A while back I asked members of CT if they knew of any ancient coins with rabbits on them because I wanted one as a Christmas gift for my granddaughter who has a pet rabbit. Well, I just won one on Savoca's auction 26. I do have a question, though, about the coin itself. Does it look like it has had some kind of repatination done to it? It looks to me as if something has been brushed on the surfaces of both sides. Your comments please. Thanks for any comments. BobC
Oh, excellent!! Congratulations-- I hope your daughter (or was it granddaughter?) will love that cute little bunny . I don't know if it has been repatinated but even if it has... not a big deal unless it's with thick goop designed to smooth out pits and corrosion, and it doesn't look like that is the case. Nice find!
Ate my rabbit!! ELIS, Olympia. 244-208 BCE. AR Drachm (4.75g; 18mm). Obv: Eagle flying right, clutching cute little bunny in talons. Rev: F | A; Winged thunderbolt. References: SNG Cop. 426; BMC 135; BCD Olympia 237 (same dies). Provenance: CNG 94 (18 Sep 2013), Lot 384; ex BCD Collection (not in prior sales).
From the photo I would suspect a rougher surface was smoothed out but nothing was added. This is perfectly normal. Yes, it would be nice if those doing the cleaning would stop just before breaking through to the metal below but what you have is a decent coin I would be proud to own even though I don't have a pet rabbit. I don't have the AE version but we see the silver ones regularly. This is a case where the cheaper coin is more scarce than the big, flashy one. I hope she will appreciate it.
Your coin is bronze, so scrubbing it lightly with a brass-bristle brush won't hurt it. The only kind of artificial repatination that I would object to is a soft, shoe-polish like coating that rubs off easily with light brushing. If that's the case, I would try to remove as much of it as possible without damaging the coins. But if the patina is hard, I wouldn't mess with it. At this point, it doesn't really matter whether the patina is real or fake; it's part of the coin.
There is nothing shown in that photo that will improve with scrubbing. Please think carefully before ruining the coin.
