Dafydd Posted Tuesday at 06:17 PM · Supporter Share Posted Tuesday at 06:17 PM I will qualify my post by saying this is not any criticism or comment on the Auction House. The last time I raised honest concerns a German auction house threatened our community and my post was deleted so lets get this straight , my comments are an observation and opinion and my own. Censorship and free press over and done with. I am going to bid on some coins in this auction. After looking at many coins in the Imperial section I realised that the surface patina was the same. Now this could be a trick of the light and photography and boy don't I know about that with my own dismal skills, but is this photography or did the original collector do something to try and enhance his coins? It looks like sand blasting to me. From my perspective I would still compete on some but the similarity has piqued my interest. Of course my opinion could be my advancing age and deteriorating eyesight...... Opinions please. I am still bidding because this observation does not sway my choice. See https://www.biddr.com/auctions/spqrcollection/browse?a=4981 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor robinjojo Posted Tuesday at 07:40 PM · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted Tuesday at 07:40 PM I took a look at many of the Roman imperial lots. This one appears to have been cleaned and possibly repatinated to darken the exposed metal. The surfaces are slightly rough (corroded) but not severely. The other bronzes that I saw seemed pretty typical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dafydd Posted Tuesday at 08:28 PM · Supporter Author Share Posted Tuesday at 08:28 PM 46 minutes ago, robinjojo said: I took a look at many of the Roman imperial lots. This one appears to have been cleaned and possibly repatinated to darken the exposed metal. The surfaces are slightly rough (corroded) but not severely. The other bronzes that I saw seemed pretty typical. I was looking at the silver denarii. This is an attractive coin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benefactor robinjojo Posted Tuesday at 08:38 PM · Benefactor Benefactor Share Posted Tuesday at 08:38 PM The photos of the denarii seem subpar, really washed out. A lower grade coin such as this one in the auction does have porosity. It was harshly cleaned at some point, removing the horn silver and exposing corroded surfaces. Another denarius, also cleaned, but not severely, also has some porosity, quite typical for this grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-monolith- Posted Tuesday at 09:12 PM · Member Share Posted Tuesday at 09:12 PM Typically the coins are being sold by the auction house on behalf of various sellers so it's possible that one or two of them have artificially "aged" their coins but you should be able to easily remove it with acetone. I've seen far worse "painted patinas" from other auction houses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAZ Numismatics Posted Tuesday at 09:26 PM · Member Share Posted Tuesday at 09:26 PM Don't forget that some ancient silver can be finely reticulated due to the leaching of base metals over time. This is perfectly natural, and for some collectors, even desirable. The second "Tribute Penny" robinjojo posted is a good example of normal porosity. Most collectors would probably want smooth surfaces, but I'm ok with an ancient coin looking ancient. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.