Artificial Toning

I've been having fun recently with artificial toning methods. I read online that an oven can help speed up the process. I tried this with a few common coppers and 21st century nickels. I put the coins in the oven between two slabs of aluminum foil on 450 degrees for one hour. The result is pretty cool. Pennies tend to tone in their center. The entire coin fades, resulting in a tan penny with a neon blue center covering about half the coin on both sides. More valuable silvers, like a Walker I had gained a total rainbow tone on the entire coin. I don't plan to sell these, or slab them but just to keep them. Anyone know any more artificial methods of any natural methods that speed up the process?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

The Julia Childs baked potatoe effect has been employed more than once....:smile

 

Putting silver coins in a window that gets direct sunlight tends to give them a golden tone.Is that considered artificial?

 

Thats a lovely idea MCarney, artifically tone your coins then sell them (especially the coppers) to specific dealers in here at a self-imposed premium, that can then be compounded and bled all the way down to the final collector. Apparantley there is a standard market value (tho I have yet to see a trends report or red book type publication) associated with toned coins so that should go well.
If your really into it, I heard something about sulpher works as well.

 

Haven't tried it but Dandruff shampoo has tons of sulfur. THere are like a million methods. Dansco albums in a hot humid garage with coins in them....

 

Thats a lovely idea MCarney, artifically tone your coins then sell them (especially the coppers) to specific dealers in here at a self-imposed premium, that can then be compounded and bled all the way down to the final collector.

Is there where the "never mess with your coins ever,ever" attitude (for lack of a better word) comes from? Now that makes a fair amount of sense..

 

I would say no. To me, AT involves some sort of deliberate and unnatural application of heat or chemicals to achieve the toning effect.

 

Here's a few new Lincoln Cents I toned. What do you think?

 

I will pass on them, but it was interesting to see what happened.

 

They look unnatural to me.

 

If you want to sell an xf 1921 morgan for $70, just draw on it with crayon and list it on ebay. Can't tell you how many times this has happened.

 

Here's a few new Lincoln Cents I toned. What do you think?


I think the coins are ruined due to someone NOT armed with researched ideas. I hope you're not trying to represent those as a blanket statement that this is what happens to coins when you....etc,.etc,...No that happens to coins with bad information and little knowledge of the "restoring" process.

 

Here is what I think. Total value $0.04 (maybe less).

 

wow! :desk: :headbang:

 

i heard you can use sulfur

 

You guys should buy a book called coin chemistry written by Weimar W White it will answer allyoure questions. Natural toning occurs by the presence of hydrogen sulphide in the atmosphere or paper products treated with sodium sulphide in the manufacturing process. If the toning appears to be floating on top of the luster its doctored, if it appears to move with the luster and the cartwheel effect under a light source its natural.

 

Thanks

Consisering you need to be a chem major to understand a 1/4 of that book, just though id write what i understood on the topic.

 

In W.Whites book Coin Chemistry , he states that all toning is bad , sort of like rust on a car , and that we should clean or conserve these coins , if we listened to him we wouldn't have any of the beautifully toned coins that most collectors enjoy and love . Also if properly stored any further toning can be stopped to almost nothing . I personally put any of my better unslabed coins in Intercept Shield 2x2s , airtites and similiar products are just as good .
rzage

 

Seriously, I have read this statement often, even in PCGS detection book, and I think it is more confusing than helpful. This is how I interpret the phenomena. We are all familiar with the ^^^^^^^^^^^ surface of the coin that is still near the UNC grade, and a minimum amount of dipping. This is what produces the cartwheel effect and most of the luster ( some is just metallic reflection).

What I think they are implying is that using a liquid toning solution, only affects the tops of the ^^^^, as it will only be there for a short time, and the cohesion of water will not normally wet enough to get to the bottom of the microscopic ^^^. Whereas long term ( natural) toning from sulfur compounds out gassing from a paper album, tones the whole sides of the ^^^^ and thus moves as the cartwheel moves.

However, I think that the type of AT that troubles all the most is not liquid based, but gas applied as concentrated sulfurous gases like H2S as White experimented with in his book(and on PCGS and NCG slabs to show toning inside a slab). By using laminar flow setups, the gas can be applied and evacuated as needed to replicate the toning from the gas of the cardboard book. Thus it should pass the test quoted above with little problem. All theoretical and IMO. I think the statement can be applied to AT with liquids, but not with gas.

Jim