How do you tone coins naturally?

Is there something I can do to tone some coins naturally?

 

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Leave them alone. Anything you do makes for artificial toning.

 

for the most part anything you do will take away the natural and add the artificial. time and the coins environment tone coins. you can put coins in a Whitman book for years on end, lay them in a cigar box, leave them in a leather wallet. the last two usually turn an ugly brown though. but again some would also consider this artificial toning since you did it. time is what makes those beautiful colors and it has taken some coins 100/200 years to obtain their color. so you will have to wait a while.

 

AT-NT is a continuum. Problem is, intent is involved in a lot of it, as in if you put them in a dansco with the INTENT they will tone is that AT or NT? If you didn't plan on them toning, but do the same thing, does it change the answer?

As for your original question OP, don't do anything "artificial" and your coins will tone. Never use chemicals or severe conditions. Those are the things bad tone fakers use. Toning is a normal reaction, and most things labeled NT are slow reactions, while most AT is a fast reaction. That is as much help as I will give.

Btw, can I ask WHY? Once a pristine coin is toned, something is lost. The original microscopic layer will never be the same. My goal in coin collecting is to try to leave the coin the same as I found it. I would highly suggest you do the same. Even trying to NT a coin is changing it, some would say damaging it. Why not just keep the coins you have in the condition you were able to buy them in? If everyone had always thought this way, we would have many more nice coins today.

 

really? i tried a few things to let them tone "naturally" i did not succeed. i did however learn how to AT coins in the matter of minutes without the use of an oven or torch and the best part is it doesn't just rub off like most AT coins. and fyi, this was at the beginning of me learning about coins, i do not do it anymore and agree with keeping your coins how you find them. figured i should edit that in there before i get yelled at

 

The same way you age wine naturally...TIME!!!

 

Oh no...here we go again.

 

This is quite correct. In the humid climate of my state, even with the air conditioning, my Dansco albumed coins have already toned a fair amount naturally in months. The Kennedy halves, and Ike dollars are very prone to album toning, and have already gotten richer looking.

 

I had 4 boxes of 2009 Lincoln Cabin Cents. Bought a Blue Whitman Lincoln Book and filled it with what I considered MS66 "cabins". They have been in my attic for over 3 years now...maybe I should check 'em out. Also have about 100 rolls of tail/tail "cabins" up there also.

 

I hope my coins tone quickly. Does the container they are put in make a difference? I have one in a air-tight and one in a mylar flip that I hope will retone quickly since their toning has been stripped.

 

stripped as in you cleaned it? the silver toning is a reaction to its environment. depending on its environment is how it will quickly it will tone and what colors it will be. my favorite red toned coins came from being in a whitman book for years on end. some coins tone quicker and more attractive then others. you will see more morgans nicely (my opinion) toned then peace dollars. the one in the air tight will most likely not tone, the flip i am not sure.

 

Put in Whitman folder and wait 50 years, :yes:

 

They were not cleaned by me, I bought them cleaned. One is a fine Barber quarter bought at melt, the other a VF 1958 seated quarter bought for $23. If I take the one in the airtight out and put it in a coin envelope will it be more likely to re-tone? I do have another seated that was a brown color but now it seems more golden brown. I did read that you can put a coin in an envelope and put it in the sun and it will tone. I could try it with the Barber quarter since it was already polished and bought at melt. The seated coin, like many older coins, has been cleaned and I will probably just let it go. It was whizzed around the blank areas of the coin.

 

One thing I wonder is if toning is tarnish, how long does it take for silver flatware to tarnish?

 

You have gotton on here what you ask for OPINIONS.
They are your coins ruin them or tone them but use what others have told you wisely.
Might be interesting to take a few low dollar coins and try to tone those.
I care little for a tone coin as it looks unnatural but thats just me and i respect the thoughts of others as they also own their coins.
Iam a guy that dosent walk in lockstep with everything i see posted on cointalk.
If i like something i like it and i do it.
Thats because i am a collector in it for the fun and not an investor thats in it for money.
There is nothing wrong with investing except you have to pick your coins carefully and you need cash to buy them as their cost is not cheep like the ones i find for almost free.
It is what it is a hobby just some are able to get better coins than some and i except it and live to be happy with what i have.
Good luck.

 

i can not say about regular white envelopes but the brown (manila) envelopes i do know tone, but they usually tone dark brown, i bought a washington quarter that was in one for 25 years and it had a little red with the brown but was still ugly.

 

Hard comparison since the flatware cases that the flatware is usually in has anti tarnish properties. I know I have a tea set that is sterling that was once white but is now a gorgeous toned color. I look at it some times and thing if it were morgans instead of a tea service it would be worth thousands.