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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;beef1020, post: 2790789, member: 24544&quot;][ATTACH=full]648193[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]648193[/ATTACH] To the OP, I would say if you have the ability to return the coin then do so.&nbsp; If you have these kinds of questions now, they are unlikely to go away.&nbsp; In my personal experience, when my initial response to a coin is uncertain or suspicious it rarely improves with time.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can&#039;t speak to the patina on that coin, but I want to make a more general point with bronze coins.&nbsp; There is a difference, in my opinion, between a coin that has been re-patinaed via a chemical process that aids the natural process along, versus basically being painted.&nbsp; In the first situation, acetone will not remove the patina, as the surface of the coin has been chemically altered, that is what patina is on bronze, however the second type often comes off in acetone.&nbsp; While I prefer original coins, I don&#039;t mind re-patined if done well, I avoid the latter kind.</p><p><br /></p><p>I generally break bronze down into three categories.&nbsp; Untouched and unmolested coins.&nbsp; These are basically as found coins, with some/all of the surface dirt removed.&nbsp; They may or may not include noticeable cleaning marks as long as they are unobtrusive and minor.&nbsp; This represents a small set of roman imperial bronze and ones that I actively seek out.&nbsp; However, they often have lower &#039;eye appeal&#039; to certain buyers because they show the effects of 2000 years of exposure, which I believe is why they are often &#039;touched up&#039;.&nbsp; But as they say, it&#039;s only original once...</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]648139[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The next set of coins are ones that have not been tooled or smoothed, but the patina is not original.&nbsp; Either it was left in the stripped state, or was helped along in the patina process.&nbsp; As long as the eye appeal is good, and the price is right, I will purchase these.&nbsp; I don&#039;t mind coins which were stripped and then had chemicals applied to speed up patina process.&nbsp; The surface of bronze corrodes, leaving a protective surface we call patina.&nbsp; As long as the effort to re-patina the coin only did that, I don&#039;t mind.&nbsp; Here is a stripped coin:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]648193[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>And a repatina:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]648142[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The last category of coins are the tooled, smoothed, painted, filled coins. In my opinion, this is the majority of sestertius in fair or high grades.&nbsp; I avoid the smoothed or tooled coins because they are no longer roman coins.&nbsp; I avoid the painted type repatina because it&#039;s also not natural and is often used to hide tooling and smoothing.</p><p><br /></p><p>As an note, the sestertius of Maximinius above (Victoria Germanica) is from a collection where almost all the coins have the exact same dark brown/black patina.&nbsp; I am fairly sure they were all stripped of their original patina and had sulfur applied to repatina to this dark color.&nbsp; This is a fairly common practice for US large cent, another area this collector was active.&nbsp; I knew that prior to purchasing the coin although it wasn&#039;t disclosed.&nbsp; While my preference is for coins of the first type in my description, you can see in the comparision between the sestertius of Maximinius and Gordian III, why a lot of coins have had this type of treatment applied.&nbsp; The product of a harshly cleaned coin, where all the patina has been stripped, but also all the ugly surface contaminants have also been removed, and then a nice even, dark, stable patina has been achieved, can be quite nice.&nbsp; Again, compare this to the other Maximinius, I believe most would prefer the second coin over the first.</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe when Wayne Sales, and others, point out that repatina is acceptable, and the market will dictate, they are taking about these two types of coins.&nbsp; Not about those that have been painted, filled, or otherwise modified.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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