It's not uncommon to see a silver coin described as having "find patina." Although this should (I assume) describe a coin that is sold in the condition in which it was found, I find find patina used to describe toning that is probably closer to hundreds than thousands of years old. Here are a couple that I think are very special because they may have their original, uncleaned patinas. First, a Vespasian with a thick green patina and dirt. And a Leg VI Let's see yours!
Also called "Hoard Patina", which I am a fan of too. Great coins, i've had others but they have been parted with for other interests. Here is one I still have. L. Titurius L.f. Sabinus. (89 B.C.) AR Denarius O: Bare head of King Tatius right, SABIN downward behind, TA in monogram before; R: Two Roman soldiers running left, each bearing a Sabine woman in his arms, L·TITVRI in ex. Rome 19mm 3.87g Crawford 344/1a,RSC I Tituria 2, Sydenham 698a, SRCV I 249
A Pomponius Musa denarius with a similar look to Vespasian in the OP, down to the unremoved deposits. Special and cheap! In the vast ocean of shiny-clean, minty-fresh Gordian III ants, this one really sticks out, which is why I love it.
I LIKE that 'Find' or 'Hoard' Patina on AR Ancients! I had to go through mine a bit, as I really never distinguish coins that way. I go after their Historical relevance... LOL, a bunch of mine may already be that way... RR Gaius Cassius Longinus & P Corn Lentulus Spinther AR den 42 BCE military mint Brutus Cassius Smyrna Libertas r- jug & lituus 18mm 3.3g RR AR Quinarius 89 BCE M Porcius Cato Crawford 342-2. Sear 248-OFFICIAL Marsic Confederation denarius 90-88 BCE Italia-Corfinium Oath Ceremony over pig Sear 227 SCARCE RR Anon Ca 240 BCE AR Drachm 16mm 3.0g Rome Helmet Hd Mars r - Horse’s hd sickle Cr 25-2 Syd 25 RSC 34a Rare RR Porcius Cato AR Quinarius 89 BC Bacchus Liber Victory S 248 Cr 343-2 RR Anon 189-179 BCE AR Den Roma Luna Biga S 69 Cr 158-1 RR Lentulus 88 BCE AR Den Mars Biga S 254 Cr 345-1 RR T Quinctius Flamininus 126 BC AR Den Roma Diosc gallpng T-Q Macedon Shield S 143 Cr 267-1
Here are 2 of mine, from the East Harptree hoard discovered in 1887. The hoard, consisting of 1,496 silver coins covering the reigns of Constantine I through Gratian, was published in the 1888 Numismatic Chronicle. All the coins I have seen from this hoard have beautiful dark patina.
This is how a respected dealer described my coin after having a detailed look at it under magnification... "Apparently from a hoard kept sealed and protected from the elements. Rather than over-cleaned with the patina stripped to bare metal as might be expected, this coin appears to be entirely uncleaned. Flow lines remain sharp in the fields. In recessed areas, where the metal has less exposure to air, there are small areas of bright mint fresh copper. A very unusual coin."
I think that only metal detector owners who find ancient coins, should post on this thread. Otherwise, apart from 2 coins no other looks even close , nor can an owner who bought the coin online, claim otherwise.
No matter HOW many times I see coins like this, I am always totally awestruck by the realization of exactly how very OLD these ancient pieces of economic exchange really are; it's simply amazing!
I think find patina on silver coins should have some thickness and roughness - being darker but smooth would only qualify such coins to be called toned, as I suspect is the case with at least some of the examples in this thread. On bronze coins, any untouched natural patina is in a way 'find patina', but I think this term is mostly reserved for silver coins. Anyway, I do not know if the term 'find patina' could be applied also to antoniniani, but here are 'after' and 'before' pictures of my recent acquisition. Seller photos. '
Very nice coin, and since it was new to me I immediately researched its origin. One of the interesting things I learned is this: apparently, due to the gradual dilution of the value of the coinage of the time, we can now add this period in ancient Rome's history to the (so-called) hyperinflation roll call, as perhaps more popularly exemplified by the 1930's Weimar Republic and hapless current day Zimbabwe.
I myself have no dog in this "fight", but I'd be interested to find out what others here think of your "challenge."
This Victoriatus has tons of hoard patina and original soil on it. It's only received the lightest of cleaning to highlight the coin's details.
Beautiful Looking coin ... Is that colored spot on the bottom right of the obv. original patina too? Wondering how it got that color... perhaps the metal might be different there or it was buried with that side exposed to air. Fascinating subject-Patina