The Authentification of Old Bronze Coins and the Structure of the Archaeological Patina

Abstract

This paper presents comparative results concerning the chemical composition and mineralogical distribution of the main compounds from the structure of the archaeological patina of ancient bronze coins, which were determined by the corroboration of microchemical, IR spectrophotometry, SEM/EDAX and Colorimetric methods. The stratigraphical distribution of the chemical components in the structure of patina is caused by the pedological processes from the archaeological sites and which represents main elements used in the authentication of ancient bronze artifacts.

Keywords

• ancient bronze coins
• pedological transformation
• primary
• secondary and contamination patina
• archeological patina
• stratified structure