Valentinian II AE-4

Greetings all!
I found this nice little AE-4 of Valentinian II recently. I think I will pick it up soon; it's only $25.
What are the experts opinions on this coin( ex-authenticity, price, condition)
Diameter-14mm
Weight-1.11 grams


Thanks

 

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looks pretty sweet to me!

 

Well worth the $25.

 

Great coin and price MM, sweet!!

 

Really nice little coin, well done.

 

Thanks guys and girl!
This coin really caught my eye with that patina,and the condition it's in.

 

I will be "hanging" around for this coin to arrive. I know its cheesy but whatever

 

Looks like an extraordinary coin for the type..much better than most I've seen before...a 'high grade' example and like everyone has posted, well worth the price. And i love the patina as well!!

 

Love it, very nice.

 

Surprised no one has gotten the joke yet.

 

It's a nice looking coin, but I'm about 90% positive the "desert patina" is fake. Whether you can live with that or not is up to you. Otherwise the details are very sharp for the type, and it's nicely centered.

 

Fake patina or not, I would leave it as it is.

Good Joke MM

 

Interesting comment JA...especially since i read somewhere recently about artificially applying a 'desert patina' to coins....even by the collectors themselves for their coins...

How does one tell if the patina is real or artificial???

 

It may well be fake, JA, but the seller is from the middle east.

 

That doesn't mean anything. Fake sand patinas are popular with a couple of Middle Eastern dealers, and very popular with certain Spanish and Portugeuse dealers as well. I have soured on them, and I'll show you why. Let me edit a few pics and I'll post them in a few minutes. Stand by.

 

Okay. Can't wait to see what you have to show us.

 

does a fake patina ruin a coins value?

 

Depends on who you talk to. Here is a case in point. Take a good look at this very rough FH. Probably most of the surface roughness is due to corrosion, perhaps some to aggressive cleaning. If I were a dealer, I'd throw this coin into the $5 junk bin...

 

But put some glue on it, rub it with sand, and you've got yourself a beautiful "natural" desert patina. Of course it's natural, sand has been around for millions of years! YES, this is the SAME coin as the one I posted above...



Now you've gone from a five dollar coin to a twenty-five dollar coin, and yes, I did pay $25 for it, knowing full well the patina might be fake. I was curious. In fact, it was so fake, it washed off in thirty seconds after I rubbed the coin under a running faucet.

 

Do you think this coin has a fake patina?
Let me add; is there any way to differentiate a fake patina and a genuine patina?