... may be bad for politics, but it's welcome in my collection. These coins have glossy black patinas. I like a glossy black patina. Show off your black beauties! In no particular order: Gordian III, AD 238-244. Roman Æ sestertius, 24.30 gm, 28.7 mm, 12 h. Rome, AD 240. Obv: IMP GORDIANVS PIVS FEL AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: LIBERTAS AVG SC, Libertas standing left, holding pileus and scepter. Refs: RIC 318a; Cohen 153; RCV 8717; Hunter 147. Gordian III, AD 238-244. Roman provincial Æ Pentassarion, 13.30 g, 27.1 mm, 7 h. Thrace, Anchialus, AD 238-244. Obv: ΑVΤ Κ Μ ΑΝΤ ΓΟΡΔΙΑΝΟC ΑVΓ, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust, right. Rev: ΟVΛΠΙΑΝWΝ ΑΓΧΙΑΛΕWΝ, Nude athlete standing facing, head right, holding palm branch and wreath. Refs: AMNG II, 632.3, p. 276; Mionnet Suppl. 2, 136; Corpus Nummorum Thracorum 21318. Faustina Senior, AD 138-141. Roman orichalcum sestertius, 24.57 g, 32.0 mm. Rome, AD 147-161. Obv: DIVA FAVSTINA, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: AVGVSTA S C, Vesta veiled, standing left, holding palladium and scepter. Refs: RIC 1124; BMCRE 1519; RCV 4617. Crispus, AD 316-326. Roman billon centenionalis, 3.07 g, 19.3 mm, 11 h. Alexandria, AD 325-26. Obv: FL IVL CRISPVS NOB CAES, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust, left. Rev: PROVIDEN-TIAE CAESS, two-turreted gateway of military camp, star above; SMALA in exergue. Refs: RIC vii, p. 709, 35; LRBC I 1403; Cohen 125; RCV 16813. Galeria Valeria, AD 293(?)-311. Roman Æ Follis, 26 mm, 6.64 gm. Nicomedia mint, 308-310 CE. Obv: GAL VAL-ERIA AVG, diademed and draped bust right. Rev: VENERI VI-CTRICI CMH, Venus standing facing, head left, holding apple and drapery; in exergue, SMNA. Julia Domna, AD 193-217 Roman orichalcum dupondius; 10.61 gm, 24.2 mm Rome, issue 6, AD 195 Obv: IVLIA DOMNA AVG, bare-headed and draped bust, right. Rev: FECVNDITAS, Fecunditas enthroned right, nursing one child, second child stands before her. Refs: RIC 844; BMCRE 494; Cohen 43; Hill 126; RCV 6639 Notes: Ex Ars Classica VIII, 1924, Bement Collection, lot 1184. Die-match to BMCRE-494, pl. 21.4.
I have a couple of black patina coins but this Domitian Ae As is the glossiest. Claudius Restoration issued under Domitian AE AS, Rome Mint, Ca. 81-82 AD Wt.: 9.6 g
Sweet patina guys Probus Antoninianus IMP CM AVR PROBVS P AVG Radiate and cuirassed bust of Probus right VIRTVS PROBI AVG - KAΓ in exergue Emperor on horseback trampling enemy, a shield in left hand, spear in right. A shield on the ground under the horse. Bust type B Serdica mint, 280-281 AD 4th emission, 3rd officina 3.92g RIC 880 (C). EF with wonderful smooth dark brown/black glossy patina. Even nicer in hand. Ex-Calgary Coin; Ex-George W. La Borde collection Published on Probuscoins.fr RIC 0762 Domitian denarius IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM P M TR P XIII Laureate head right IMP XXII COS XVI CENS P P P Minerva standing right on capital of rostral column, with spear and shield; owl to right (M2). Rome, Sept 14 93 AD-Sept 13, 94 AD 3.40g RIC 762 (C3) Ex-ANE from an old collection. EF with wonderful dark patina.
Coming up in my next sale, this Trajan of Antioch, jet black with traces of desert patina. Beautiful!
Good thread! That actually leads me to a question: I have serious problems taking good (or even acceptable) pictures of my AE coins with a black or dark brown patina. Believe it or not, the coins below are actually very attractive examples in hand. So, looking at the gorgeous pictures above, I wonder what I am doing wrong. Do you maybe have any advice for me? This one if fully black: Maximian (struck under Maxentius), Roman Empire, AE1 ("follis"), 307–308 AD, Ticinum mint. Obv: IMP C MAXIMIANVS P F AVG, head of Maximian, laureate, r. Rev: CONSERV VRB SVAE; Roma seated in hexastyle temple, holding globe and sceptre; in exergue, TT. 27mm, 5.83g. Ref: RIC VI Ticinum 92. This one is chocolate brown (but think dark chocolate, the bitter one that goes well with strawberries and Pinot): City Commemorative under Constantine I, Roman Empire, AE 3, 332–333 AD, Arles mint. Obv: CONSTANTINOPOLIS; bust of Constantinopolis, laureate, helmeted, wearing imperial cloak, l. holding spear in r. hand. Rev: Victory, winged, draped, standing l. on prow, holding long sceptre in r. hand and resting l. hand on shield; triple branch r.; in exergue, SCONST. Ref: RIC VII Arelate 369.
