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# Roman Coin-Cleaning Session Brings Ancient History to Students in Michigan
- URL: https://romanempiretimes.com/michigan-state-classical-society-roman-coin-cleaning/
- Published: 2026-10-19T20:11:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-19T20:10:59.000Z
- Description: Students at Michigan State’s Classical Society worked on late Roman bronze coins, revealing the portraits and inscriptions that make ancient currency a historical source.
- Author: George Liapis
- Tags: Roman Empire News, coins, roman coins, Lucius Verus, augustus, Michigan State University, Numismatics, Coin conservation, United States

Students at Michigan State University worked on ancient Roman bronze coins during a Classical Society meeting at Wells Hall in East Lansing on 13 October. The club’s recurring cleaning activity invited participants to examine objects that still carry the portraits, lettering and designs of the Roman world.

The State News reported the event on 14 October, describing coins drawn mainly from the late Roman period. Participants used distilled water and small tools to remove adhering dirt, then looked for details that could help them identify their coins. They were allowed to take the objects home.

The exercise brought together two parts of studying ancient currency: making a surface readable and understanding what appears on it. Roman coins combine images with short inscriptions, giving students evidence to compare with catalogues and museum collections. Their materials, portraits and reverse designs also place them within the changing [monetary system of the Roman Empire](https://romanempiretimes.com/roman-coins-and-the-monetary-system-of-the-roman-empire/).

## A familiar activity draws new participants

Classical Society president AJ Cousineau described coin cleaning as an established club tradition, supported by faculty adviser Brandon Conley of the Department of Romance and Classical Studies. According to the campus report, the organisation provided the coins and equipment, making the session accessible to students arriving with different academic interests.

Participants included English student Lizzy Carrillo, who attended for the first time and planned to keep her coin in her dormitory. Business student Keira Whitchurch connected the activity with an existing interest in ancient history. Both described the appeal of encountering the past through a physical object.

Cousineau told the newspaper that attendance was roughly twice the club’s usual meeting turnout. The society had been promoting its activities through posters and social media and organising more structured educational sessions. Its president hoped that handling the coins would encourage participants to develop an interest in ancient history.

## Two sides of a Roman historical source

Identifying a coin begins with careful description. Numismatists call its two sides the obverse and reverse, and its inscription the legend. The Online Coins of the Roman Empire database, known as OCRE, brings together catalogue descriptions and examples from collections, allowing users to compare the visible features of an unidentified piece.

A bronze *sestertius* of [the emperor Lucius Verus](https://romanempiretimes.com/rethinking-lucius-verus-through-sources-and-historiography/) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art provides a clear example. Dated by the museum to 163–164 CE, it carries the emperor’s head and name on the obverse. The reverse depicts Mars carrying a spear and trophy, surrounded by another abbreviated inscription.

The museum records this coin’s material, date, weight, dimensions and mint location, Rome, alongside photographs of both faces. Its diameter is 3.3 centimetres and its weight 22.2 grams. Those catalogue fields show how a small object can be described systematically, with its physical characteristics recorded alongside its images and lettering.

![Obverse of a patinated bronze sestertius showing the bearded head and surrounding inscription of Lucius Verus.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/80/aa80281a-abce-4f35-865f-05153c8cc335/content/images/2026/10/roman-coin-lucius-verus-sestertius-obverse.jpg)

Portrait of Lucius Verus on a bronze sestertius, Rome, 163–164 CE. [The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248045?ref=romanempiretimes.com), Rogers Fund, 1908 (08.170.124). Public Domain.

## Letters and metal help narrow the search

OCRE’s identification tool allows searches by material, inscription and portrait. Its guidance recommends entering the letters that remain legible and marking gaps with a wildcard. This makes a fragment of an inscription useful: a person examining a worn coin can search what survives instead of supplying an entire name from memory.

Portrait comparisons offer another route, including examples of worn coins as well as better-preserved specimens. The database presents rulers across successive imperial periods. A comparison can therefore begin with the visible head and then be checked against the lettering and reverse design, rather than depending on resemblance alone.

The material categories also require attention. OCRE explains that Roman silver coinage from the middle of the third century onward included different bronze-and-silver alloys. Some later pieces contained only traces of silver. Its search guidance consequently recommends trying neighbouring material categories when the composition is uncertain, an especially useful point for examining later imperial coins.

