I like most all colored patinas, but preferably I like brown to dark brown to black. I think the detail is much better on these colors, show your favorites, Galeria Valeria AE Follis 26 mm. 308-310 AD. GAL VAL-ERIA AVG, diademed draped bust right / VENERI VICTRICI, Venus standing facing with apple and raising drapery over shoulder, K in left field, Γ over P in right field, mintmark ALE. RIC VI Alexandria 110 the coin is actually dark brown, no matter how I took the picture it showed darken then what it is
I love dark coins, or 'desert' patination. However, I've seen plenty of desert patinas that appear to be applied afterward to 'improve' the appeal of a rather ugly coin. One seller on Vcoins does it frequently. The original post is the coin I prefer most out of all the above. Thanks for sharing.
I can't find a good example that comes out right when I take a picture of it, but my favorite (prob in the minority here) is when you get a nice deep forest-green with multicolored incrustations blooming little dots in the fields; blues, reds, turquoise & other greens. When it's not just coating & destroying the coin, just blooms of color here & there, that's my fav. Usually comes cheap, too, so...
I love a good patina - For AE, green or blue is really nice, also anything from warm light-brown to almost black. Glossy is better. Golden is nice. For silver, iridescent is okay, but nothing beats "old cabinet" toning IMO. I generally don't like an earthen or "desert" patina mostly because while it may highlight some elements of a design it inevitably obscures some too. Also, I've seen at least one case where an artificially applied "desert" patina was used to hide tooling.
My preference is "ORGINAL". Don't really care about color, it's the "character" of the coin and making sure it hasn't been artificially painted or patina.
nobody posted blue... Constantine I A.D. 316 20x21mm 3.3g CONSTANTINVS P F AVG; laureate and cuirassed bust right. SOLI INVIC-TO COMITI, Sol rad., raising r. hand, globe in l.; stg. l., chlamys across l. shoulder, across fields T-F In ex. BTR RIC VII Trier 105 ex-Kellogg Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (1852-1943) was the founder of the Battle Creek Sanitarium and inventor of the Corn Flake. Diocletian A.D. 295-6 28mm 7.8g IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG; laureate head right GENIO POPVLI ROMANI; Genius standing left, naked but for chlamys over left shoulder & modius on head, with patera from which liquor flows In ex. KS RIC VI Cyzicus 12a