Why are toned coins so popular?

Back atcha, I'm pretty sure. By the way, I know this is gonna shock you, but 4 of my 7 MT's were COUNTER to prevailing "wisdom" of the numismatic community. I know, right? 3 were pretty non-controversial. This year's, if Sam chooses me, will set conventional coin people's hair on fire.

 

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This is the ONLY full set of Speakers' Medals from the 4 ANA Worlds Fairs of Money held in Rosemont this decade. I'm the only guy who spoke at all 4. I did NOT earn the Speaker's Medal at 2012 in Philly. Nope. That year, I ONLY DESIGNED THE THING!

@tmoneyeagles, provide THAT to the "community".

 

I hope your speaking style is better than your writing style.

 

eBay had a dedicated app for Windows 10 for a while, but it was buggy and is not supported now. That means you are viewing the picture embedded in an HTML script, and that script may constrain the size of the image, as well as control whether you can go to a full-size image when you hover or click on it. If the image is specified for display at less than its actual resolution, then the browser has to perform the interpolation needed to rescale it. If done poorly you may well end up with visible artifacts.

(I was on the verge of identifying the code for this when my desktop crashed. Sigh.)

The iPhone does, of course, have a browser, and that is where I end up when I follow the GSC auction link provided above. However, it also has a dedicated app for eBay. Presumably this does not rely on HTML to convey the information to the device, as would be needed when using a browser. It seems likely that the constraints on viewing images through a generalized HTML script for a browser, and for using a dedicated app with custom-built features, are quite different.

Even if the same identical image file is downloaded the displaying software may provide different capabilities for viewing it.

 

Thank you. Additional food for thought. I do use just the native apps and not the browser for eBay. Ironically, I use for browser for CT posts, so I'm really confused about this whole Tapatalk issue floating around. Why use that?

 

since this is about toned coins and not speaking here are a few thoughts. Toning can help you read a coin's history. Was it poorly stored. Or exposed to excessive moisture. Or stored in an old album with acetic paper. Artifically toned coins lack the proper color spectrum and sequence and with practice can be read. Check out the Sunnywood collection on PCGS to see how extreme they can be. Like art, not all works are appreciated by everyone.

 

This thread is great @Insider , just got to page 19 myself.
I hope to read the thoughts of this toner. in real time!
Prolly not gonna happen.

 

Well my half eagle came from them and it was EXACTLY what they pictured! Here's the photo I took of the coin after it arrived. Consider this an actual good sale from GSC.

 

And here are the pictures they posted on eBay. Sure looks like the same coin to me! Their photos look more gold than my photos, that may just be the white balance setting on their camera (or mine). I'm with Kurt, I trust them. And if they sell me something that's not what I was led to believe I can get my money back from them or from eBay/PayPal.

 

Sigh

 

Very very nice. Classic "woodie", not to be confused with a wookie. I believe that your 1927 is one of the later really nice woodies I've seen. Most are farther back than '27.

 

I think this is a teaching moment. The color on the 27 Abe runs in the same direction on both sides, so I assume it was in contact with a surface with "grain." But what was the substance and why is it called a "woodie?" I am mainly into Morgans so toning on Abes is not something I see often.

 

tmoneyeagles, posted "I hope your speaking style is better than your writing style."

It is too easy to correct grammar, question qualifications, etc. and change the thread into a competition. IMO, your post shows the frustration we all have at times w/members. I'll bet that few of us are English majors.

I for one don't care about medals or number of Ebay sales either. Perhaps, it would be better to humble posters with your ideas so much so that they put you on "Ignore" rather than debate. Are you listening SuperDave. Hope your computer gets fixed.


V. Kurt Bellman, posted: "By the way,...4 of my 7 MT's were COUNTER to prevailing "wisdom" of the numismatic community."

Sorry I missed them. No joke. What were the titles of those four presentations?


D-Train, posted: "Sure looks like the same coin to me!"

It is.

PS The "woodie" resulted from an improper alloy mix. This allowed the separated metals (streaks) to tone differently. I have rarely seen one as nice as this appears to be.

 

Some of these can be frowned upon. Even though they left the mint like this.
It is actually a planchet defect that causes this extreme look.
They can be found on many denominations.

 

It's the history. A Morgan that is almost one hundred years old. How many people possessed it before you. Who were they, where were they when they had it ? How the toning occurred. Even a common piece like this. The curiosity factor.

 

If that had been a Philly '21, I'd have said, "So what?'. They really are available for a song everywhere. But yours is a 21-D, which adds a whole new level of interest.

 

Summer 2011 - Why Precious Metals Can Be Risky (This talk marked the very very top of the bullion boom.)
Summer 2013 - "There Ain't No San Diego Half a Dollar!"
Summer 2014 - Toned Silver: What Photographic Science Can Reveal About Toned Coins
Summer 2015 - The Nurturing of the "Intermediate" Collector

In 2012, I was on the Host Committee for the ANA convention, ran the Volunteer operation, and designed that year's Speakers Medal.

 

This reverse side of a 1943 S steel cent has rich gold & red toning. The front none. For lack of quality photos, I'm good for it.

 

I used to think like you, but I have to say toning looks nice, especially on Morgan silver dollars. It would be worth it for you to Google the Northern Lights collection that was recently auctioned at Legends rare coin auctions in Las Vegas. They are truly stunning. Some coins have beautiful shades of jade, blue, red in them. Take a look. You might change your mind.

 

The 1943-S on that card is a "reprocessed, replated" one. No natural 1943 cents look anything like that.