eBay's latest high-volume coin vandal

Good thought, we could find out who has been putting all those fingerprints on coins. LOL

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Hey, Eddie Murphy taught me that trick when I was a kid

 

Heh. Wonder what he'd do if I sent him a question asking for his MSDS.

I get my "organic toning fluid" at the grocery store. It comes in twelve single-use applicators.

 

Organic toning gasses? (Unless he means carbon based, he is going off the deep end. guess if they are "organic toning gasses" the toning MUST be all natuaral.) Not chemical? No chemicals at all? What's he got a bottle of vacuum? And how does a vacuum promote toning?

 

Apparently sulfur is organic now.

 

Hey, the cysteine and methionine in my All-Natural Toning Ovoids are amino acids. What could be more "organic" than that?

 

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out whether this thread is defamation of character or cleaver marketing...

 

I'm going to bet that you meant clever, but I really like the thought of cleaver. If you'll pardon the pun and even if you won't, it cuts right to the heart of the matter.

 

Love it . . .

 

The ACS (American Chemical Society) definition http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/c...eer/areas-of-chemistry/organic-chemistry.html of Organic is:

"Organic chemistry is the study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-containing compounds, which include not only hydrocarbons but also compounds with any number of other elements, including hydrogen (most compounds contain at least one carbon–hydrogen bond), nitrogen, oxygen, halogens, phosphorus, silicon, and sulfur. This branch of chemistry was originally limited to compounds produced by living organisms but has been broadened to include human-made substances such as plastics. The range of application of organic compounds is enormous and also includes, but is not limited to, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, food, explosives, paints, and cosmetics."

So under the new definition, Diamond (a regular lattice of carbon atoms) is technically organic. But I still don't recommend treating your coins with a paste made of them.

 

But how do you have organics without chemicals?

 

I agree that original surfaces are really what should be valued. For a coin of a certain age, that's going to imply a certain degree of toning, even for red copper as it "mellows."

I don't really have a problem with people ATing relatively non-collectible modern coins and selling them on Fleabay. I do take issue with people messing with otherwise nice Peace dollars, for instance, but a generic, modern, silver proof Washington quarter? Who cares.

I would not have paid $8000+ for that, but it is one of the nicest looking clad quarters I've ever seen, without a doubt. I could easily see myself paying multiple hundreds for it. I'm pretty sure the PCGS price guide listing of $4500 is distorted by this one coin.

It depends on the coins and the seller! KryptoniteComics sells some awesome toners, some of which are even raw. I've never seen anything I'd consider suspect that wasn't labelled as such.

I think it's fair for the market value of a pretty coin to be significantly higher than that of an ugly coin, all other things being equal. And, for two NT/MA coins of the same grade, who's to say which has the more "original" surfaces? It's practically impossible to tell unless you know the entire provenance of the coin from the day it left the Mint.

100% correct regarding black toning. I can't speak to your historical point about dipping coins white to show a lack of damage, but I do think that's kind of an absurd thing to do. Dipping literally strips the surfaces of the coin away, causing microscopic damage. IMO, if the luster is not impaired, and the toning is not too dark, doesn't come off with acetone, and has the right color progressions, very few coins should be dipped. (Granted, I have seen one or two at a dealer's table that both he and I agreed needed a dip to get rid of really ugly toning, but those are the 1% exception.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law

 

The wording, specifically the order of the words, is misleading... "natural rainbow color toned"... the rainbow color is natural because that's the color of the rainbow, and it's toned that way... lol.

 

I think it was more likely a combination of all of the above: color (eye appeal) and originality (as you suggest). I do admit that things have gotten out of hand IMHO with the prices that many of the pieces are fetching (both natural and artificial).

 

I do too. Really that happens with all facets of the market whether it is toned or not. The coins that catch your eye almost always get a better price than one lacking eye appeal, the pretty ones also sell a lot faster.

Exactly. A lot of things that get called "original" really aren't it is just that enough time has passed or they got the right look to pass the eye test.