Thread: Can Cellophane Enclosed Coins Tone Up?

The reason I ask..
Sometimes when Im trying to take advantage of shipping and handling incentives from U.S dealers, Ill throw in a few Kennedy Halves to add to my collection. I like the look and weight of them, and they are cheap enough to buy. I do have about a dozen silver ones from the mid 60's I especially enjoy.
Anyway I bought a cellophane enclosed 1978P and D for 2 bucks each in my last purchase from my last ebay transaction from a U.S seller.
The coins are really toning up nicely, a nice consistant 'tea-staining' colour.. for the lack of a better word... acoss the entire coin, both sides
It was my thought that only when air is exposed to coins do they tone up. The cellophane has completely sealed seams so Im confused if they were toned up and then put in the cellophane after the fact or how this occured
Also, can you buy them single/loose in cellophane from the mint or would they have been cut out from a complete proof like set. I think I seem to recall that you can buy them in rolls.
Thanks for any help.

Interesting, I havent tried that, Maybe a little expermentation is in
Order??

Good question! I thought about asking the same question about some coins I bought wrapped in a similar way. Instead, I took them out of the cellophane and stored them in a known archival safe product. I have some rolls that came in that clear plastic they're using now and after about four years I'm noticing some serious yellowing on the end coins and on the edges of the interior coins.

Heres the coins...you can see the toning.Looks better in real life.http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...m=190351824312
BTW, I highly reccomend this seller as well.

Hey, when are you going to attach a pic of a 48 dollar to your name? I like those voyager dollars, have several of them, but no keys like the 48.

Cellophane has a slight porosity. Not enough that if you squeeze it, it will deflate rather than pop. Given enough time, slight differences in air (barometric) pressure can produce a "breathing" effect. If your air is laden with moisture and/or corroding gases, the coins inside will react. I don't think the mint has ever called, or explained it, as anything but packaging. As with all toning, it is related to environmental factors so some may never have any occur, and others will.

Jim

i have a bunch of proof sets from the early 60's that have toned quite nicely from being in the mint cellophane packages. anywhere from subtle blues and purples on the nickels to reddish on franklin halves and even a nice dark rainbow penny some i have taken out and put in holder other i have left in the cellophane

Originally Posted by Dollar1948

Heres the coins...you can see the toning.Looks better in real life.http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...m=190351824312
BTW, I highly reccomend this seller as well.

Ah, now I see what you mean by cellophane. Most I know leave their coins in the mint packaging, unless they break them out to fill holes in albums or have them graded.

Originally Posted by urbanchemist

i have a bunch of proof sets from the early 60's that have toned quite nicely from being in the mint cellophane packages. anywhere from subtle blues and purples on the nickels to reddish on franklin halves and even a nice dark rainbow penny some i have taken out and put in holder other i have left in the cellophane

Thats interesting to read. I have a complete set of Canadian proof sets 1960 to date (not all the varieties mind you), and not one of them has toned up like that.I guess thats where the environmental conditions come into play as suggested by Desert Gem.
Perhaps these coins previous owners lived beside an active volcano, Key West, or in any other humid place like Atlanta in the summertime.
It seems that over time the Canadian mint changed the composition of the cellophane that they used on these sets. From a thin 'crackly' type material to a much thicker, rigid type material that doesn't make a noise if you try to crease it. I wonder why they did this, for this same issue? Who knows.
Hey State..As far as my avatar with a 1948 Canadian silver dollar? I dont own one yet, tho I got a complete set of all the Canadian Silver dollars and the commeratives 1935 to date. I could have picked up a VF for $1200, a couple of years back buy Im saving and holding out for a better grade.
Thanks for everyones contributions thus far.

The thing to remember is this - there is currently no airtight coin holder in existence. It doesn't matter if the coins are in original mint packaging - from any mint in any country - or in a commercially sold coin holder of any kind. None of them are airtight.

So coins in any holder can and will tone under the right conditions.

Originally Posted by GDJMSP

The thing to remember is this - there is currently no airtight coin holder in existence. It doesn't matter if the coins are in original mint packaging - from any mint in any country - or in a commercially sold coin holder of any kind. None of them are airtight.

So coins in any holder can and will tone under the right conditions.

Unfortuately this is true. Even in outer space there is no perfect vacuum. Air, moisture, gasses of all types can and do seep into every thing over time. And the tinniest imperfection in the sealing material can inhance this process extensively.

Originally Posted by urbanchemist

i have a bunch of proof sets from the early 60's that have toned quite nicely from being in the mint cellophane packages. anywhere from subtle blues and purples on the nickels to reddish on franklin halves and even a nice dark rainbow penny some i have taken out and put in holder other i have left in the cellophane

Absolutely!! They tone very nicely in cellophane. I have a few from the 60's as well. Also, I had a 1968 mint set from Mexico and all the coins in the set toned nicely and look super. Wish I could capture on my camera but I'm not the one.

They can tone in cello, they cannot. You could never buy single Kennedy's in cello witout them being mint sets as far as I can remember.
There are no completly air tight holders known to man - I said completly. - by that "no air" in them or can get to them.
Coins can tone in any album, holder or slab. We don't want to think that but it's true I have seen it in every holder. Good luck for us it doesn't happen all the time!

Dollar1948, Here are a few pics of a 1948 dollar I found on the internet. They are not watermarked, so it's my understanding they are not copy protected, so you may want to use them for your avatar, until you find your own 1948 dollar.

Thanks State Quad' Guy!!
I chose the middle image...looks like some nice toning developing.
Much appreciated...Hopefully in the near future I'll post a pic of the real thing!!