I picked up this Caracalla provincial from Thrace on Ebay a couple years ago. I remember when I got it out of the envelope, I thought the patina had an unusual color and patern on the obverse. I dismissed my concerns for some reason or another until I got it out the other day to do a BD check, and thought...yeah, this looks strange. Here is the coin. On the obverse the patina is very strong on the high points weak or stripped off everywhere else. There is also some dirt between the letters of the legend as you can see. If it's paint, it is a tough enamel type paint. Any suggestions on how to test it without damaging the coin? Or am I just seeing things and don't need to test it at all?
It looks good to me, Chris. Some of these Thracian/Moesian provincials from the period just seem to acquire this sort of hard, green, glossy, enamel-like patina. My only complaint is that I haven't figured out how to photograph them well. This one is from Serdica, the green a little darker than yours but the quality of the surfaces look similar. These other two below are the sellers' pics, but in hand the patina and hue of green looks very much like yours.
Yeah, I think you're right. After looking at coins online, I've even found some that match it pretty darn well in the patina department. @Kentucky I thought about it, but I don't have any acetone on me. My wife has some nail polish remover, but I know that isn't pure acetone, so I didn't want to use it. I'll just leave it be. Thanks for the input!
Here's something similar, although imperial and not provincial, I have no problem about (naïve maybe...) Marcus Aurelius, Sestertius Rome mint, AD 173 M ANTONINVS AVG TRP XXVII, Laureate bust of Mercus Aurelius right VICT / GERM / IMP VI / COS III / SC in five lines within a laurel wreath 20,50 gr, 30 mm Ref : RCV # 5015, C # 995 (15), RIC #1090 Ex Besançon Numismatique Q
SILPHIUM - Major Patina: KYRENAICA Kyrene Æ25 9.6g 250 BCE Diademed Zeus-Ammon r - K-O-I-N-O-N; Silphium plant; monogram SNG Cop 1278 BMC 16-19
I think the patina is natural, if a bit odd - but that adds to the interesting nature of the coin @chrsmat71
The OP looks like genuine patina to me. I recently posted a painted sestertius of Antoninus Pius. I'd hoped it was a weird patina, but I felt it get sticky in my hand. A dab of alcohol rolled the blue right off: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/fr...sestertius-slow-quadriga.316573/#post-3083787
