Toning on ancients.

Hello all. Ancient noob here. I am slowly but surely, (thanks to this forum) finding that my coin collecting tastes are evolving away from moderns, and into ancient/midevil coinage. My tastes unfortunately are above my station. (Lol) I like the ones that have excellent details, and are very clean looking as well as the jet black shiny ones. I find most are unfortunately out of my budget. My question is pertaining to the jet black (oily looking) shiny patina/toned ones. Are they stable/safe, in this condition, for preservation purposes? What causes this? And best places (value) to find such coins. I do know of Ken Dorney, and V-auctions. Any more? Any advice to someone who's tastes are above their wallet size?
Thanks in advance.
John.

 

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I have quite a few black patina, like my avatar, but here is a link to Vcoin black patina offerings. https://www.vcoins.com/en/Search.aspx?search=true&searchQuery=black patina&searchQueryExclude=&searchCategory=0&searchCategoryLevel=2&searchCategoryAncient=True&searchCategoryUs=False&searchCategoryWorld=False&searchCategoryMedieval=False&searchBetween=0&searchBetweenAnd=99999&searchDate=&searchUseThesaurus=True&searchDisplayCurrency=&searchDisplayAsList=False&searchIdStore=0&searchQueryAnyWords=&searchExactPhrase=&searchTitleAndDescription=True&searchDateType=0&searchMaxRecords=100&SearchOnSale=False&Unassigned=False then as far as price goes use the relevance drop down box and pick price lowest to highest.

 

As for safe I believe it is as natural as green, same oxidation process that occurs with passage of time on the surface of the coin.

 

I appreciate your help, thanks.

 

Impostor!!!!

Vigilance! There is ebay but its a mine field. There is sixbids and a variety of other auction sites. There are also people here that you can buy privately from.

 

Sorry about the copyright infringement. (I did leave a space though) Thank you.

 

I took it as a compliment!!!! Welcome Brother!

 

I don't know what causes black patina, but I like black in both my silver and my bronze:

Bronze:


Silver:


That's not to say other colors are not attractive. I think they can be:




But I do have a soft spot in my heart for deeply dark toned silver:

 

Nice looking coins. I don't see many rainbow toned.

 

Thanks, and yeah, me either. Personally though, I prefer toning of any type to shinny ancients that look brand new. That's a small part of the reason all my ancients are in paper envelopes now, hoping they will tone faster over time.

Anyway, speaking of dark patina, let me show you my favorite dark patina coin. I'm a huge fan of octopus meat, which is probably part of the reason I love this little black beauty so much:


Sicily, Syracuse, c. 425-415 BC. Æ Onkia (12mm, 1.47g, 6h). Head of Arethusa r. R/ Octopus; pellet below. CNS II, 9; SNG ANS 383; HGC 2, 1434. Dark green patina

And hey, welcome to the club. I can't wait to see what ancient treasures you manage to acquire.

 

lol, John IS "a", but not "the". i like the black ones too. welcome to the side darker John

 

A black silver as a welcome to the darkside :


Albinus Bruti F., Denarius Rome mint, 48 BC
PIETAS, head of Pietas right
ALBINVS BRVTI F, clasped hands holding winged caduceus
3.83 gr
Ref : HCRI # 26, RCV # 427, RSC, Postumia # 10

Q

 

I understand your preference for the black, shiny patina. It does look nice and tends to show off details well. But keep in mind that patinas can easily be faked. There are all kinds of things you can smear on the surface of a coin to make it look that way. I've bought coins with beautiful black patinas that turned out to be black shoe polish that wiped off in my hands. ("All lots sold as it. No returns.")

Not all black patinas are fake, of course. Many, probably most, are genuine. My point is that the color of a patina is probably not worth paying a premium for since just about any color patina can be faked. All it takes is a can of Rust-Oleum and an insufficiency of ethics.

 

Johndoe => "welcome to the dark-side", my coin-friend!!

Galba, AE As

 

Bottle-green to black patinas:

 

This one has turned black and seems to be turning blacker every time I get it out of it's holder:

 

Coin is sooooooo awesome!

 

Welcome @Johndoe2000$ ... The "Wannabe Ancient SPACE noob..."

Toning is cool on Ancients, color varieties are rampant and fun to find.

I have a few:



SYRACUSE 2nd Democr 466-405 BCE Æ Tetras 2.7g 15mm c.425 BCE Arethusa dolphins - Octopus 3 pellets SNG ANS 376 Calciati II.21.1
Ex: @John Anthony


Sicily Kamarina AR litra 11mm 0.56g 461-440 BCE Nike flying swan below within wreath Athena spear shield SNG ANS 1212-6
Ex: @John Anthony


RR Makedon occupation Aesillas Quaestor AR Tet
Ex: @Ancientnoob


RR Anon AR Didrachm 280-275 Mars-Horse - FIRST SILVER coin Rome struck.

 

Not sure if its toning but this one I have is shiny black

 

Thanks to all for your help, humor, and awesome coins. I have decided to hunt down one that will be the pinnacle of my ancient collection. For now anyway. The criteria is $300-$500, shiny black, with some animals, real or fictional. I do like the lions, owls, horses, turtles, etc.. I also like the Griffins, dragons, Pegasus, etc... I am not in a hurry, and will do my due diligence in searching for this one. I can (hopefully) post pics here prior to purchase for help with authenticity, as well as opinions on the value before I make a mistake that could ruin my experience. I will no doubt need much help, not only with advice on the coins, but the attributions as well.
Thanks again to all for your input, and wonderful pics. Please feel free to continue to post more wonderful pics, regardless the theme/content.
John.