I've got this one Greek bronze that has this delicious greenish-blue candy coating on it. Pella, Macedonia, ca. 187-31 BC, AE20 Obverse: Helmeted head of Athena Parthenos right. Reverse: ΠEΛ-ΛHΣ, above and beneath bull grazing right; monogram below bull between legs. References: SNG Copenhagen 266-74; Moushmov 6453; BMC 20 Are you someone who knows what causes it? Is it the copper in it? Please enlighten me... Do you have a coin with a similar "candy coating" patina that makes you think if you lick it you can taste the rainbow? Or maybe you have a Hershey's chocolate coin? Please share them...
Far out! I don't know exactly what causes colors like these but I've seen quite a few different shades. Don't adjust your monitor, this one is as red as it looks and is the main reason I'm keeping it. Constantine I Siscia mint 321 to 324 AD AE 3 Obvs: CONSTANTINVS AVG, Laur right. Revs: DN CONSTANTINI MAX AVG, around wreath enclosing VOT XX. ЄSIS 19mm, 3.5g RIC VII 180
the patina on that coin look stable and old. in soaking this one to remove the green i got new blue. probably not healthy for the coin but it sure it purdy!
I think we all have at least one coin with thick colorful patina. This one is actually a tad bit darker in real life.
@Justin Lee , the different colours of the patina is due to the copper mix alloy and the soil it was buried in for long periods of time:
View attachment 751884 This above coin is of the famous Argues volcano. The reddish patina shows off the lava flow. I know it is a real patina since the seller did not know what the coin was depicting. My "avatar" is also a special patina called "brilliant". Not sure totally if it is natural though. If it is it is the most beautiful I have seen. They are often faked these days( and in the past) to bring a higher price and make them more appealing.
PATINAS: GREEN RR C Curiatius f Trigeminus 135 BCE Æ quadrans 18 mm 4.8g Rome Hd Hercules lionskin 3 plts - CCVR F ROMA prow Victory wreath 3 plts Cr 240-4a; Syd460b DESERT Seleukid Demetrios I Soter 162-150 BCE AE 17 serrate 16.8mm 3.9g Antioch on Orontes mint Horse Hd L - Elephant Hd R- SC 1646 SNG Spaer 1299-1304 MULTI-COLORED DREAM COAT KYRENAICA Kyrene Æ25 9.6g 250 BCE Diademed Zeus-Ammon r - K-O-I-N-O-N; Silphium plant; monogram SNG Cop 1278 BMC 16-19 CALICO RR Anon AE Quartuncia 217-215 BCE Saturn Prow BRN Craw 38-8 Sear 624 RED SPLOTCH Sicily Kamarina AE 15mm 3.4g 420-405 BCE Athena Owl Lizard 3 dots Sear Gk 1063 LIME Judaea Pontius Pilate 14-37 CE - Prutah TIBEPIOY KAICAPOC Lituus
If these were modern coins they would be considered ruined. Here, they're a sought after prize for a lot of us. Gotta love the ancients!
All of these colors are great. Here is one of mine with a color I like: LYCAONIA. Iconium (as Claudiconium). Hadrian (117-138 AD). AE. Weight: 2.36 g. Diameter: 17 mm. Obv: ΑΔΡΙΑΝΟС ΚΑΙСΑΡ. Bare head left. Rev: ΚΛΑΥΔЄΙΚΟΝΙЄωΝ. Perseus standing facing, head right, holding harpa and severed head of Medusa. Numismatik Naumann, Auction 45, July 3rd 2016, lot 536 Sometimes collectors make claims that the colors come from various named minerals. Does anyone have a table of the typical patina minerals and their colors? I cannot find one.
My only Greenie: Vergilius, Gargilius and Ogulnius. 86 B.C. AE as (25.5 mm, 9.42 g, 12 h). Semuncial standard. Rome mint. Laurete head of Janus, I above / H / VER · GAR · OGVL , prow of galley left. Crawford 350a/3e; Sydenham 722d. aVF, thick green patina. Ex. RBW collection; Agora Auctions 44, Lot 139; Ephesus Numismatics
Didn't see many sweet black patinas so here is a Marcus Aurelius posthumous sestertius with whitish highlights bearing an eagle aloft to the heavens. Another Black earthy shiny beauty: AE17 5.00g. 17mm. Pilei of the Dioscuri surmounted by stars. Thyrsus; DIOSKOYRIADOS across fields. SNG Copenhagen 102ff. Nice glossy dark patina with some earthen fill. Triple-struck reverse. Struck during the time of Mithradates VI Eupator. Kolchis Dioskourias Before c. 70 B.C. AE17