I've been seeing coins that sell over $40 untoned, selling for only $4 when they're toned. Does this take away from the value? Are coins toned by people or are they naturally colored that way? Truthfully, I know nothing about this topic... It interests me though! I have no toned coins and would like to add atleast one to my collection.
There are various types of toning. In general, it is divided into "natural toning" (NT), and "artificial toning" (AT). Artificial toning, which is done with chemicals in an accelerated process, generally decreases the value of a coin if it is recognized as artificial toning, especially if it is used to hide defects, wear, etc. Natural toning may or may not enhance the value of a coin. When I was starting to collect coins, the unsightly brown/black streaks and spots on coins were called "tarnish" and tarnish was considered to reduce the value of the coin. On the other hand, sometimes the natural process of toning creates vivid colors, even a rainbow effect, and this can enhance the value of a coin.
Great info! I had no idea about the toning process. The coin I was looking at looked almost 100% normal, but than it has a small bit of rainbow toning on 1/5 of only one side. Very little rainbow effect... is that a sign that it may be natural toning?
It sounds to me like it could be natural toning. Pictures would help, and then the toning experts in this forum could add their opinions.
When there's rainbow colors involved it can increase the value by many times over bid . Also their is a natural color progression yellow , red to blue . Also the toning actually is part of the coin and will seem to be in the surface metal not on it . The Morgan dollar shown has all the hallmarks of a naturally toned coin . And would probably up the value not hurt it . If the colors were over a larger area it could increase the value 4 times and more . There's a thread where we guess how much over bid someone paid for a coin . Here's the link . http://www.cointalk.com/t135678/ Rusty
Thankyou Rusty What would YOU pay for this coin? If you do not mind me asking... I do not own any Morgans, but I would really love to!
welcome to the site angel, i've got the same questions. do you guys think this sellers items are all artifically toned? he has so many, and they all are extremely colorful... http://shop.ebay.com/cwbyup1051/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562
Since I wad curious about my own coin, I looked into toning more and looked at real ones and fakes. Most of those look real. But as you can obviously tell, I know nothing of toning hopefully someone else can give you an answer!
to the right collector, it enhances the value of a coin. not all collectors agree on toning enhancing the value of a coin, even if it is rainbow toned. whether or not toning increases the value is up to each individual collector. a coin is only worth what someone is willing to pay for the coin. i, for one, will not pay an extra premium for toned coin.
I am about 99% certain that all of the coins listed on that website are artifically toned and will not be gradable by either of the two top grading companies NGC or PCGS. (Note how all of these are sold raw and ungraded). These sort of artificially toned coins are worth much less than a regular untoned (white) coin. If you are going to buy a toned Morgan (or any toned coin) make sure it's slabbed and graded by either PCGS or NGC as they can detect if the toning was natural or artificial (with fairly good accuracy). One way to find lots of naturally toned Morgans is go on ebay and search on "PCGS Toned Morgan" or "NGC Toned Morgan" ... then sort by price from low to high and you can see naturally toned morgans in your price range. Note that "Buy It Now" coins on ebay can be, at times, wildly overpriced, so if you find a toned coin you like in a regular (no reserve price) auction, bid on it, and you will typically get it cheaper than a similar looking "Buy It Now" coin. Natural and nicely toned coins can be very beautiful, and sometimes command huge premiums over regular untoned white coins. The premiums can get up to 3x to 5x the bid priced of an untoned coin -- however premiums tend to be higher on coins with a lower base price. For higher grades (MS65 thru MS68) or rare coins ... since the base price for an untoned coin can be so much higher, any toning premiums tends to compress to perhaps 1.2x to 1.8x. This could be because there are so many fewer bidders with that kind of money to spend. For the most bang for your buck, I like getting PCGS or NGC graded MS64s, with beautiful toning patterns. MS63's can at times look sort of "torn up", with big bag mark hits, torn up cheek, etc. MS65's tend to be a lot more expensive, they are beautiful though (if you can afford them). I think the MS64s are in the sweet spot of good price and good looks. Beautifully toned PCGS and NGC graded MS64 Morgans can often be found on ebay auctions (not buy it now) for prices between $150 to perhaps $250. I find for around $180 to $190 you can get some really beautiful stuff. By the way, the reason there are so many toned Morgan Dollars, is the Morgan Dollar was unloved and didnt circulate very well in it's day. So the Mint stored hundreds of thousands in paper rolls and/or canvas bags (both containing sulfur). Over time the sulfur reacted with the silver coins causing colorful toning patterns (rainbows, etc). I think it's cool that the toning pattern you see in naturaly toned Morgans is there because these coins sat around in damp vaults in sulfer laden bags for decades - sort of like their badge for being unloved and unwanted. (Like the Island of Misfit Toys or something)
Angel, NOTE: THIS IS NOT SPAM. This seller is a good friend of mine from the NGC forums, and we have traveled to numerous shows around the state of Florida together. I'm posting this so you can look at a variety of different denominations with different kinds of toning (bag, roll, album, mint packaged, etc.) If you are registered with eBay, you might want to save him as a seller so you can look at various kinds of toners. He is one of the founding members of the Toned Coin Collectors Society (TCCS) and does not sell AT coins. http://shop.ebay.com/kryptonitecomics/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25 Here are a couple of mine. Chris
It seems that a lot of members misunderstand the rules regarding this. Your note Chris, that it is not SPAM, is not even needed. Members are allowed, encouraged even, to post links to sellers that are respected and trusted.
Chris (cpm), I agree with you about Shane at kryptonite comics. I have bought some great toned morgans from him.
thanks guys, regarding the guy with the super rainbow coins: 1. Looking back at his feedback he has negatives and neturals complaining about them being fake and not passing grading. 2. He has a seemingly unlimited supply of them, with one of his bad feedback dating back more than a year ago. How many years has he been trying to pass these off? 3. He makes his items private so you can't see back what the titles of his auctions were in his feedback, concealing the fact he has been selling hundreds if not thousands of these. also got this useful info from a friend here
Since I don't know the date or grade I couldn't tell you , but since it's on the reverse and only covers a small % of the coin I might pay 30 % over bid , but some think nothing of 2 times or more . A lot of times it depends on who buys it and what they're willing to pay . You should open a thread what would you pay for this toner . I like them but I'm not into them like some people . We had a person on this forum that if he liked it would pay over 5 times bid . Rusty
Your coins look really beautiful Chris! and I guessed wrong on 00birdy's post.. as you can see I'm a bad judgement on toning! So I will most definitally look at that link. Thankyou!
