Cleaning an Ancient Roman Coin: a Marcus Aurelius AE As from 145 A.D.

Born Marcus Annius Verus in Rome, 121 AD, the man history would come to know as Marcus Aurelius gained the early favor of Hadrian who supervised his education. In 138, he was adopted by Antoninus Pius, and in 145 he married his daughter, Faustina. On his adoption he took the name M. Aelius Aurelius Verus, but when the title Caesar was conferred on him in 139 (a title captured on the coin featured here) he dropped the name of Verus. On his marriage, he was given tribunician and proconsular power and enjoyed limited co-government with Antoninus. He was a great student and about 146 he gave up rhetoric for Stoic philosophy. He remained a Stoic all his life, but retained the humanity of his disposition. He ascended to the purple in March 161 and immediately admitted Lucius Verus as his partner in the administration, and he betrothed him to his daughter Lucilla. In the first year of his reign Faustina gave birth to twins, one was the infamous Commodus, who was to become emperor (and one of the worst ones at that).

His reign was disturbed by attacks from all sides, and frontier wars broke out in many places. The Parthians broke into Syria and the war there was not concluded till 165, when the returning army brought back a pestilence with them that spread throughout the empire, now known as the Antonine Plague. Early in 169, Verus died and in that same year war broke out again in Pannonia and for the next ten years Aurelius was continually campaigning in Central Europe or Syria. It was during these wars that he wrote his celebrated "Meditations". He died after a short illness in 180 while still on the frontier of the Danube.

His reign was chiefly notable for legal reform. One might say he was an improver rather than an innovator. He was a careful, generous and conscientious ruler, but unlike some of the better emperors before him, he failed to see just what a terrible successor his eldest son would make, and therefore enabled both his ascension and the vices for which he would come to be known.

(The above was adapted from Roman Silver Coins, Vol 2, 3rd edition, by David Sear)
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Full Coin Attribution:
Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC) Vol. III 1236
Emperor: Marcus Aurelius
Mint: Rome
Struck: 145 AD as Caesar under Antoninus Pius
Obv Legend: AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG PII F COS II, bare head right
Rev Legend: S-C across fields, Minerva walking right, wielding spear and holding shield on left arm
Mintmark: none
Denomination: AE As
Size: 25 mm
Weight: 10.95 g
Rarity: C
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TIMECODES
0:00 Intro
0:07 Marcus Aurelius: The Philosopher Emperor
0:15 Inspecting the coin, a Marcus Aurelius AE As
0:58 Cleaning the Obverse
3:22 Cleaning the Reverse
4:11 The meaning of S-C on Roman Coins
6:14 The Reveal
7:00 Coin Attribution and Rarity
7:33 Outro
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For more on Marcus Aurelius' reign and his evolution towards Stoicism, check out Mike Duncan's excellent Podcast, The History of Rome, episodes:
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Music Credits
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#thisancientcoin #numismatics #coincollecting

[quickumentaries]

I sure wish you would make more videos! I have been collecting ancients 40 years and yours are some of the best videos I have seen! Thanks!

[johncechini]

Absolutely amazing restoration on that Rev. Great job!

[bretnielsen]

I just did a Julia Mamamae dupondius in yellow brass I am so proud of I mounted it in a frame for my office wall.

[courtneyoaida]

This is SO COOL! Great Video! Learned a lot :)

[virgilhuston]

This is a great video, but in many cases I can't tell what tool you are using, especially in the fast forwarded segments. I would love to see a list of the tools you use. I personally use bamboo sticks, a wire brush, and wet towels, but I cannot get anywhere near your results. Really nice work, I would love to see something with audio explaining your process and the tools rather than a still life so to speak.

[DieLuftwaffel]

How can you tell sometimes what is mineralization from part of the coin? I have some coins that I have only cleaned with a toothpic and very little detail is visible. I cant tell if the layer I hit is the actual bronze of the coin and it is in poor condition, or if it is just a coating of mineral armor needing to be picked away by heavier tools to reveal something nice. Any tips? Thanks

[chizzlemo]

I think on the homemade knife you should find a metal softer than bronze? Great video thanks so much for the tips

[thatoneguy]

Nice work! Where do you find untreated Roman coins though?

[stevehtut]

1) How many hours did it take you to clean this coin?
2) What tool were you using with a metal brush at the tip? Is that a sucker pipe? Or a blower pipe??

Congratulations 👏 for such a very patient work!! :)

[suatbasar]

hello, wouldn't clearing valuable coins reduce its value? Wouldn't leaving it as is retain its value?

[simonech]

Как вы патину перекрасили в ярко- зелёный?

[AncientNumis]

Cool video! And really good cleaning :)) I'm an ancient coin collector and I also make YouTube videos, so it's really cool to see others doing it too!

[heanvisalseyhak]

I have a beat up old bronze coin of Cambodia 1860, my coin is probably dug up is beat up, the letter disappeared and the coins have a green color literally stuck on it, not just the dirt idk how to clean it or let alone restore it

[thai-duytran]

Should have use a sharp wooden toothpick or wooden skewer to probe and remove dirt, as sharp pointy metal utensils will scratch the patina. Still a good video.

[sajidamin]

I have 1x Vima Kadphises Copper Ancient Coin... Plz share this market value...

[nathanielscreativecollecti]

Another question from me! Can you list the materials you used for final touch ups, repatenization, waxing, etc?

[rubbercheck]

Could you use a sonic cleaner? Or perhaps a water pick?

[javiermagdaleno]

Nice work brother. but as far as coin collecting, I think that's the worst thing you can do. nevertheless, how can I get you to clean one of my, 330 ad coin, ? Constantine the Great.✌️💙🏇🏇

[kingston]

Too much hard work, why not do by electrolysis, quicker and far better result without tooling marks?

[NickMeisher]

Will NGC mark this coin as 'cleaned' on the slab, lowering its value?