How Can I Make Desert Patina?

Place the coin in a dry sandy soil and leave for 1000 years - bingo

And a few more different types as well.

Why would you want to? I love desert patina but I don't want any coins that may have fake patina of any sort.

Biancasdad: Very nice looking coins, especially the Syrian red. And echizento is right when he says that may be one of the best Salonina coins I've seen. Here is one of mine with a sand patina from Spain:

Real toning cannot be faked. That's as bad as cleaning coins!

You are correct about toning, especially in modern coins and even ancient gold/silver coins. But patina is a different matter. I have read articles where patina can be man made in a short amount of time using certain chemical compounds. But to apply a patina is as dishonest as making a fake coin IMHO. AND, when you are dealing with coins that have been buried for nearly 2000 years, you bet yer bippy they have to be cleaned. And they have to be cleaned properly as testified by the many threads regarding this topic.

I heard patina is what the coin "makes" to protect itself from the elements. Is that true?

Coins aren't sentient; They can't choose to protect themselves. It's all left up to the randomness of the chemical environment.

Patina is the formation of a layer of oxidation and corrosion byproducts around a coin. How "protective" it is depends on exactly what the composition of the layer is, which in turn depends on the composition of the original coin and the environment the coin was buried in. Most metals and alloys aren't very good at forming protective layers if they are buried in a random plot of soil.

If a coin is buried in alkali-lime soil, there's a good chance of malachite formation, which is both partially protective and attractive (if you don't mind your coins being a bright green colour). But if there's chloride (ordinary salt) in the mix, then you've got a good chance of developing bronze disease, a highly contagious and destructive form of patina.

As for the OP's question, yes, desert patina can be faked, but I can't think of any good reason why anybody would want to do that, and lots of bad reasons. Not least of which is, attempting to apply a fake patina would almost certainly require destroying the actual genuine patina it already has.

You don't find naturally occurring desert-patinated coins in Bulgaria because Bulgaria doesn't have any deserts. I know if I ever saw a native Bulgarian coin with a desert patina for sale, I'd run far away from it rather than buy it, because there's clearly something fishy going on, there.

I know but I cant buy ancient coins outside Bulgaria by the laws.