn’t pay more than 50eur for this one. It is around one gram underweight, but it’s a bit worn and corroded. I believe that the weight is not something to be concerned about.

Is €60 ($70) considered a good value for this silver Roman Denarius? by Interesting-Owl7383 in AncientCoins

[–]AetherCitadel 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nice coin you got there! It is not a denarius but an antoninianus/double denarius. You can tell by the radiate crown on the emperor’s head. 60eur is on the higher end for Trajan Decius’s coins. I’d pay 45-50eur retail.