4/7/15 Report - Patination and Toning Of Coins.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.


Ancient Coin With Red Toning.
Source: ForumancientCoins.com link below.

Yesterday I said a few words about red cents and patination on coins. Today I'll talk about patination and toning.

 I often say a few words on a topic and leave the rest for you to figure out.  I can't write a book everyday, but it usually takes more than what I can post to make any serious topic perfectly clear. There is always more that could be said, or perhaps, that should be said.  Hopefully you'll use the links if you want to learn more.

On the ancient coin shown here you can see a touch of red, especially on Agrippa's face.  Here is what the article says concerning the red on that coin.

Some have said this is artificial and the coin is tooled.  It is from the same hoard as the Agrippa coin above [referring to another coin shown in the original article]. Most of the high-grade Agrippa ases in collections today are likely from this same hoard.  It is not tooled and the patina is natural.  Red is most often an indicator of harmful corrosion but in this case it is very thin red toning or patina on copper similar to that of highly collectible red U.S. pennies.

(The parentheses, underlining and bolding in the above paragraph were added by me.)

The same article says, Patina is the oxidized metal that coats many ancient bronze and copper coins. It is usually green, but can be many colors including blue and red. The main reason you want to preserve it is that it is usually attractive and the coin under the patina usually isn't as nice. A coin with an attractive patina is often worth more than a coin that does not have a patina at all. A common coin, like a common Constantine dynasty AE3, that has been stripped of its patina down to bare shinny metal is almost worthless...

And here is the link to the original article which shows a good variety of patinated coins, including, red, green, blue, brown and more.  Good article with lots of photo examples.

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=patina

If you look through the listings of old silver coins on ebay, you'll often see listings including the term "rainbow patina."  A rainbow patina on old silver coins is desired and brings a premium. 

And here is a great article all about toning.

http://www.coinnews.net/2007/09/03/what-is-coin-toning-how-does-it-affect-coins-and-their-value-3565/

Here is a little from the beginning of that fine article.

Coin toning can intrinsically increase or decrease the value of coins. Natural coin toning can be quite beautiful. It can also be outrageously ugly...
Toning is a term that describes the discoloration or light patina that forms on the surface of coins due to oxygen and chemicals in the air acting on the metal. This oxidation can result in a variety and level of toning and also depends on the properties of the metal – silver, gold, copper, nickel, etc.

Toning is a slow and normal process that can take months to years to appear. Should you worry about toning? If you’re storing your coins properly, don’t. Unless a coin is in a vacuum, it’s going to start at some point.

A coin that’s toned is in a normal "stage" of its life...

In fact, you’ll hear coin collectors use the word toning often to a describe a coin’s natural and appealing discoloration.

That is another very good article.


Dug Pennies With A Couple Red Pennies
In the Middle.

Here are photos of some dug red pennies.
  

Red 1924 S Penny
Bottom.





















One big treasure coin auction house told me that their customers preferred what they called "toned" cobs.  They didn't mean totally black like they are usually found though.

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The surf on the Treasure Coast is up to around three or four feet.  The wind is not good though.  Nothing very promising in the predictions either.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net



8/8/14 Report - Unusually Patinated Dug 1927 Quarter. Beach Coal. British Loyalist Wrecks. Genealogical Research Again.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.




1927 Quarter With Unusual Gold Color Patina.

In my opinion this is the most attractive natural dug patina that I have seen on a coin. 

The gold color patina has a shine to it.  It is much more attractive in person.

I have no idea how the patina was created, but it is the way it was dug.

It has a melt value of about $3.60, but is rare enough that in poor condition should sell for around $9.00.  In excellent condition, it would go for around $250.  If it had an S mint mark, in excellent condition it would be more like $6000.



This one is poor condition, but the beautiful toning might raise the price a little.  I should check that out.

Other Side Same Coin Showing Same Gold Patina.

We often talk about the famed 1715 Fleet, but there are plenty of other wrecks along the Treasure Coast.  The Roberts and Spring of Whitby are two that are well known. 

