I REMEMBER A LITTLE WHILE AGO SOMEONE posted a chart of toning progression on morgan dollars. is that the same for clad coins? i have had good luck finding toned sba proofs .
Well preserved older clads tend to turn a golden color. Usually it's a very attractive gold and sometimes not. The newer clad seems to have more "options" and this especially applies to proofs.
Toning is thin layers of chemical reactants ( coin metal with reactive substances in the environment ) The resultant combinations from the same metals do have similar coloration, but the background color of the coin metal also plays a part. So a silver clad Ike, for instance could have color sequences similar to a silver dollar. Then another factor comes into play concerning various die preparation which produced differing surface patters. Morgan dollars produce more colorful and vivid patterns than do Peace dollars. If one looks at the surfaces of each dollar, the pattern of the metal is difference, The Morgan has more saw tooth "peaks and valleys" whereas the Peace has more "sand dune surface". The surface has a direct effect on refraction processes that produce the coloration. Short answer ~ not necessarily.
There is something else that people often fail to even think about when it comes to the progression of color on coins. Yes, toning will follow a given progression of color. But that is based on the assumption that conditions during the progression do not change. But, if the conditions do change, then the progression will change as well. That is why when you look at a coin and the colors do not follow the regular progression of color, that does not mean the coin is necessarily AT. Consider - a given coin is owned and stored for 10 years by collector A. During that time collector A lives in the same house and the conditions do not change. So the toning follows a given progression. But then collector A sells the coin to collector B. Collector B lives in a entirely different part of the country, his home is completely different than collector A's was. His storage methods for the coin are completely different. So now the coin will tone in an entirely different way, the toning progression will change. Yes, the progression of the colors will still follow a set pattern, but that pattern can be entirely than the previous pattern. It can even change the color of the previous toning depending the new and current storage conditions. And if the coin is ever placed in new storage conditions, even with the same owner, it can change again. What I am trying to tell you is that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to toning because toning is based on conditions and conditions change. So even if you have a weird, off the wall, color progression on a coin, that does not necessarily mean the coin is AT. Yes it may be AT, but it may also be 100% NT. You NEVER know that a coin is AT or NT. All you can do is guess !
