Ottoman Metal Detecting Finds

7 posts
Hi guys,
Recently, while on holiday near the city of Shabla, close to the Bulgarian-Romanian border, I went metal detecting in a garden. It was great fun and for couple of hours found some very interesting stuff:

3 Bulgarian coins:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3506.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces841.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5943.html

Musket ball and very odd lump of (what I think is) lead:


As the area was once under Ottoman rule, wasn't surprised to find some of their stuff as well. Found this coin, which looks a lot like https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces84341.html but I don't think its exactly the same type. Its copper around 1.8-1.9cm. I know it is in very poor shape, but if anyone could help, that would be great.


Another find was this thing. Its part of something, but I have no idea what and can't read it. Looks silver in color, but its not silver. Any help would be much appreciated.

When I have more time, I will try to clean them a bit.
Thanks.
Anyone?
On the round coin, one can read "Struck in" (ضرب في), but unfortunately the next line can't be read from the picture.

It looks to me like an oil bath would be a safe way to do the basic cleaning. The oil will get into the dirt and dissolve it, but without removing the patina. If you go that way, don't use your thumb to rub the coin, this will likely cause some scratches; much better is a soft brush.
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For how much time should I have dirty old coins batheing in order to dissolve the dirt?
I would say it depends on the condition of the coin, but three or four days is normally enough. I once left some Roman coins for three weeks because they were in pretty bad shape. They were actually hopeless, but they did improve greatly after their oil bath and it was, anyway, a good practice.

Some Numista members don't like the oil bath in any situation. I have to disagree with them. To remove soil encrustations it's safe and efficient because the oil just seeps into the dirt. However, I do not like the idea of just wiping the coin after it was cleaned. I want to make sure all oil is removed, so a gentle soap bath may be in order.¹

________________
¹ In the post I linked, I say I did a thorough soap cleaning, but it's because in that case I wanted to make sure there was no oil in any cracks. Roman coins are different since they've usually spend over 1500 years in the ground.
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Quote: "Camerinvs"​On the round coin, one can read "Struck in" (ضرب في), but unfortunately the next line can't be read from the picture.

​It looks to me like an oil bath would be a safe way to do the basic cleaning. The oil will get into the dirt and dissolve it, but without removing the patina. If you go that way, don't use your thumb to rub the coin, this will likely cause some scratches; much better is a soft brush.
​Thank you. I don't think that is dirt, its just very worn, but will try with the oil bath. Could you advise what to be that oil?

Thanks
Olive oil.
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