![Reverse of a bronze sestertius of Lucius Verus showing Mars standing with a spear and trophy amid abbreviated lettering.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/aa/80/aa80281a-abce-4f35-865f-05153c8cc335/content/images/2026/10/roman-coin-lucius-verus-sestertius-reverse.jpg)

Mars carrying a spear and trophy on the reverse of the same sestertius, 163–164 CE. [The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248045?ref=romanempiretimes.com), Rogers Fund, 1908 (08.170.124). Public Domain.

## Preserving the surface while revealing detail

The Canadian Conservation Institute distinguishes removing surface dirt from removing corrosion, which it generally assigns to a conservator. It warns against abrasive metal cleaners and acidic coin dips because they can scratch or degrade a coin. The surface’s preservation takes priority over producing a bright, freshly polished appearance.

Professional examination can involve working under magnification with small tools. In its account of conserving the Seaton Down hoard, Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum describes mechanical cleaning with a small blade or wooden stick. The treatment reveals whatever surface detail remains, with the coin’s condition determining the result.

Handling has its own requirements. The Canadian institute recommends supporting coins by their edges and using suitable clean, well-fitting gloves to protect the metal from skin oils and acids. These precautions address the same details that make identification possible: the portrait, the lettering and the relief on each face.

## A closer look at imperial images

A 2025 study in *The Journal of Classics Teaching* examined coin learning in a six-student Year 12 class. Its subject was the use of OCRE to study [Augustus’s imperial image](https://romanempiretimes.com/from-octavian-to-augustus-the-making-of-romes-first-emperor/). The lessons asked students to connect coin designs with such themes as divine ancestry, military victory and the presentation of peace.

Across two lessons, the researcher compared work produced using videos with work produced after students were introduced to the database. After using OCRE, students wrote more detailed coin descriptions and used more specialist vocabulary. Their written work included inscriptions, dates and descriptions drawn from the catalogue, including contributions from students without Latin.

This was a small classroom study of digital research, separate from the Michigan State cleaning event. It also found practical obstacles: inconsistent catalogue wording could frustrate searches, and repetitive tasks eventually reduced engagement. The study recommended time to learn the database and varied activities, such as presenting a selected coin or curating a display.

## The work continues after the meeting

Keeping a coin readable also involves storage. The Canadian Conservation Institute recommends individual protective holders made from suitable materials and cautions that plasticised PVC can corrode copper-alloy coins. Fragile archaeological examples may need supported boxes rather than ordinary collecting sleeves. The condition of the particular object guides that choice.

The same guidance recommends recording both sides with up-to-date photographs. OCRE provides a way to compare those visible details with catalogued examples, while museum records demonstrate how to retain measurements and identification information together. A coin can therefore remain available for examination without repeated direct handling.

At Michigan State, participants left with coins they had begun to examine themselves. The immediate task was to reveal enough detail to recognise a design or inscription. The next stage is identification: connecting that small bronze object with a ruler, a place of production and a period in Roman history.

#### 🏛️ Sources used:

  
[Jazlyn Steins. “Classical Society teaches a hands-on lesson by cleaning ancient Roman coins.” The State News, 14 October 2026.](https://statenews.com/article/2026/10/classical-society-teaches-a-hands-on-lesson-by-cleaning-ancient-roman-coins?ref=romanempiretimes.com)

  
[The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bronze sestertius of Lucius Verus, 163–164 CE. Rogers Fund, 1908; accession 08.170.124.](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248045?ref=romanempiretimes.com)

  
[American Numismatic Society and Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University. Online Coins of the Roman Empire: Identify a Coin.](https://numismatics.org/ocre/identify?ref=romanempiretimes.com)

  
[Tom Stone. Basic Care of Coins, Medals and Medallic Art. Canadian Conservation Institute Notes 9/4\. Originally published 1989; revised 1997 and 2007.](https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/canadian-conservation-institute-notes/care-coins-medals-medallic-art.html?ref=romanempiretimes.com)

  
[Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery. “Access to the Seaton Down Hoard.” Research Blog, 29 July 2016.](https://rammcollections.org.uk/2016/07/29/access-seaton-down-hoard/?ref=romanempiretimes.com)

  
[Giles Thomas Penman. “Ancient coins in the classroom: using the OCRE imperial coin database to support Year 12 students’ learning of Roman imperial image.” The Journal of Classics Teaching (2025), pp. 1–7\. doi:10.1017/S205863102510069X.](https://doi.org/10.1017/S205863102510069X?ref=romanempiretimes.com)