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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 3084702, member: 85693&quot;]It was paint...</p><p><br /></p><p>Before anybody scolds me for stripping a coin raw, I used only diluted alcohol and my thumb to do this.&nbsp; I was noticing that if I held it in my hand, it felt sticky, not a characteristic of a true patina (ha!).&nbsp; A tiny dab of diluted alcohol and this gunk came pilling up and off.&nbsp; Not just the blue but most of the brown.&nbsp; I haven&#039;t soaked it, or used a toothpick - only my thumb - so some of the paint is still in the crevasses. </p><p><br /></p><p>My guess is this was an overly-cleaned coin that somebody wanted to &quot;tone down&quot; with paint (and cover up pits).&nbsp; On the edge there are remnants of the original patina - a normal dark brown sort, hard and impervious to alcohol (see last photo).&nbsp; Because of the tiny pitting, I suspect this had what some call a Tiber patina. </p><p><br /></p><p>Well, it is a more <i>honest</i> coin now.&nbsp; And some details of the quadriga and horses came out that was slathered in paint before.&nbsp; In a thousand years or so it might re-patinate into something respectable. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]777420[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]777421[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]777422[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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