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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 2111318, member: 19463&quot;]As I see it there are two questions here:&nbsp; How do I tell a fake patina from a real one and should I remove a patina I believe to be fake?&nbsp; As a guideline I try to avoid coins that appear to be rough under the sand so if I removed the sand I would be left with a coin I don&#039;t want.&nbsp; The OP Valentinian looks like it could be attractive underneath but probably not as attractive as it is now.&nbsp; The $25 question is one I won&#039;t touch.&nbsp; Opinions will vary on that. </p><p><br /></p><p>Should I remove a suspect patina.&nbsp; I usually don&#039;t unless it comes off just by wiping with a tissue (as TIF&#039;s make up coins would).&nbsp; Perhaps I should try harder but soaking in water will also remove many genuine sand surfaces and I do not want to know badly enough to ruin a coin finding out.&nbsp; The best point made above in this thread, IMHO, was not to buy from dealers who have 95% matching sand patinas in their stock.&nbsp; Most of these are Middle Eastern but when I resell a coin I buy from them that does not make the patina more genuine, does it? </p><p><br /></p><p>Below is a sand coin I hope is not fake sand.&nbsp; It passed the Kleenex wipe but I am not going to subject it to scrubbing.&nbsp; I do not plan on selling the coin.&nbsp; If I did, would you buy it or do you think it is a glue job?&nbsp; Certainly it has been buffed or scrubbed to remove sand from the high places but was the sand original or recently added?&nbsp; This is not my favorite part of the hobby.&nbsp; If I were a dealer and had to sell the coin, what should I say to a prospective purchaser?&nbsp; If I were a dealer and you offered to sell me the coin, what should I say to you?&nbsp; Is there a place where ethics and ignorance conflict?</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]398761[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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