My first attempt at semi-natural/semi-artificial patina (QBs)

[DukeSilver]

Hello all!

For a while I have been trying to create a patina on a couple of silver QBs - partly because they were already tarnished, but mostly because I have always wanted to try it!

I wanted to avoid cutting corners by using Liver of Sulphur, so thought I would try a semi-natural/semi-artificial method. I did this by wrapping them in highly sulphurous paper and packing material for about 18 months, and regularly changing it every 1-2 months.

Full disclosure: I definitely cheated by 'sulphurizing' the packing material for several days prior to repacking the coins!

I am by no means an expert, but I am rather pleased with the results and thought it would be fun to show them off.

 

These pictures are taken under low light to show the greatest detail.

First the Dragon:

 

And here is the Griffin:

 

Under a more natural light, they have a rather impressive bronze/amber look to them:

 

 

In natural sunlight they are quite glorious to look at - almost like they are carved out of wood!

Best wishes to all

Duke

 

[sovereignsteve]

I'd like to be able to add some natural looking tone to old cleaned .925 British coins

[Gordy]

1 hour ago, DukeSilver said:

Hello all!

For a while I have been trying to create a patina on a couple of silver QBs - partly because they were already tarnished, but mostly because I have always wanted to try it!

I wanted to avoid cutting corners by using Liver of Sulphur, so thought I would try a semi-natural/semi-artificial method. I did this by wrapping them in highly sulphurous paper and packing material for about 18 months, and regularly changing it every 1-2 months.

Full disclosure: I definitely cheated by 'sulphurizing' the packing material for several days prior to repacking the coins!

I am by no means an expert, but I am rather pleased with the results and thought it would be fun to show them off.

 

These pictures are taken under low light to show the greatest detail.

First the Dragon:

 

And here is the Griffin:

 

Under a more natural light, they have a rather impressive bronze/amber look to them:

 

 

In natural sunlight they are quite glorious to look at - almost like they are carved out of wood!

Best wishes to all

Duke

 

you can get instant deep results with mashed up boiled eggs and you can control how much you want it to colourise as you can literally see it change immediately

[harrygill111]

They look great! 

So good that I'm going to find a coin to egg! 

[DukeSilver]

9 hours ago, Gordy said:

you can get instant deep results with mashed up boiled eggs and you can control how much you want it to colourise as you can literally see it change immediately

I tried using egg whites in a air-tight container once before. Spectacular results (like a kaleidoscope), but it had a definite artificial feel to it. I was keen to see how long it would take to get a more natural-looking result - with a bit of coaxing, of course.

[stefffana]

12 hours ago, DukeSilver said:

I tried using egg whites in a air-tight container once before. Spectacular results (like a kaleidoscope), but it had a definite artificial feel to it. I was keen to see how long it would take to get a more natural-looking result - with a bit of coaxing, of course.

Yep.

Next goal: do an auction on forum to see the real market value for a semi-natural/semi-artificial toned coin.😊

[MBTPSilver]

These look amazing, great job! Kind of tempted to try this on one of the big 10oz coins. It is funny how often people complain about tarnish when it can look this good.

[DukeSilver]

On 15/02/2023 at 22:25, stefffana said:

Yep.

Next goal: do an auction on forum to see the real market value for a semi-natural/semi-artificial toned coin.😊

I could certainly be tempted. But I would be sad to see them go 😢

[stefffana]

30 minutes ago, DukeSilver said:

I could certainly be tempted. But I would be sad to see them go 😢

Yes, true. But if the price will be surprisingly good, you will be the one who have the experience and expertise to create more of them.😊

[Arcadian]

They look great, it could it be a good way of disguising what passes for quality control at the RM?