I know this is subjective and each person is different, but I was wondering what everybody looks for in a toned coin to determine its value, or how much you would pay for it. Do you focus more on the condition of the coin, or the type and size of toning on the coin? Do you give higher values to different tones (do you value rainbow higher, blue higher, etc.)? If it is not an old coin, or a key date does the denomination of the coin make any difference to you? Do you value natural or artificial higher or do you value them the same? Thanks for the feedback everyone.
Subjective is right. Everyone has a different opinion. But for me, it's all in eye appeal. Sure I look at the condition, but it's that overall eye appeal that I desire. The better the date and mintmark and natural toning, the more I like it. I believe there are 8 toning types. Not sure, but I think that's right. I prefer the rainbow and mint bag types most. The coin below lists for about $170.00 Greysheet. I paid $219.00. I liked it and wanted it. Didn't care if I paid over book or not. Some folks may feel that was a bad deal. Others may feel it was a great deal. Again, subjective.
I like that "mint set toning" from the 1950's - especially on coins with tons of luster- but that is just me. Be careful of toning hiding an old light cleaning
The condition should still be the first thing that determines the price. Some toning patterns brings more value than others. There are also some toning that is really ugly. But the top two has to be monster followed by rainbow. These two usually bumps the price up significantly.
Everything you asked about makes a difference to somebody, but not to everybody. And some seem more intent on buying coins that will please others instead of buying coins that please themselves. To me there are three things that matter. In order of importance they are : 1 - The condition of the coin. This is important because not only can toning make a coin look good, attractive, pretty, (choose your adjective); toning can also cover up, hide, or make flaws hard to see. So the condition of the coin is imperative. 2 - The toning must be attractive. That's the most subjective part because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And there will always be somebody who thinks a given toned coin is pretty while another thinks it is as ugly as a mud fence. So choose what you like, since it is your coin, and forget what everybody else thinks. 3 - Price, I don't care how pretty a coin may be, it's not worth stupid money. Worth a premium ? Sure, all day long. But as there is with everything in life there are extremes. And extremes are best left alone in almost all cases. Of course there's some people who ignore that rule and will pay what I call stupid money, 10x or 20x, or more, than the underlying coin is worth. With nothing else in life will that ever happen. It's kind of like paying 10 times what a new car or truck actually costs just because it has a custom paint job. Sure the custom paint job is worth more, but that much more ? Not in my lifetime.
As always, great advice. I'm glad to see from the responses that condition of the coin still tends to be the top priority.
Thanks for the feedback so far everyone. I want to take this one step further. These are two coins I found in CWR. I would like to know a) what would be your ideal price to pay for each coin, and b) what is the highest you would be willing to pay for each. I am curious to see if they range is pretty consistent or if there is a big variance.
Personally, not much for each. The Lincoln cent looks AT, as least to me. The Nickel looks worn from the image, even though its nicely toned.
Yea, the nickel is is in rough shape unfortunately. The reverse looks like somebody filed the letters off of the top part. I'm very new to toned coins and am not sure how to recognize the difference between AT or NT yet. I'm still not sure how I feel about toned coins but I am intrigued by them.
Great post by GJDMSP. And Icerain is spot on in regards to that nickel being worn. The detail is (what detail?)...the detail is nonexistent. The cent looks like a dryer coin to me. One that has been in a clothes dryer for awhile. No value here in my opinion. But, that nickel is 35% silver.
Hey heuvy31, here's an old EBAY listing I pulled up that shows the different toning types. Not sure how accurate it is, but the close up pics of the coins near the bottom of the listing are interesting. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MORGAN-SILV...=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
