oooh aaah toning/patina

Just got this in the mail and loving that iridiscent toning. Would like to see other members' coins with standout patinas!

Rasiel

 

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WoWiE! Incredible coin and brilliant toning Might I ask how you got such a great capture of the toning?
Here's a couple RRs and a Greek that I'm pretty happy with:

 

Lovely examples all. Here is one that I love. It is difficult to capture the iridescence.

 

I dunno, I don't find that this type of toning is hard to photograph. It's just, I think, rare to find it so strong. This is pretty common with modern silver, especially Morgans.

I'm not 100% convinced these rainbowy sheens are ancient. The conditions necessary for it to happen naturally pretty much requires a bunch of silver coins to be tightly spaced in a low-oxygen environment; ie. a hoard. And seeing that people like this type of toning it's tempting to just do it artificially.

Here's a couple more from my collection:




Rasiel

 

Here's one with a light green patina that I thought was really attractive. There's so many weird possibilities with copper!

 

Green is both hideous, and beautiful on copper at the same time.

 

Great coins!!!

I do love the toning on this Probus..

 

Excellent thread topic, and toned coins.

 

985 - 1014 AD
AE Stater issued under Rajaraja I of the Chola Dynasty
Ruled southern India, much of Sri Lanka, and the Maldives
Some of the patina, especially on the reverse, may quite possibly be bronze disease​

 

Beautiful! I don’t own many silver coins—most are bronze. This is probably the most alluring as far as tonality.

 

I'm a sucker for iridescence . I showed some of my favorites in the "Toned Ancients..." thread from a few weeks ago but here they are again :


SICILY, Selinos
Circa 410 BCE
AR litra, 11mm, 0.76 g, 1h
Obv: nymph seated left on rock, right hand raised above her head, extending her left hand to touch coiled serpent before her; selinon leaf above
Rev: man-faced bull standing right; ΣEΛINONTIOΣ above; in exergue, fish right
Ref: Potamikon, p. 116 figure 152 (this coin); HGC 2, 1229; SNG ANS 711–2 var. (ethnic); SNG Ashmolean 1904–5; SNG Lloyd 1270 var. (same); Basel –; Dewing –; Rizzo pl. XXXIII, 6. Good VF, dark iridescent tone, some porosity. Rare.
ex MoneyMuseum, Zurich;
ex Leu 79 (31 October 2000), lot 404;
ex Athos Moretti collection, #482, unpublished manuscript


KINGS OF MACEDON, Philip II. 356-336 BCE
AR tetradrachm. 24mm, 14.20 gm, 12h
Pella, 342-336 BCE
Obv: Laureate head of Zeus right
Rev: ΦIΛIΠ-ΠOY, youth, holding palm and reins, on horseback right, thunderbolt below, N in exergue
Ref: Le Rider 222-306. SNG ANS 385-95
ex Colosseo Collection


KINGS OF MACEDON, Alexander III
AR tetradrachm, 17.14 gm
late lifetime issue, struck in Aradus c. 324/3 BCE
Obv: Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin headdress.
Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ AΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Zeus seated left, holding eagle and scepter; I in left field; AP monogram below throne
Ref: Price 3325
ex Colosseo Collection


CORINTHIA, Corinth
circa 375-300 BCE
AR stater, 22 mm, 8.55 g, 1h
Obv: Pegasus flying left; qoppa below
Rev: helmeted head of Athena left; A-P flanking neck truncation; to right, chimaera rampant left
Ref: Ravel 1010; Pegasi 428; BCD Corinth 102; HGC 4, 1848
ex CNG Inventory 828126 (November, 2008)
ex Gorny & Mosch 170 (13 October 2008), lot 1381
ex Giessener Münzhandlung 21 (22 March 1982), lot 37


Roman Republic
moneyer L. Julius L. f. Caesar, 103 BC
AR denarius, 17mm, 3.9 gm
Obv: Helmeted head of Mars left; CAESAR; ・C (retrograde)
Rev: Venus Genetrix in chariot left, drawn by two Cupids; lyre to left; ・C (retrograde) above
Ref: Crawford 320/1
ex RBW Collection


Roman Republic, the Pompeians
L. Cornelius Lentulus and C. Claudius Marcellus
Military mint in the East (Apollonia and Asia), 49 BC
AR denarius, 19 mm, 3.8 gm
Obv: Triskeles, with winged head of Medusa facing at center; stalk of grain between each leg
Rev: Jupiter standing facing, head right, holding thunderbolt in right hand and eagle on left; LE(NT) (MAR) upward to left, COS upward to right
Ref: Crawford 445/1b; Sydenham 1029a


ROMAN REPUBLIC, M. Piso M.f. Frugi
58 BCE (redated from Crawford's 61 BCE by Hersh and Walker, 1984)
AR denarius, 20 mm, 3.94 gm
Obv: terminal bust of Mercury right, wearing winged diadem; calix below chin; to left, star above wreath; dotted border
Rev: M·PISO·M·F / FRVGI above secespita (sacrificial knife) and patera; all within laurel wreath
Ref: Crawford 418/2b; Sydenham 825; Calpurnia 23
formerly slabbed, NGC
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-different-frugi.279241/


