Students clean, research ancient coins
CHERRY TWP — Trying everything from oven cleaner to salad dressing ingredients, Moniteau High School students are putting elbow grease into a cleaning project.
But they're not cleaning bathrooms.
Sean Morrow's 11th grade world cultures classes are cleaning and researching coins from the Roman Imperial era, which lasted from 27 B.C. to A.D. 476. The coins, mostly minted in bronze, are about 1,700 years old and were found north of Greece.
Always collecting "cool stuff" for his classroom, Morrow thought ancient coins may be an interesting topic for his students.
So early in the spring semester he found Ancient Coins for Education, a company that provides coins along with study materials for schools. Coins are also available on Web sites like eBay, where Morrow found them for about $3 each.
He then asked two students to look into cleaning and researching the coins.
The coins were a "bad batch," according to student Jesse Koller of Cherry Township.
Rachel Young of Butler, along with Koller, was one of the first to get into the project.
"It's really ridiculously hard," she said of the research and cleaning.
The first few coins Morrow purchased were a different grade than the medium quality coins now being researched by the rest of the classes. The first coins were crusted with more minerals and dirt.
But Koller and Young have learned a lot about the era and people they are studying.
Young started cleaning her coin with a toothbrush, soap and water, then tried soaking it in vinegar. Koller opted for olive oil.
Morrow said that while their coins were soaking, the room smelled, appropriately enough, like a Caesar salad.
Encrusted with minerals and dirt from ages past, the coins represent thousands of Roman warriors who, instead of banking their wealth, buried it around battlefields for safekeeping.
"They just fought constantly," Koller said.
Because many of those soldiers never returned to collect their money, present-day excavators are collecting it instead.
Morrow said though the coins are buried under almost 2,000 years of earth and history, they are detectable with a simple metal detector because they are made of bronze.
The students have liberty to use anything they think will work to clean up their coins in order to read what is minted on them. Morrow does tell students not to use wire brushes harder than bronze since all markings would be destroyed.The coins actually lose value when they are cleaned, but the purpose of the project is to learn about history, not monetary value, Morrow said.Leahanna McCloskey of West Sunbury said she used "anything that smells weird" from her house to clean her coin. She learned it is from about A.D. 358 but isn't sure of its origin or significance."I hope to know what the coin is. If I don't, it bothers me," she said.The face on her coin "looks tortured," but she still can't make out the writing.Students are primarily comparing their coins to those on research Web sites like ancientcoinsforeducation.org and beastcoins.com."You have to fish through hundreds to find yours," said Jeremy Loos of Eau Claire.One was found to be a coin that was minted for a short time during a ruler transition. This coin was minted as Licinius II was coming into his fourth century reign.During class on May 8, Morrow borrowed a magnifying projector from a science class so that his students could see their coins' markings more clearly. The students eagerly lined up to put their coins, smaller than dimes, under the magnifier.Once the students identify their coin's origin, they will then display their research in a five-minute presentation. These presentations will include each coin's time period, who or what is pictured on it, who was emperor at the time the coin was minted, when it was minted and any other background.Morrow said one of his goals with the project is to get his students into research."I want them to be as independent as they can be," he said. "The whole thing is a learning experience."He plans to use this project next year as well and some 10th graders are already interested."It's a 1,700-year-old coin. It's cool!" Morrow said.
