From red to brown I have silver and gold coins in my collection, and considering purchasing early copper. Copper seems to change from red to brown over time. If I purchase a TPG large cent graded "red", hold on to it for 10-15 years, could it start to turn to red-brown? Some value would be lost I assume as well. Thanks for your input.
That is the problem with Red and Red/Brown copper coins and even if they are in a TPG's holders doesn't mean they will not turn towards the Brown end. The best thing to do is research on what would be the best ways to prevent this from happening. A few years back I read a book about investing in early copper coins by a well known author and he mentioned that Nice high grade glossy brown copper coins is the safest way to go,,,,because Red and Red/Brown coins can turn and you will lose on any that turned down to the next lower level.....
Red copper can change to RB to Brown over time due to the effects of sulfur and chemicals in the air. Until the last 50 years or so, little effort was taken to prevent this, although some was taken to try and reverse it, which can not easily be done in an undetectable way. If you have a red copper cent and live in an area with little smog, coal burning devices, etc., the red will last longer than not. In a good TPG slab, or a hard plastic snap holder or cointain, longer. If in an intercept or other preventive chemical reactant removing sulfur compounds, longer still. If in a mylar flip, heat sealed, or in a vacuum zip lock bag, with no leaks, probably longer than the average life span.Slabs can be put into these bags also. Turning brown is not due to the copper itself, it is due to the effects of contaminants on the copper. Prevent these from reaching the surface and it will stay red a long time. IMO. Jim
You ask a very good question which belies the reason I collect RB large cents. Said a bit differently, collecting red copper is too risky for my blood.
Thanks for the input. I have always been curious about the chance of red turning to brown. I think I will focus on RB or just B large cents.
This is true, but you can't guarantee that contaminants haven't been sealed inside whatever holder you are using along with the coin. Hence the reason why PCGS no longer guarantees the color and NGC only guarantees it for 10 years. Because they have been known to turn color in the slabs.
This is why I vacuum seal all my coins not just copper. I figure that this process evacuates some if not all contaminants and with very, very little air the reaction process will be greatly slowed if not completely stopped. The grandchildren's children will get to see the original colors without oxidation or verdigris.
So let me ask this...If you have a large cent, graded MS-65 Red, and its starts to turn Red-Brown in a few years, is it still considered Red or is it now Red-Brown? On the TPG slab it would still state that it is red.
If it turned RB or BN, that's what it is now regardless of the slab. As we always say...buy the coins and NOT the slab. I've seen hundreds of examples of this. I keep my slabs in heavy, ziplock bags with a desiccant pack and a loose, bright, red, copper BU cent. Then I put those bags into tupperware containers and into my bank box. With proper storage like this the chances of a coin turning are slim....unless Condors scenario comes into play. The TPG's can cetainly introduce contaminants during the grading and slabbing process. They will never listen to me...but I wish they'd acetone rinse ALL coins before slabbing. It would have probably saved them a ton of money in returned coins.
I agree with buy the coin and not the slab. I remember back in the mid-1980's there was a company named Elsmere Numismatics based in Connecticut. They would send out catalogs, with no images, with all the coins graded by TPG's. If I remember correctly they would state that the future of TPG coins would be that collectors would buy them "sight unseen", knowing that the coin had been graded by a TPG, and that the grade would hold up in the market place, as long as it was in that specific TPG slab. So, if I adhere to that thought process, if a copper coin does turn from red to brown, but was graded as red by a TPG, it can still be offered as a red coin?? Food for thought.
I have a few RD cents in slabs, I keep them in a ziplock bag to limit exposure to things that could make them turn.
In 1972 I vacuum sealed Bu red cents. Today they look the same as they did in 1972. They were circulated coins out of rolls. I know this probably don't compare to doing this with large cents depending where they already been. I take roll finds put them in a clear plastic tube, leave for two months and go back and remove the ones that have not turned. I vacuum seal them. Thanks Big Ed
