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I'm BLUE (da ba dee da bah dieee)


hotwheelsearl

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I've noticed that on Chinese cash coins you often get all sorts of rather beautiful blue and green encrustations, usually azurite and malachite, or some other copper-ish compounds.

For some reason, this is much less common on Roman coins, and I almost never seen Romans with more than a few crystals.

I came upon this little guy of Constantine II that has nearly full azuritic coverage, with a crescent of malachite on the reverse. Wow!

IMG_E4808.JPG.3e2c2048567ac5e1b012e0792f2cb7a1.JPG

IMG_E4810.JPG.4dee4a50e428f8b8d17640b12644eed8.JPG

 

For comparison, here are two cash coins that are just loaded with green and blue:

829875415_HuiZongNorthernSong10Cash.JPG.afb2d35e9cf0ce029f9b3ac80540033f.JPG

621778215_WangMangHuoQuan.JPG.d363b69401e2452c2ec05b32fe636ff9.JPG

 

Here's a few Alexandrian tets with green and blue, both with rather well-defined crystals of azurite.

205907121_DiocletianAETetMilne4920.JPG.e2dc8be4007845316b05a143527f509d.JPG

840145827_MaximianusPTTetMilne4814.JPG.f256c0b6f8d7d7d763c126a962093557.JPG

 

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Nice colors 🙂

 

Azurite and Malachite are both hydroxycarbonates. Sometimes they are called  sister minerals. 

 

For coins, azurite is often (but not only) seen when larger amounts of heavy metals other than copper are present.

 

c673g.jpg.a8e7d2f0909817f95c9d9a94402e54cd.jpg

Malachite, Azurite and Cuprite

 

Ant Nose Money
Chu (440-220 v. Chr.)
 AE, 0.88g, 14.4x9.1mm
 Hartill 1.4var., FD4var.

Edited by shanxi
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Just in from the bowels of eBay, a minuscule (1.67 grams), partially-blue Byzantine: 

496850363_Byz-JustinIAntiochPentanummiumlotJun2022(0).jpg.8040b59e80f1fce3875e7e30d72e69f3.jpg

 

Justin I  Æ Pentanummium (518-527 A.D.) Antioch Mint [DN IVSTIN]VS [PP AVG], pearl-diademed, draped, and cuirassed bust right / Retrograde Є left, Tyche of Antioch, turreted, seated left in distyle shrine, River-God swimming at her feet. SB 111; DOC 57. (1.67 grams / 11 mm)  eBay June 2022        Lot @ $0.99

 

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Sweet!! => hotwheelsearl => man, congrats on scoring that amazingly cool OP-Blue-Baby!! 

 

Ummm, I had one sort of blue example (wanna see it?)
 

Gordian III, Cappadocia, Caesarea-Eusebia AE21

238-244 AD

Dated RY 4 (AD 240/1)

Diameter: AE21

Weight: 8.24 g

Obverse: AV K M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC, laureate head right

Reverse: MHT PO KAI B N, calathus containing five grain ears

Reference: Sydenham, Caesarea; SNG Hunterian; SNG von Aulock; SNG Righetti; Lindgren & Kovacs; Lindgren III; MPR II

Other: some cleaning marks … extremely rare … cool blue toning

… apparently an unrecorded type for Gordian III

Ex-stevex6

Gordian III blue.jpg

Edited by Steve
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