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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Marsyas Mike, post: 3942476, member: 85693&quot;]Interesting thread.&nbsp; Dark bronzes are indeed hard to photograph and even in hand sometimes hard to see in real, non-digital life.&nbsp; Here are a few scenarios:</p><p><br /></p><p>Dark, glossy patina on a Faustina II sestertius - a hard-to-see (and photograph) coin:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1039228[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Dark, glossy patina with scattered desert patina making things stand out on this Faustina I sestertius.&nbsp; I like this coin a lot, but I am suspicious of the patina - it is almost too good to be true and a combination of hard, glossy dark patina with a &quot;desert&quot; overlay is not something I&#039;ve seen a lot of.&nbsp; A soak in distilled water might clean off the &quot;desert&quot; but it would be a less purty coin, I think:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1039227[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>A cautionary tale - somebody tried to strip off the patina on this sestertius of Marcus Aurelius (not me, I promise).&nbsp; It left a mottled, &quot;camouflage&quot; look that is quite unattractive.&nbsp; Too bad, because the coin itself is pretty decent for grade.&nbsp; So in other words, beware cleaning an ancient bronze:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1039229[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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