Sestertius of Domitian

[Ben C4]

I have a question on this one, specifically about the patina. I have a decent variety of coins exhibiting various patinas- some green, but mostly browns and a few black. This is my only coin which has this much lighter appearance. It's somewhat glossy but not in a shiny metallic way. I'm not sure if the coin was at some point cleaned and has begun to form a new patina or if this just happens to be how the original was found. What do you think? Do you have coins with a similar look?

[maridvnvm]

Have you tried looking up "Tiber patina"?

[Ben C4]

Have you tried looking up "Tiber patina"?

I have heard of it before and have seen examples from others who labeled their coins as Tiber patina. I understood it to be more of a chocolate brown color, but I am certainly new to the game and have a lot to learn. I'm sure many of you are skilled enough to look at any one of my coins and determine the kind of soil (or water) where it was buried. This one just stood out as unique in my small collection.

[Joe Sermarini]

Tiber patina refers to bare copper, bronze, or brass (orichalcum) as found in fresh water. The term is used mostly to distinguish the surface of a probable water find coin from a coin that had a patina and has been stripped. It usually isn't chocolate brown when found but surfaces turn darker over time. Color is not the important thing. It is a certain look that is hard to put into words. It is a natural bare metal and not stripped over-cleaned bare metal. Often there is corrosion but it is not the rough grainy corrosion of an over-cleaned coin. I think you can call your surfaces Tiber patina. Now, is it definitely a river find and not stripped? I don't know. But the surfaces are nice enough. BTW, I think I know a little bit about coins, but most of the time I have no idea what kind of soil or water a coin was found in. People who metal detect might, but not me.

[Ben C4]

Tiber patina refers to bare copper, bronze, or brass (orichalcum) as found in fresh water. The term is used mostly to distinguish the surface of a probable water find coin from a coin that had a patina and has been stripped. It usually isn't chocolate brown when found but surfaces turn darker over time. Color is not the important thing. It is a certain look that is hard to put into words. It is a natural bare metal and not stripped over-cleaned bare metal. Often there is corrosion but it is not the rough grainy corrosion of an over-cleaned coin. I think you can call your surfaces Tiber patina. Now, is it definitely a river find and not stripped? I don't know. But the surfaces are nice enough. BTW, I think I know a little bit about coins, but most of the time I have no idea what kind of soil or water a coin was found in. People who metal detect might, but not me.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge Joe. I have one or two coins that exhibit what I think you described as a stripped bare metal. The Domitian has a distinctly different look which made me think it was either Tiber or had been stripped long ago. I've also heard that other patinas (like desert patina) are often added by the seller to enhance points of detail.

[Ben C4]

As far as patinas being stripped, here is a coin that I assume falls into that category. It has a bare metal look and I think some of the original brown patina may still be left in a few spots. What do you think?

[FlaviusDomitianus]

With that orange peel surface, this one looks more tiber patina to me.

Alberto

[SC]

The black and bare brass "patina" is quite common for first and early second century sestertii.  (One of my favourite "looks".)

Like Joe has said, it can be called a "Tiber patina", but that doesn't mean it actually came from any river, let alone the Tiber.

The provincial coin looks acid cleaned to me.  The dark red spots appear to be the remains of cuprite (copper oxide) from a thick spot on the now-removed patina.  Coins from this part of the world are often found with the thick cuprite layer which can obscure the entire surface and thus tempt some to acid cleaning....

SC

[Ben C4]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing SC. I also like the lighter surface of the domitian as most of my other coins are quite dark. The provincial coin definitely appeared to have lost its original surface. While I know that stripping the coin greatly reduces its collector value, it is interesting to at least have a glimpse of the bare metal and to have an idea about what the coin looked like when it was freshly struck.