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 Replies: 7 / Views: 1,940 |
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Valued Member
United States
136 Posts |
Help me understand something.
I read here and there that patina is a good trait on a coin as long as it is not artificially done.
Now, perhaps its just me and my personality, but why is patina a good thing? Does patina not indicate a coin not stored well? I mean if it can discolor over time, does that not mean that it was not stored properly?
Ive never sought after coins with patina on them and in fact I would be prone to turn away from one. Its probably just me, but I like coins that are as pristine as I can afford. Perhaps I'm too narrow sighted in my coin collecting to appreciate an 'aged' or a coin with patina but I would like to learn, so can someone help me understand this?
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
for coins, usually the term is "toned" or "toning". I don't know why that potentially adds value, maybe its simply adding history to a coin. I only have 1 or 2 coins that are toned. And one of those is a colorized ASE that has toning on the reverse. Edited by Fuzzy317
05/13/2011 03:46 am
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Moderator
Australia
16826 Posts |
Correct; a patina or toning is valued because it indicates that a coin has not been cleaned. It's virtually impossible for a coin to be kept permanently in a completely airtight environment. A hundred year old silver coin that still looks completely untarnished has almost certainly been cleaned.
That being said, we collectors should have a conservator mindset. We should be protecting our coins as best we can, not be deliberately exposing coins to corrosive environments just because we've learned to like toned coins.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
A major category for coin grading is "eye appeal". Not all toned coins have eye appeal ... some toners are downright bug ugly. But others are like a renaissance masterpiece.
The collecting community is split between those who appreciate the art in these beautiful toners and those who prefer the fresh off the press originality. Years ago these toners were shunned, but are gaining in acceptance today. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
842 Posts |
When is comes to ancients, it is especially important that patina remains intact. More often than not the coin IS the patina, and removing it will leave you with a smooth, worthless disk of bronze, albeit its age. Keep this in mind if you ever delve into the facinating realm of ancient coins.
Edited by ancientcoinguy
05/13/2011 09:49 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:
A major category for coin grading is "eye appeal". Not all toned coins have eye appeal ... some toners are downright bug ugly. But others are like a renaissance masterpiece.
The collecting community is split between those who appreciate the art in these beautiful toners and those who prefer the fresh off the press originality. Years ago these toners were shunned, but are gaining in acceptance today. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.
 HEY, I wanted to say all that. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
Quote:
HEY, I wanted to say all that. Yes I know! And I also know how very busy you are, so I really hope you don't mind that I spoke for you.  |
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Valued Member
 United States
136 Posts |
See I would fall under the 'eye appeal' umbrella as 'toning' does not have any real appeal to me. However, I thought from a few things I had read, maybe my mindset was wrong and I needed to make an adjustment. I mean everyones personality is going to come out in some form or fashion in their collecting but I also didnt want to completely ignore or shun certain aspects of the hobby just because of some misguided preconceived notion.
I am a big fan of those pristine coins, just as if they had popped out of die that day and never been handled sorta thing. Of course, I suppose that opens me up to being susceptible to cleaned coins. So as I have went along I've tried to learn more about how to spot those. But I am also kinda on the fence about that too. I can see an understand both sides of the argument. There is a large part of me that wants to protect a coin once I get it and preserve it. As such I am on the fence about dipping them in acetone or something like that to remove any contaminants and oils that may later damage or degrade the coin. But I guess thats another topic all together.
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Replies: 7 / Views: 1,940 |
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Posted 05/13/2011 07:18 am