St. Augustine was a Spanish settlement first, but after that it was British.  Artifacts from a British fleet are now being studied by the St. Augustine LAMP Program.  Here are a few sentences from a recent article about that.

On New Year’s Eve, 1782, sixteen British Loyalist ships carrying evacuees from Charleston, S.C., ran aground while trying to enter the St. Augustine Inlet. More than 200 years later, archaeologists from the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum are carefully conserving artifacts recovered from one of those sixteen ships in hopes that they will reveal clues about these ill-fated vessels.
“Based on the artifacts we’ve recovered so far, we know this ship was part of a huge fleet that evacuated British Loyalists from the colonies near the end of the American Revolution,” said Chuck Meide, Director of the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP). “Our ship sailed from Charleston and was probably carrying both civilians and soldiers who were seeking refuge in St. Augustine. At that time in history, Florida was the closest British-held colony where evacuees could take shelter and try to start their lives again.”

Here is the link for the rest of the article.

http://historiccity.com/2014/staugustine/news/florida/lighthouse-hope-1782-cannon-yields-new-clues-46571

In Florida it is easy to focus on the Spanish history and forget some of our other history.  Don't forget the other shipwrecks that are out there.  And don't forget about later eras.

I was reminded that some wrecks are from later times when I found a few lumps of coal on a beach. 

 ... in 1911 coal was still the primary source of power for naval vessels. The Royal Navy had adopted oil for submarines and destroyers, and in most ships it was sprayed on coal to increase its combustion. But coal remained the principal fuel, especially for larger vessels like battleships. It was widely available, especially in Britain, where Cardiff coal mined in Wales was preferred by navies worldwide.

Here is the link for more about that.

http://www.epmag.com/archives/digitalOilField/5911.htm

But, of course, it wasn't necessarily from a coal powered ship.  The coal could have also been cargo.

Anyhow, there are wrecks besides the 1715 wrecks along our beaches, and reminders of those wrecks can pop up at different times.

The more you know, the more complicated things become.

I've mentioned before how much I've enjoyed and benefited from genealogical research.   I just read about some of my ancestors that departed Rotterdam for Philadelphia in August 1733.  That was the month after the Atocha sank.   It is interesting to make the connections.   While my ancestors were crossing the ocean, the Keys were a bee hive of salvage activity.

Those ancestors sailed on a ship named Elizabeth.  One died two days out.  After landing in Philadelphia, two boys were sold as indentured servants to pay for passage. 

From Wikipedia: Indentured Servitude in Pennsylvania.

As for indentured colonists, the reasons for entering into such an arrangement varied. Colonists might indenture themselves or their relations in response to economic circumstances. For example, parents unable to financially support their children might place them under indenture, since the terms of the agreement usually specified the provisioning of "meat, drink, lodging and washing."
Colonists also became indentured servants as punishment for some form of transgression or debt. In the case of the latter, individuals could present a "petition" to the courts, whereby they would "admit" to the debt and agree to fulfill their obligations by indenturing themselves. The indenture could be granted to the creditor or another party who paid the servant's debt.  Overall, however, only a small portion of the indentured servants in Pennsylvania derived from colony's residents.

Those of the "criminal" or "meaner" sort comprised another form of indentured servitude. For these individuals, indentured servitude provided a "conditional" alternative to judicially prescribed punishments. By serving a certain number of years under indenture, such persons would legally absolve themselves of their crimes. However, if these servants reneged on their contracts and returned to the home country, they would be subject to the penalty of death.

I was lucky to find a lot written about some of my ancestors.  It really makes history come alive, and it can provide many clues to good detecting sites.   I keep learning more and more.  You might enjoy researching your own family.



Occasionally we have some immigrants that come ashore on the Treasure Coast.  That happened recently.

http://www.wpbf.com/news/south-florida/treasure-coast-news/10-believed-to-be-illegal-immigrants-found-on-Hutchinson-Island/13478092#!bx8hMo

We have South winds and one foot seas for days to come.   I don't know a time when I've seen the water so smooth for so long.

I have some new modern jewelry finds to show.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net