Sorting through some coins I'm likely listing for sale soon, this one has such a nice purple patina - any other purple patinas people want to share?
What makes purple patina appear? I have a few coins that started tarnishing like this, while others have that brownish-yellow typical silvery patina. Others become black. What is the difference between these types of patinas?
HELLO EVRYONE, You can get something like this with ammonia & salt. It varies between a real deep blue/purple like that and something a tad more turquoise. Actually it doesn't usually get that purple, so maybe they used a different process. This patina is super cool so here are the steps, anyway: Clean copper thoroughly Get the surface wet, make sure the water stays pooled on it. Spray bottles are good for this. Cover the surface in salt (yep, regular table salt). Put the copper in a closed container with ammonia in the container. It shouldn't be touching the ammonia. The vapors as it evaporates are what do all the work. I use a giant Tupperware thing, rest the lies on some wire so it's touching as little surface as possible, and put ammonia in a shot glass next to the piece. Also, ammonia is scary, don't breathe it. THANKS AND REGARDS
No need to go thru all these trouble to get nice toning. Just put the coins into a smeshed up hard boiled egg over night. Easy peasy!