RIC 1264 AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG PII F COS II SC - Minerva standing right, holding spear and resting hand on shield 26.22 mm, 11.47g Ex Justin Lee This one is really difficult to capture in a photograph, and I've ended up using the picture from when it was sold at AMCC which is excellent for the detail that it captures, but doesn't capture the black tone and glossy nature of the patina in hand. It positively shines.
Black is usually defined as the absence of light. Without light, there is no image. If you just add more light to black, the object stops looking black. That tends to look unnatural. However the surface sheen of something black can reflect glare revealing detail and texture. When photographing black coins we need to be sure that glare is placed to show the coin in the best light - or lack of it. Sometimes the best answer is a ringlight which places even light/glare from all sides. In every case we need to move the light or the coin so that the glare is placed in a pleasing place. In hand, we wiggle a coin under the light to see the contours. In a still photo, all we can do is pick one set of glares that we find most pleasing. These are my favorite black coins. You are not seeing the coins as much as you are seeing the glare on their surfaces. This is the case with all coin photos (actually, most photos of any subject) to some extent since most require a merge of the color present and the glare. This can be as much of a problem since no glare can make the coin look like it was not metal. Bright shining silver is like black in that you are recording mostly whatever is reflected off of the mirror rather than the mirror itself. Caracalla AR dracham, Caesarea Magnentius AE2 Lugdunum mint
Patina is a matter of collector culture too , in Europe antics collectors doesn’t like dark patina, even if some of these are great to my opinion, they prefer chocolate and the best is green patina particularly turquoise green. a reason about dark patina is not so loved in Europe is that the easiest patina to counterfeit including for forgeries.
Black AE's Carthage AE Trishekel Tanit Horse 220-215 BCE 2nd Punic War 30mm 19.7g Lot 36 Carthage AE Trishekel Tanit Horse 220-215 BCE 2nd Punic War 30mm 17.6g Lot 35 Carthage Zeugitania 400-350 BCE AE 15mm 3.39g Head of Tanit left Horse galloping r SNG Cop 97 Carthago Nova SCIPIO Africanus Roman Occupation 209-206 BCE Sear Vol2 6575 Left R With a touch of Green Highlite Etruria 3rd C BCE AE 18mm 4.76g Hd African r Elephant r letter below SNG Cop 48 HNI 69 SNG Paris 138-140 SNG Morcom 44 R
A new one I bought at last CNG live auction, still waiting for it but it is the darker patina I will have in my collection and I hope it is not a porous one as I was the only bidder. CIMMERIAN BOSPOROS, Pantikapaion. Circa 310-304/3 BC. Æ (13mm, 1.92 g, 6h). Beardless head of satyr right / Bow in bowcase. Anokhin 1025; MacDonald 72; HGC 4, 135. Black surfaces. Good VF.
All of them are nice but the Gordian III sestertius is my favorite. It reminds me of the anthracite carvings that I saw in West Virginia.
Sorry, I don't have any dark money/ but I have some from "Dark Ages" Constans III "My Three Sons" theme
A dark dupondius. Domitian Æ Dupondius, 12.14g Eastern Mint (Thrace?), 81 AD Obv: IMP D CAES DIVI VESP F AVG P M TR P P P COS VII; Head of Domitian, radiate, bearded, r. Rev: ROMA; S C in exergue; Roma std. l. on cuirass, with wreath and parazonium RIC 833 (R). BMC 513. RPC 528. BNC 549. Ex eBay, July 2019.
Here's one with brassy highlights: Caligula (Augustus) Coin: Brass Sestertius C•CAESAR•AVG•GERMANICVS•PON•M•TR•POT - Laureate head left S•P•Q•R / P•P / OB•CIVES / SERVATOS - Legend within wreath Mint: Rome (37-38AD) Wt./Size/Axis: 23.74g / 33mm / 180 Rarity: Rare References: RIC I 37 BMCRE 38 Cohen 24 MIR 3, 12-4 BN 50 Provenances: WallinMynt (SE) Acquisition/Sale: WallinMynt (SE) MA Shops-internet $0.00 10/17 The Gary R. Wilson Collection
Beautiful but Dark Age is not the right word as Byzantium coinage is part of the oriental Roman Empire as center Constantinople And the dark age is in Northern Europe.