Blue Patina Grave Finds

Hard and smooth or rough and mottled, the basic chemistry of copper reacting with carbonates in the soil is the same. The end result depends on both the alloy of the coin and the specific soil conditions. They can form surprisingly quickly. I've seen century-old Indian cents come out of the ground with deep green patinas that would be envy of any sestertius collector (though not so much among Indian cent collectors!). Speaking of turquoise, I purchased this coin several years ago, solely for the patina:

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Somehow the first image I posted (rock) appears in-line. The second image (coin) appears as an attachment. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

 

I have several Chinese coins with some blue on them...patina or deposit? I'm not sure...but that's a good question.



here's a blue deposit on a mauryan silver coin....

 

Tell that to Maria, daughter of Stilicho, married to Emperor Honorius, who was burried with quite a cache of grave goods under what is now St. Peter´s Basilica in the Vatican.
http://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2014/05/31/what-did-the-romans-bury-with-a-5th-century-empress/

Unfortunately, almost everything was melted down.

 

I don't see how Roman burial practices (or cremation practices, as the case may be) enter into the argument. The Truly Blue Patina has already been established as exceedingly rare, and if it is caused by dead bodies, the fact that the Romans don't bury their dead would clearly explain the rarity. Not every Roman who dies will have someone to burn his/her remains. Accidental deaths in the wilderness, with a few coins in the pocket, may well lead to the coins being in contact with a decaying body. The poor no doubt couldn't afford cremation, and there are accounts of the bodies of the poor being left in the garbage dump outside the city of Rome - there may have been a few coins in there too! I am by no means a chemist, and couldn't begin to explain a blue patina, but Roman custom can't simply rule out the near-infinite possibilities of what happened to millions of ancient Roman remains

 

Here are 2 coins I purchased after I had read the thread about the Blue Coins Find. I didn't clean them yet and even don't know what they represent.

 

The first coin is from Amisos, Pontos

 

The last coin shown by TIF, found in a local jewelry, has Perseus carrying the head of Medusa with his left hand. The same reverse also shows the slain body of Medusa laid at Perseus feet. He's holding harpa with his right hand. Obverse shows helmeted Athena right. My coin below weighs 18.72 g. - 31mm.- I wonder if it's a Sestersius or a billon ? SNG BMC 1167. I owe TIF to have made me coincidentally purchase this valuable coin from Amisos.