It was discovered in a different thread that a coin shop in Connecticut has been using my coin photos for their advertising purposes (see link below). If this isn't bad enough, they have decided to use two different photos of an AT 1963-D Franklin Half Dollar that has been sitting on my desk for the last half decade. Brookfield Coin & Card (photos courtesy of Lehigh96) Now I purchased this coin for less than $10 on 4/17/2007 from a seller on E-Bay. I suspected that the coin was AT but I wanted to see how much he juiced his photos. The price was pretty cheap and it did have intrinsic value so I bought the AT Half Dollar. Here are the E-Bay seller's photos from April 2007. Believe it or not, the colors on the coin were very vibrant, not as vibrant as the juiced photos, but let's just say the thing looked radioactive in hand. I noticed after a few months that the coin had darkened considerably and lost the neon effect. I decided to wait 2 years and take another photo. Here is the result: Notice how almost all of the pink has disappeared and turned to deeper shades of blue and purple. Not that there was any doubt that the coin was AT, but it was now evident that the surface of the coin was treated with a chemical and whatever was used was still on the surface of the coin since the toning was still advancing at a fast pace. Although I see the coin everyday, it never occurred to me to take another photo until tonight. Okay, hold onto your hat, here it is: Now there is absolutely no pink left and almost all of the blue is gone as well. All that is left is a deep violet and orange patina. Strangely, the toning looks much more natural after 5 years. It is rare that we get to see a timeline progression of an artificially toned coin. I thought this would make an interesting topic for a thread. Comments welcome!
Honesty, I could care less. I just wish they would have taken my good photos; some of the ones they used suck. For the record, the photo of the proof 1897 IHC was taken by Brandon Kelley. I bought that coin from Anaconda Rare Coins. The dramatically toned Mercury Dime isn't even my coin, that belonged to Dimefreak and IIRC, the photo was taken by Shane (Kryptonitecomics).
Very cool progression of photos. It definitely could pass as NT now. I wonder if there is a way to accelerate that progression/reversal or would that be considered artificial as well. Any thoughts of sending it off to PCGS or NGC? TC
Good post Paul. But if I had that coin I'd be curious about one thing in particular. That would be to find out if the chemicals used on the coin to color it would still come off. Not with a dip, a dip will remove any toning. But instead with something that won't usually remove toning (natural toning anyway), like acetone. Usually when someone AT's a coin like that - putting liquid chemicals on the coin to color it - acetone will wash away that color. But I've never tired it on a coin that has sat undisturbed for a long period of time like the one you have. If I had it, curiosity would get the best of me. I'd have to pour a little acetone in a dish and dip just the bottom portion just to see what would happen.
I agree its interesting. Was this coin stored airtight, (mostly), or was it exposed to air? I am just curious as this can affect its continued toning. I would be curious as to what is on the surface and like Doug if acetone removes it. What is really sad is this coin will never be the same because of some guy jacking with it.
Not with my money, the coin is XF at best. @Doug, While I agree that an acetone bath might remove the remaining chemicals on the surface of the coin and possibly retard any future toning progression, my curiosity is to see how the coin will look in another few years.
Thats pretty interesting to see. I would say whatever chemical was used has probably accelerated the toning. Is it possible to remove the toned colors and be left with a normal coin?
It is possible, I could dip the coin. But where is the fun in that? This thing is basically junk silver anyway, I will let the experiment continue, FOREVER.:devil:
WOW! AWESOME experiment! Thanks for sharing the results. I say let it sit for another couple years, I'm wondering if will eventually turn black.
I agree. I am guessing the color will deteriorate badly if the chemical is left on. Thankfully it is a junk silver date, but thanks again Lehigh for posting it, and let us know what happens in the future.
It would seem that the overall look of this coin has stabilized! I just took this photo and not much has changed over the last 2 years.
Very interesting post Paul...I must have missed it a couple years ago. Interesting to see how the coin has changed.
You are right it has not changed that much. If the photos are relied on, it appears more lifeless now, not unusual. I do like this thread you made about an AT coin with wrong color progressions.