Hi all, Came across this while looking for coins online. The dark color and the small "pebbles" around the top of the head concern me a bit. Any ideas what makes a silver coin look like this? Thanks EDIT: Found a description of black patina on fvrvm cited below: "Silver coins do not develop a patina. Silver darkens with age, which is referred to as toning. Thick black silver oxides, similar to patina, can develop in areas on a coin or cover it entirely. This is called horn silver. Horn silver is exceedingly difficult to remove and under the protruding oxide, the silver is severely damaged because the oxide is made up mostly of the silver of the coin." Maybe this is what is going on here?
I wouldn't say that, if you mean the horn silver. Most ancient coins have one problem or another. If you meant the dark tone... nothing wrong with dark toning Edited after reading David's comment: I haven't scrutinized the coin shown in the first post and don't have any opinion on whether or not it was tooled. Here's a coin with a light coating of horn silver. I still love it. It's an early example of the type and I like the style. It cost less because of the horn silver and I was happy about the price. EGYPT. Ptolemy I Soter AR tetradrachm, 27 mm, 17.0 gm (Attic standard) Alexandreia mint, struck 313/12 BCE Obv: Head of the deified Alexander III to right, wearing mitra of Dionysos and elephant skin headdress, with aegis around his neck, and with horn of Ammon on his forehead Rev: ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ; Athena Alkidemos advancing right, hurling spear with her right hand and with shield over her extended left arm; to right, eagle with closed wings standing on thunderbolt to right with ΔΙ below Ref: Svoronos 33; Zervos series D, issue XIII; SNG Copenhagen 14; BMC 7 You just have to decide what you would be willing to pay for the coin (use auction archives to help you determine what it is worth), and bid accordingly. Or skip it if you don't like the looks. Speaking of those Saserna denarii, here's mine . It doesn't have horn silver but it has some obverse gouges and reverse scratches. Still a lovely coin though. L. Hostilius Saserna 48 BCE AR denarius, 19 mm, 4.1 g, 6 h. Rome Obv: Bare head of a Gallic woman to right, with long disheveled hair; behind, carnyx; in field to right, 3 test cuts. Rev: L.HOSTILIVS / SASERNA; Artemis (Diana) standing facing, holding stag with her right hand and spear with her left Ref: Crawford 448/3. Sydenham 953. Ex W. F. Stoecklin, Amriswil, Switzerland, acquired prior to 1975.
Naw. Many, including myself, find the dark toning desirable. I'm down like Charlie Brown for that there coin
I find these elements desirable (obviously to an extent) as they give the piece personality... like scars and bumps on us humans, each coin is unique with it's own journey and story. And even ugly or abused coins deserve a good home too.
While it is possible for some people to collect only coins they define as perfect, that usually depends on their definition of perfect. Most people of that group buy relatively fewer coins than those of us who would be happy to own either the dark coin or the three little cuts version. I have coins of different types from each camp and do not consider either as much faults as situations. I would much rather have a coin with horn silver and test cuts than lousy style and a mint state label. I can't say which coin I would prefer 'in hand'. TIF is a good photographer. She might have been able to do better with that dark and shiny one.
I think it's an attractive denarius and would go for it if the price is right. The horn silver is only a problem if it bothers you. Does anyone know if "horn silver" on a coin is the same as Cerargyrite, the "horn silver" of the mineral world?
I'm not sure why everyone seems to be assuming the OP coin is affected primarily by horn silver. As I understand it, horn silver is usually somewhat raised above the surface... so the rough part on the obverse might be this. The smooth toning, though, is more likely to be plain old silver sulfide (tarnish), isn't it? Very nice coin IMO.
The coin has some cleaning scratches and field smoothing but I dont see any tooling. Such coins are a simple matter of preference. I find the coin to be exceedingly pleasing, but others prefer a shiny coin that looks just minted. Also, I'd argue that in the modern sense of the word, 'patina' does apply to silver. Maybe not in chemistry circles, but I'm not one of them.
