Amisos, Dionysos ...your Opinion Of Patina

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,433
Doucet Pillar of the Community United States 1315 Posts	Posted 08/14/2013 09:31 am I love a nice green or blue patina and when I bought this coin I thought it would be just fine. After receiving it I began to think it was a false patina. With a light cleaning, a good amount of bluish dust came off and I thought my suspicion was correct. With a little more cleaning no more blue would come off and what remains is rock hard. Is it possible to apply a false patina on a coin that would be so hard? Do you think this is a natural patina or false? I like the coin underneath, the details are pretty nice, but to me this patina is somewhat distracting. Is there a way to safely remove some of this hard blue stuff or should I leave it and love it as it is? Report this Post to the Staff

FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3446 Posts	Posted 08/14/2013 09:37 am I suspect it may have been soaked in a copper sulphate solution. It didn't hurt it any but definitely gave it a little extra 'zing' as far as the color went. I remember ten years ago when a very large seller on ebay seemed to have too many coins that all had the same type of color. The coins were 'good' and the prices were nice so I really didn't care so much. Report this Post to the Staff
echizento Moderator United States 23731 Posts	Posted 08/14/2013 11:28 am I agree the patina does appear to have been added. Report this Post to the Staff
FVRIVS RVFVS Pillar of the Community United States 3446 Posts	Posted 08/14/2013 11:48 am I don't believe the patina was actually added to but rather it was 'stained' with copper sulphate. It is probably possible to darken it by applying olive oil and letting it get some sunlight and 'age' a bit. Report this Post to the Staff
chrsmat71 Pillar of the Community United States 4981 Posts	Posted 08/14/2013 4:10 pm some wierd stuff can go on, here is a coins I cleaned up...backed it and here is how it came out (when in green).. note the powdery stuff below. I burshed most of it off, what was left lookied like this... i can't remember the exact chemical explaniation, but it has to do with dehydrating some copper containing compound (like drying in an oven)...you could have something similar going on. Edited by chrsmat71 08/14/2013 4:12 pm Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 08/15/2013 12:41 am Doucet: Quite often with ancient coins, they are so unrecognizable when first dug up, that they have to be treated with acid. To know what dilution the acid needs to be, and for what time the coin is treated, needs the experience of a professional, usually in a museum. As you may well imagine, any original patina on the coin can be completely removed, and so some subsequent attempt at coin preservation after such treatment is essential. You may well ask with good reason if the patina on the coin pictured is artificially contrived or not. Edited by sel_69l 08/15/2013 12:42 am Report this Post to the Staff
Doucet Pillar of the Community United States 1315 Posts	Posted 08/15/2013 09:12 am Thanks guys, I think I will stick it in some olive oil for a while and see what happens. Probably can't go too far wrong. I was watching another with similar details, but with very nice surfaces on Pecumen. It sold for about 250.00. I paid about a quarter of that for this one. So whether or not the patina is older or newer I guess it's still pretty much the same stuff. Maybe it will calm down and smooth out a bit. Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 6 / Views: 1,433

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