Question for the experts: Id like to fill a short set folder with bu walking liberty halfs. What folder should I use? I'd love for them to get some great toning, for my children to get some day. What coin folder is best for toning? A new Whitman? An old one? Dansco? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Oddly enough, I've experienced some great toning on coins in green Littleton folders. Got a silver Roosevelt that started turning purple, and various modern nickels and dollar pieces that are getting some cool looking stuff on the edges.
You would want an older album. The new ones are designed too prevent toning. From what I gather it was sulphur in the pages of the old albums that led to toning. But leave them in too long and the toning gets very dark and not as desirable.
If you do not know how to grade. You will probably end up with a book of cleaned sliders that became beautifully toned over the years. So, buy the BU coins in slabs and crack them out...if they tone ugly for some reason you have thrown away the slab fee and the protection/value of the slab.
WAYTE RAYMOND holders were also known to cause toning. You can still find them on ebay and other websites.
Not necessarily; I have a newer US Territories Quarters (circa 2009) Littleton album that has caused some light toning.
Go to a used bookstore or flea market and they will surely have the older1-2 dollar albums where you pop in coins. I'd only use them on silver, since I've had cu-Ni and cu coins develop blue corrosion in older albums like these.
Stick your coin and the album page in the oven (pilot light only) and show us how it progresses. This is one way to learn what "nature aided" alterations look like. Wayte Raymond work the best. There are also chemicals you can put on the album page. Lesson over
Do you know when this changeover took place? OP, You shouldn't have much trouble locating a used Dansco short set album for very little money. I'm not sure when the old vs. new mentioned above took place, but it should serve your purpose. Do keep in mind though that the environment in which the album is stored can be important, as can air being able the coins.
Jet black silver can be beautiful too. We were all convinced this was bronze in the ancient coins forum until someone cleaned a tiny strip of the bottom edge to reveal the silver. Needless to say, I had to have it. You can see the tiny hint of silver at the 7 o'clock position.
I don't. I would figure about the time everyone started realizing what storage items were doing to our coins... I wish I had a better answer!
What he said ! Coin albums are probably the worst thing ever invented for coins, and have been directly and indirectly responsible for outright ruining and/or damaging more coins than anything else. With the possible exception of owners harshly cleaning them.
Those were great for toning but I've read they have already outgassed everything (age) and they no longer tone coins. Years ago I attended a coin show and a dealer had a couple of these with Lincolns in them, the toning was great on most of them. He said he had to sell the whole folder, which I wasn't willing to buy, so I made some insanely high offers to pry a couple of coins out of them.