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Oldest "Red" (Non-Patinated) Coppers?

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Finn235's Avatar
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 Posted 10/16/2017  3:41 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add Finn235 to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
While copper is a great metal for circulating coinage (being cheap, durable, and easy to work), it's also a notoriously difficult metal to keep pristine for more than a century or two; it is highly reactive and likes to take on a patina in a way that silver and gold do not. Since getting into ancient coins, I have come to expect and appreciate a good patina, this probably being my favorite:

Oldest-

(Crispus, the oldest son of Constantine the Great, minted c.317)

In this case, the coin was probably cached in a jar or similar sealed container while still a brilliant red; today it is glossy deep black, like a dark chocolate.

That got me thinking, however; since the technology to slab coins in an airtight coffin has only existed for a few decades, there might be a hard limit to how old a copper or bronze coin can be while still being "red". I've seen some pictures of late 18th century coins in full MS Red, but nothing much older. Anybody aware if there is any definitive answer to this question?

Also, in the interest of a fun pile-on, feel free to jump on board with your own oldest "red" coins (raw or slabbed) as well as any gracefully patinated eye candy! Here is my only 19th century coin that is still red; an 1884 rin (1/10 cent) from Japan:


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 Posted 10/16/2017  3:49 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add basebal21 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
A quick search of the PCGS population showed that 4 1723 1/2 P Hibernia have been graded red but none have pictures. I did find these with pictures though from 1773 http://www.PCGScoinfacts.com/CoinImages.aspx?s=242
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casualcoincollector's Avatar
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 Posted 11/09/2017  06:26 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add casualcoincollector to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Here is my oldest and most favorite Red: 1806 GB ½ D PECK-1365 PCGS PR 64 RED

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 Posted 11/09/2017  11:23 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
Here is my oldest and most favorite Red: 1806 GB ½ D PECK-1365 PCGS PR 64 RED
Very nice!
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casualcoincollector's Avatar
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 Posted 11/09/2017  3:26 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add casualcoincollector to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
@jbuck, Thanks, a friend of mine informed me that this is most likely a James Watt piece, in that Watt had a habit of sealing a certain number of copper proof coins of each year into wax cases that were not opened until around the 1950's. So, most of the red proofs were his. Now I haven't actually done any research into the validity of that story but it makes sense to me.
Edited by casualcoincollector
11/09/2017 3:39 pm
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jbuck's Avatar
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 Posted 11/09/2017  3:28 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
That sounds like something worth looking into further.
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Finn235's Avatar
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 Posted 11/09/2017  3:47 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Finn235 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
What a beauty!
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casualcoincollector's Avatar
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 Posted 11/10/2017  05:11 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add casualcoincollector to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
@Finn235, Thanks!
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