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<p>[QUOTE="robinjojo, post: 4897756, member: 110226"]The ancient bronze and silver coins that we enjoy, with their colorful and often dramatic patinas, are the product of centuries, even millennia, of exposure to the elements, primarily air and water, but also other chemicals that might be present, especially if they are buried. Being the objects produced by humanity, they are, nonetheless, composed of naturally occurring elements, namely copper and silver.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are two bronzes from my collection:</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Empire, 238 AD</p><p>Sestertius</p><p>Pupienus</p><p>Obverse: Laureate bust, draped and cuirassed bust right.</p><p>Reverse: Victory standing left.</p><p>RIC 23a, BMCRE 58, Cohen 38</p><p>Deep green patina</p><p>19.91 grams</p><p>29.5 mm, 1 h.</p><p>ex Harlan Berk</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1181927[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Byzantine Empire, 539/40 AD</p><p>Follis</p><p>Justinian I</p><p>Nicomedia</p><p>Year 13</p><p>Officina B</p><p>Obverse: Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger and shield; cross to right.</p><p>Reverse: Large M, ANNO to left, XIII (year 13) to right, cross above, NIK in exergue.</p><p>DO-117b</p><p>Green/brown patina with some earthen highlights.</p><p>23.8 grams</p><p>39 mm, 5 h.</p><p>ex Harlan Berk</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1181928[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Copper and silver, as we know, are highly reactive to exposure to water and oxygen. The greens, blue/greens and browns are the chemical changes that occur on the surface, altering the metal to an oxide, creating veneers, some thin others quite thick, of varying colors.</p><p><br /></p><p>Oxidation is an universal process that produces continual change in Nature. Indeed, it is a vital process for the sustaining of life on our planet.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the natural world, deposits of oxides of copper exist in abundance. Much of the copper that we use today, and over the centuries, has been obtained through the extraction of copper oxides, including malachite, azurite and cuprite, and the refining of these and other ores.</p><p><br /></p><p>Malachite (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂)</p><p>Ural Mountains</p><p>Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia</p><p>474.5 g</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1181919[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Azurite (Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2) and Malachite (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂)</p><p>Bisbee, Warren District,</p><p>Mule Mountains, Arizona</p><p>297.8 g</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1181926[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>So, the next time you look at your bronze and silver ancients, think of how much they have changed since coming out of the mint, and how they are continuing to change, along with just about everything else.</p><p><br /></p><p>“No permanence is ours; we are a wave</p><p>That flows to fit whatever form it finds:</p><p>Through night or day, cathedral or the cave</p><p>We pass forever, craving form that binds.”</p><p>― Hermann Hesse, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2959456" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2959456" rel="nofollow">The Glass Bead Game</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="robinjojo, post: 4897756, member: 110226"]The ancient bronze and silver coins that we enjoy, with their colorful and often dramatic patinas, are the product of centuries, even millennia, of exposure to the elements, primarily air and water, but also other chemicals that might be present, especially if they are buried. Being the objects produced by humanity, they are, nonetheless, composed of naturally occurring elements, namely copper and silver. Here are two bronzes from my collection: Roman Empire, 238 AD Sestertius Pupienus Obverse: Laureate bust, draped and cuirassed bust right. Reverse: Victory standing left. RIC 23a, BMCRE 58, Cohen 38 Deep green patina 19.91 grams 29.5 mm, 1 h. ex Harlan Berk [ATTACH=full]1181927[/ATTACH] Byzantine Empire, 539/40 AD Follis Justinian I Nicomedia Year 13 Officina B Obverse: Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger and shield; cross to right. Reverse: Large M, ANNO to left, XIII (year 13) to right, cross above, NIK in exergue. DO-117b Green/brown patina with some earthen highlights. 23.8 grams 39 mm, 5 h. ex Harlan Berk [ATTACH=full]1181928[/ATTACH] Copper and silver, as we know, are highly reactive to exposure to water and oxygen. The greens, blue/greens and browns are the chemical changes that occur on the surface, altering the metal to an oxide, creating veneers, some thin others quite thick, of varying colors. Oxidation is an universal process that produces continual change in Nature. Indeed, it is a vital process for the sustaining of life on our planet. In the natural world, deposits of oxides of copper exist in abundance. Much of the copper that we use today, and over the centuries, has been obtained through the extraction of copper oxides, including malachite, azurite and cuprite, and the refining of these and other ores. Malachite (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂) Ural Mountains Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia 474.5 g [ATTACH=full]1181919[/ATTACH] Azurite (Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2) and Malachite (Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂) Bisbee, Warren District, Mule Mountains, Arizona 297.8 g [ATTACH=full]1181926[/ATTACH] So, the next time you look at your bronze and silver ancients, think of how much they have changed since coming out of the mint, and how they are continuing to change, along with just about everything else. “No permanence is ours; we are a wave That flows to fit whatever form it finds: Through night or day, cathedral or the cave We pass forever, craving form that binds.” ― Hermann Hesse, [URL='https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2959456']The Glass Bead Game[/URL][/QUOTE]
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