Ancient Greek & Roman Coins

Grading and Describing Ancient Coins

Conditions of Preservation

Other than wear, which is addressed by the currently popular grading standards, many thing could happen to an ancient coin on its travels into our collections. Some of these things are positive. Burial under the right conditions sometimes produced a controlled surface corrosion that collectors consider beautiful: the patina. Most, however, of the situations discussed below describe faults that coins show in reaction to the stresses of burial in the earth and handling by people both ancient and modern. It is quite possible that these factors could continue to change with time. Careful cleaning can greatly improve the appearance of some coins. Amateur efforts at cleaning can reduce the value of a coin substantially. Brightly cleaned surfaces can retone attractively but corrosion can eat away coins stored improperly. Coins are hard to improve and easy to ruin while in the hands of modern collectors.

Conditions of Preservation
	aVF Darkly toned Julia Maesa denarius	Silver coins can take on a dark tone (natural or chemically induced) that collectors tend to prefer over bright silver.
	VF Rainbow toning Septimius Severus Victory rx. Rome mint denarius	Silver coins also can take on a multicolored hue. This also can be chemically induced.
	EF Fully Cleaned Septimius Severus SPQR rx. Emesa mint denarius	Many recently found ancient coins ("hoard material") have fully clean, smooth surfaces. ALL ANCIENT COINS HAVE BEEN CLEANED! (The ones with an inch of dirt on the surface used to have two inches.) Some are damaged in cleaning; some are done very professionally.
	VF Fingerprint Septimius Severus Mars rx. denarius	Ridges at the upper right of this coin could be the result of etching by an ancient fingerprint over the centuries or handing by a modern coin cleaner with strong chemicals on his hands.
	VF Green Patina Septimius Severus sestertius	This coin has a hard even (but slightly multicolored and textured) surface corrosion or patina. Patinas can be found in a range of colors. Green is common and popular.
	VF Olive Patina Constans Barbarian/hut rx. Nicomedia mint centenionalis	Green patinas come in a range of shades from light olive to almost black.
	F Black Patina Domitian sestertius	Black is a commonly found color and looks better on the coin than on a photo.
	F Red Patina Tiberius altar rx. as	Red patina is commonly found as spots on coins of other colors but sometimes covers enough of the coin to be classified separately.
	gF Blue Patina Commodus Dionysopolis, Phrygia AE 19	Blue is a less common color but still popular. Perhaps it would be good to note that certain soils tend to produce certain color patinas so some issues are commonly found with a particular color and rarely found with others.
	VF Earthen Patina Constantius II Spearing rx. Antioch mint AE3	Patina can be combined with hard earth deposits that produce an attractive contrast. This is similar to (and generally prefered to) the effect produced by patina wearing away from the high points of the coin.
	aVF Contrasting surfaces Commodus sestertius	This contrasting tone / patina results from wear on high spots through the patina to the metal below. The example loses points for the scratches on the portrait.
	aVF Thick Patina Julia Domna Ceres rx. as	Too much of a good thing can cause detail to be lost under a thick surface coating.
	F Chippy Patina Julia Domna sestertius	A hard even patina can be ruined by chipping or wear around the edges. Collectors prefer patinas that are solid and stable.
	VF Uneven, patchy patina Decentius centenionalis	Partial, uneven patina can look worse than no patina at all!
	EF Patchy silver Probus Horseman spearing rx. antoninianus	Coins that were originally covered with a thin silver wash can lose part of the coating leaving a very uneven mix of colors.
	VF Porous Trajan as	Coins without patina on the surface can show a fine texture or porosity. This is common on coins found in rivers but can also be the result of harsh cleaning.
	F Light surface pitting Clodius Albinus sestertius	Minor (not ugly) pitting or heavily porous surfaces. This example loses much detail to texture in the fields on the lower left half of the coin.
	G Patchy, rough surfaces Septimius Severus Minerva rx. as	Uneven, patchy and ugly surfaces ruin the appearance of many coins.
	F Severe pitting Caligula as	Heavy pitting leaves major areas of erosion and severe defacement. Ugly coin!
	F Tooled and eroded Vespasian Spes rx. sestertius	This coin shows the removal of diseased metal. Ugly coin! The other side is shown on this page as the example of "Well Centered".
	VG Unnaturally polished Galba sestertius	This coin is obviously polished and possibly tooled to restore lost detail. If a coin is tooled, details restored must belong to the coin. A Julia Domna tooled into a Manlia Scantilla is fraud no matter how you grade the result!
	VG FRAUDULENTLY Tooled "Pescennius Niger" as	This coin has been tooled into an as of Pescennius Niger (who produced no bronze coins of Roman denominations). Not only is it a fake, it is a BAD fake. This photo was sent to me thirty years ago. I do not know the present location of this coin!
	G Holed and cracked Septimius Severus Legion XXII PRI rx. denarius	The example has a bad crack near the hole and is in danger of breaking.
	F Chip Julius Caesar Priestly implements rx. denarius	Most ancients have somewhat irregular edges but chips that happened after the coin left the mint are considered flaws. This damage can be ancient or a result of modern cleaning and handling.
	aVF Broken edge Commodus Isis-Serapis rx. Flaviopolis, Cilicia AE 28	It is not certain whether the ragged edge on this coin is the result of bad flan preparation or later damage. The scar is patinated over so the damage occurred in antiquity.
	F Scratched Julia Domna Venus rx. sestertius	Circulated coins will have some fine scratching that is usually not noted unless excessive. This coin has two heavy scratches right of the figure. The line at the far left is a flan flaw rather than a scratch.
	VF Test cut Athens Owl rx. tetradrachm	This coin was severely cut to see if it was solid silver. It was.
	VG Countermark F+ Nero Claudius Drusus sestertius	NCAPR in the rectangular countermark was stamped into this coin under Nero to certify the coin as valid. Countermarks frequently leave a flat spot on the opposite side of the coin. Dealers frequently state a separate grade for a countermark applied to a more worn coin.
	VF Clipped Theodosius I siliqua	The thin flan late Roman (and later medieval) silver coins were often trimmed on the edges by persons building a personal supply of the metal. Although quite illegal, the practice was common enough that many coins are found missing all or part of the legends. Obviously this reduces the value of the coin to collectors.
	F Ex Jewelry Theodosius II Roma rx. solidus	Many gold coins were once used in jewelry and show marks from the removal of the mount. This example shows four clear scars (12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock) from mounting prongs.

These are by no means all of the factors to consider when grading ancient coins. Please let me know what conditions I should add to this list. It is hoped that these examples will make you think about what makes a coin appealing, attractive or desirable and cause you to lighten up a bit when criticising dealers who have to grade using the woefully inadequate current system.

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