Lucilla
Empress CE 163-169, wife of Lucius Verus
AR denarius, 19 mm, 3.25 gm
Obv: LVCILLA AVGVSTA; draped bust right
Rev: PVDICITIA; Pudicitia, veiled, standing left, with right hand preparing to draw a veil across her face (or had she just drawn the veil off her face?), left hand at side
Ref: RIC III 780


Septimius Severus
Rome, CE 206
AR denarius, 3.41 gm, 20 mm, 12h
Obv: SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right
Rev: LAETITIA TEMPORVM, the spina of the Circus Maximus decorated as a ship facing left, with the turning posts at its prow and stern, a sail mounted on the central obelisk, and the spina's other monuments visible in between; above the ship, four quadrigas racing left; below, seven animals: an ostrich at left and a bear at right; between them a lion and a lioness chasing a wild ass and a panther attacking a bison
Ref: RIC 274; BMC 343.
ex Colosseo Collection

 

That's a pretty badass coin with the twisty legs, wow! Almost makes me want to collect RR now :-D

 

ANONYMOUS ROMAN REPUBLIC AR Didrachm
OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Mars left, oak-sprig behind
REVERSE: ROMANO on tablet below head of bridled horse right, ear of wheat behind
Struck at Metapontum, 280-276 BC
19 mm, 6.55g
Cr13/1, Syd 1

 

I've posted this before, but it's one of my favourite coin photos.

Augustus denarius. RIC 199.

 

@TIF's iridescent coins are a hard act to follow - The Alex III and Lucilla are pretty amazing too. Here's a nice denarius with "old cabinet patina".

Appius Claudius Pulcher, T. Manlius Mancius, and Q. Urbinius. 111-110 BC. AR Denarius, Rome mint
Obv: Helmeted head of Roma right; quadrangular device to left
Rev: Victory driving triga right
Ref: Crawford 299/1b; Sydenham 570a; Mallia 2

In 111 BC, the Temple of Magna Mater was destroyed by fire and in 110 Jughurtha defeated the Romans when Consul Spurius Postumus Albinus invaded Numidia for a second time...although his victory didn't stand for too long (livius.org)

 

That is one amazing group of coins! I especially love the Philip II and Alexander III...wow!

 

I'm a big fan of coins with nice "old collection" toning:


Roman Republic AR Quinarius(16mm, 2.28 g, 12h). Anonymous. After 211 B.C. Uncertain(perhaps Apulian?) mint. Head of Roma right, wearing winged helmet ornamented with griffin's head and three-piece visor, earring an necklace; behind, V. Border of dots / Dioscuri on horseback riding right, each holding couched spear and wearing chlamys, cuirass and pileus surmounted by star; in relief in linear frame, ROMA. Line border. Crawford 45/2; Russo RBW 180; Sydenham 169.

Ex CNG Triton XXII, 1/9/2018, lot 787, ex Alan J Harlan collection, purchased from Spink & Son


Roman Republic AR quinarius(16.3mm, 1.94g, 12h). Anonymous. ca. 212-196 B.C. Apulian mint. Helmeted head of Roma right, V behind / ROMA, the Dioscuri riding right, each holds a spear; H below. Crawford 85/1a; Sydenham 174; RSC 33b; Russo RBW 347.

Ex RBW Collection, ex Malter XXX(Frederick Hastings Rindge collection, assembled in the 19th century), lot 1473, 6/7/1985.

A scarcer stylistic variety of the type above, probably struck a little later:

Roman Republic AR quinarius(2.16g, 16mm, 9h). Anonymous. ca. 212-196 B.C. Apulian mint. Helmeted head of Roma right, V behind / ROMA, the Dioscuri riding right, each holds a spear; H below. Crawford 85/1a; Sydenham 174; RSC 33b; Russo RBW 348/NAC 61 lot 356(these dies)



Roman Republic AR Victoriatus(17 mm, 2.54g, 7h). Anonymous("VB" series). ca. 211-208 B.C. Uncertain mint(traditionally, Vibo Valentia). Laureate head of Jupiter right. Border of dots / Victory standing right, crowning trophy with wreath; VB ligate on exergue between. ROMA in exergue. Line border. Crawford 95/1a; BMCRR Italy 233; Russo RBW 389


Roman Republic AR Denarius(4.04g, 18mm). M·IVNI(Marcus Junius Silanus?) series, 145 B.C., Rome mint. Helmeted head of Roma right; behind, ass's head; before, X. Border of dots / Dioscuri galloping right; below, M·IVNI; in exergue, ROMA. Crawford 220/1
From the Stevens family collection, formed during and shortly after the Second World War

 

A very nicely toned coin @Suarez. Overall, lovely coins posted.

I have two denarii with a sort of golden toning in my collection. But overall I am more fond of the green stuff! A denarius and dupondius posted as examples.

Gold for the emperor!


Still deposits on the reverse. I dont intend to remove it though.