Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
 |
| Close View of Four-Reale Surface.. |
Take a close look at the coin shown above. Can you tell if it has been cleaned or not?
You hear a lot about cleaning coins. You'll often read or hear that you should never clean a coin, but when if you are talking about centuries old shipwreck coins, they are often cleaned - and heavily. I think they are often over cleaned, but some collectors seem to like shiny silver coins rather than the naturally blackened coins as they are often found. And silver treasure coins found on the beach are often so corroded or encrusted that you can't even tell what they are without some cleaning.
Here is a link to a good article about cleaning coins. I'll post a couple excerpts fron that article below.
Coins have been cleaned if they have been
- Washed with soap, toothpaste, or baking soda
- Dipped in jewelry cleaner
- Soaked in ketchup, taco sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, or another acidic condiment
- Rinsed in bleach, motor oil, or grease
- Scrubbed with a pad, steel wool, or another type of abrasive cleaning implement
- Polished with any type of cleaner or rag
- Doctored in any way to alter the appearance of the finish.
It is common practice to use electrolysis or acid on silver treasure coins. That can be done well or poorly. I personally like minimal cleaning. You can always do more later, but you can't go back once you over-clean.
The four-reale shown above has been cleaned, and there are some obvious signs. Notice the difference between the shiny high spots and the darker and rougher depressed areas.
According to the site, cleaning coins is acceptable when
- The coin has ugly and potentially damaging green polyvinylchloride (PVC) goo from an old plastic coin holder.
- The coin has loose dirt and debris on it.
- An ancient coin needs cleaning for proper attribution or identification.
You might want to read the entire article.
 |
| Two Reale. |
Compare the surface of the coin immediately above with the one at the top of the post. The surface is uniform. There are no shiny high spots contrasting with duller and rougher low spots. The grains of sand on the surface makes that one too easy. It has not been cleaned.
 |
| Half-Reale |
This one has been cleaned, but it isn't as easy to see the difference in the surfaces, but an expert could easily tell it has been cleaned.
It was totally obscured by encrustation when found, but the surface underneath the crust was still in remarkable condition.
The three coins shown above are from three different beaches and three different centuries (16th, 17th, and 18th). Can you tell which century each coin is from. Lets call them 1, 2 and 3 from top to bottom.
Let me know if you can identify these from the images alone.
Which one do you think is most likely from the 1715 Fleet.
---
It is the time of year when the surf remains small unless we get a storm or something. We are well into summer beach conditions.
There is one disturbance in the Atlantic.
 |
| Source: nhc.noaa.gov |
Good hunting,