Wild Toning

It's hard to tell. When I moved into the "sulfur house" in 1993, the vast majority of my coins were either in rolls or in government cases. Some coins were in paper envelopes, some were in Whitman folders, almost none were in cardboard 2X2 holders.

I will post some pictures of coins that I had in that house that subsequently toned. I will start with this one, a 5 ounce .999 silver medal that started out white when I bought it in 1994. I used it as a sort of mantlepiece from 1994-96, then put it in a vinyl flip when I moved and it has remained there to this day.

 

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That's because it is AT. I'm sorry but I don't believe that coin was white in 1989 and then toned in your album.

I truly believe that is the work of Mel-ko from ebay...lol. No offense to the OP. If you like it, good for you.

 

I'm sorry, but you are as wrong as can be on that. I bought the coin in 1989 at J&M Coins & Jewellery in Vancouver, Canada, before there even was an eBay. It was white at the time-- cleaned, but white.

And I have never bought anything off eBay-- toned or otherwise.

 

That could be part of the reason it toned like it did. I would imagine how something was cleaned can vastly effect how it re-tones.

 

That could be one explanation, and of course I have no idea what had been done to the coin in the 108 years before I bought it.
But what is interesting here is that the 5-ounce .999 silver medal that I posted also shows the same pattern of toning (especially on the reverse), just to a more advanced degree. I bought that medal direct from the producer (and when I say "direct", I mean I bought it in person from the guy who made it, at his private mint), and I know it was never cleaned. Like I said earlier, the medal was used as a sort of mantelpiece, directly exposed to the atmosphere of my "sulfur house", with the reverse mostly being against the wall and thus slightly less exposed.

 

This 1961 proof dime was white when it was taken from a proof set in 1987. It was stored in a coin envelope for about 20 years, I think, before being transferred to a vinyl flip.

 

This 1946 dime was white when it was removed from a roll of junk silver dimes and placed in a Whitman album in 1994, where it has resided ever since.

 

This 1926-S Peace dollar was bought white in 1987 and stored in the dealer's 2X2 cardboard holder until it was transferred to a framed 20th Century Type Set display around 1994. The obverse was facing the glass case while the reverse was resting against a corrugated cardboard filler until I turned the coin around about 2 years ago.

 

This 1921-S Morgan dollar was put into the 20th Century Type Set display at the same time as the Peace dollar and also turned around about 2 years ago, but I don't remember how it was stored between the time I bought it at a coin show in Seattle in 1989 and put it in the 20th Century display case in 1994.

 

Here's a proof 1958 Roosevelt dime that was taken from a proof set in 1987 and kept in a paper envelope until it was transferred to the 20th Century Type Set display in 1994 or maybe later. An interesting thing about this coin is that there appear to be some die cracks on Roosevelt's face.

 

Toning threads always cause controversy.

I am wrestling with how to price a coin with toning in my collection. For example my coin software program may say that based on the grade it's worth $X dollars, but I paid 2 x $X because of the toning. What value do I put? Someone else may not want to pay what I paid.

I apologize if this hi jacks the op's post, but it just reminded me of my little bitty dilemma.

Nice Morgan by the way.

 

Great posts Collector1966. I was always surprised how toned collectors thought they could be so sure spotting AT, and by my definition you are proving you have NT coins that they continue to label AT. I would love to hear from toning collectors refuting why what you have said here is either a lie or how it is AT anyway.

Its a continuum, like I said a great amount of toning can be achieved either way. This very fact is why I will never pay a premium for a coins toning unless I know for a fact it could not have been replicated. To me, the only toning that is in existence that meets that parameter is the hard glossy green toning on a few ancient coppers.

 

The controversy between naturally toned and artificially toned has intrigued me. How does something tone in the non-artificial sense? Let's see......I leave a coin out on the window sill, in the blazing afternoon sun, and turn it over every few days, and after a period of time it begins to tone. Artificial or natural? After all I'm purposly doing this so one could could argue that the coin has been intentionally toned. And that's where I think the biggest bruhaha arises between folks who argue over this. Grandpa leaves an old silver dollar in a cedar chest for thirty years and the coin is discovered after his passing. I don't think the old boy intended for the coin to tone but it has developed a marvelous color. Artificial or natural?

 

toning is natural

I believe that the combination of fumes from our old furnace & a nearby incandescent light bulb assisted in toning this quarter from 1988 to 1999. It was in a Whitman folder mounted on a wall for that time.

I suspect that it I had put a dipped Morgan dollar in the same holder, then it might look like the OPs Morgan today.

I've got photos of some other coins from the same Whitman folder. I'll post them if I can find them.

 

This quarter was in the same Whitman folder.

 

While some of these coins are attractive, I often see that many coins on ebay promoted as toned really means corroded.

 

Maybe, and maybe not. This 1885-O Morgan, for example, had been kept in a capsule for about a year after I bought it in 1990, but it began to develop carbon spots so I dipped it and transferred it to a paper envelope. It was still in the envelope when I moved into "sulfur house" in 1993, but the only "toning" it got in my house was another carbon spot, which prompted me to dip it again. Even then, it showed no signs of toning for the rest of time I lived in the house. It was transferred to a Whitman album probably in 1994, and has shown only the slightest bit of toning since (and I notice that it has once again developed some small carbon spots).

 

Had that 1958 quarter been dipped before it was put in your folder?
Also, what does the reverse look like?

 

I may have missed a response in this thread....

Would that wild toned dollar ever find her way into a PCGS slab ? Even though it is an AU ( IMO), would it slab as AU, or if it were MS-65 would it slab at one of the 2 legit companies with that toning ?

How about showing me a Morgan toned like that in a PCGS/ NGC holder ? The progression of colors looks iffy.

Sorry, it just looks wrong to me.....seeing if PCGS "buys it" would be a cool experiment, I think they Nix it ?

 

I doubt they'd slab it anyway since the coin had apparently been cleaned before I bought it. And it wouldn't go MS because there had been a slight bit of wear in Miss Liberty's cheek. There's no point paying $40 to try to get it in a "0" slab.

And the coin is NT. It took 20+ years to reach this stage. Although for the medal shown, 2 years was more than enough time to pass that stage.