I make no apologies. I like blast white coins. That is just my thing. One thing I have solidly learned being here on CT is that silver will tone. Like it or not, it is going to happen. Below are two photos of a Type 1 SLQ I have owned.... I don’t know.... Maybe 7-8 years. It was blast white when I purchased the coin. You can plainly see the areas beginning to show dark and unattractive toning. This has been a recent occurrence.... And I do place my coins in Ziplock bags with desiccant packs. Presumably, a previous owner did some conservation on this SLQ before it was slabbed. I would suspect that those conservation efforts eliminated toning..... So at long last, my question..... Is it a safe bet that this is toning recurring where it was previously eliminated thru conservation? In other words, if I remove toning from a coin, is it a safe bet that at some point in that coins future, the toning will recur in a similar manner as it presented previously? Rather like rust under fresh paint? Am I chasing a pipe dream in my love of blast white?
ZipLoc bags are not air tight. There are all sorts of airborne contaminants that can make their way into the bags that desiccants have no effect on.
That color and pattern is *classic* of a coin that was dipped but not properly rinsed. There's a bit of residue left on the coin, and it obviously retones. You get that sorta speckly orange tone. If a coin is properly dipped and rinsed, it won't do that. But, the problem is you don't want to dip it too many times - each time, you're stripping a layer off the coin. After a couple of bad dips, you'll strip all of the luster off the thing.
That coin clearly does not want to be blast white. It is speculation whether or not a previous owner dipped it. If you do dip it, it will most likely retone. Plastic ziplock bags are a poor method of storage. They can trap gaseous emissions. If you want a blast white coin, buy a slabbed blast white coin.
Randy, I actually like the toning on your SLQ, it gives lady Liberty some character. I’d happily trade my blast white 1917 SLQ
I agree 100 % with the dipping ruining the luster,and that it was not rinsed proper, and with Chris on the zip bags
Well Randy how attached are you to this specimen? You could sell it and find another to replace. I like the coin and think it would sell quick, and for a good price
I guess my problem with dipped coins is that in a nutshell, it will retone and a lot of times its blotchy as if maybe the previous person dipping didn't rinse the coin afterwards (a possibility I suppose) I think dipping generally leads to more dipping and more dipping. I'm not experienced with removing toning so I don't know if it's procedural and a step was missed or if you can quick dip a coin every so often to keep them from toning and it doesn't damage the coin or it eventually does. What it seems like though is that there's a fair number of dipped coins locked up in slabs where you can't do anything about the blotchy/patchy retoning that occurs without a crack out. Then it's a dip and resubmit and wait for it to happen again and another crack out. Which sucks. I wonder how dealers that dip or have this happen to what they thought was a white clean coin that then went blotchy in the holder, deal with all this? I'd suppose dip and sell and then it's someone else's problem down the line and avoid buying the blotchy toned coins to begin with.... I dunno. I don't dip anything so no experience with any of these products to know them in and out.
