The creation of Toned Coins?

I personally just love nice silver toned pieces, and I am not quite familiar of how they are formed.
What causes coins to become toned, and are there any cheap rainbow or really nice toned coins that are certified that go for cheap?
Who sells toned coins? My dealer doesnt, but i see alot online, but there way too pricy.
Any suggestions? thanks.

 

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I'm assembling a registry set of toned Kennedy Half Dollars, and I also have a Dansco album with toned pieces.

In general, coins slabbed by one of the top tier TPGs will be more expensive than raw coins for several reasons: the slabbed coins generally tend to be in higher grades, and you're also paying for the process of grading and encapsulation.

I've taken to buying raw toners, and I'm collecting a bunch of them to send off to PCGS for my registry set. I'm not sure if that's the cheaper way to go, but there's a much bigger selection of raw toners than slabbed. If you buy raw, you need to educate yourself as to the differences between NT (natural toning) and AT (artificial toning). Some people like to buy AT coins, which is fine, but they will likely not get graded by PCGS or NGC.

If you're uncertain about NT versus AT on a particular coin, post it on this forum and get the opinions of experienced collectors. That's how I learned - in addition to making some boneheaded mistakes but hey: no pain no gain.

You can view a selection of my pieces by clicking on the link in my signature.

 

You may want to search previous threads at CT by using the search feature at the upper-right of the screen. Try searching for words like "toning", "NT" "QT", "AT", and "rainbow". If you have a specific question let me know.

BTW, There is much to learn about toned coins before you spend big money on them.

 

Okay yeah, im not at all educated in this part. Can someone please explain how can I tell the difference between AT and NT ?

 

Here's one thread that will give you a good start. There are many discussions on this topic in other threads as well...

http://www.cointalk.com/t45415/

 

And personally I prefer NT. Seems more legit.

 

NT can happen in a lot of different ways: from the metal in the coin interacting with chemical compounds in paper rolls, albums, envelopes, etc. So there are a lot of different patterns and indicators. AT can be accomplished in a variety of ways as well: chemical treatments, electroplating, heat, etc.

I agree with you on the legitimacy of NT as opposed to AT. Artificially toned coins are basically coin "art", and some people like to collect them, just as some people collect coin jewelry and all sorts of weird exonumia. Personally, I don't care for any of it, but that's just my preference.

 

One thing no one has mentioned yet.

There is the whole thing about NT vs AT, but another important factor to keep in mind is "Market acceptability".
Just because a coin is NT, doesn't mean it will be considered market acceptable and get slabbed, and vice versa.

 

I completley agree. Everything you just said makes as much sense as if i were to say it,And I dont collect jewelry. I dont know many coin dealers who collect jewelry.
Thank god.

 

I searched CT and came up with 350 threads that all discussed artificial & Natural toning. There are some good threads and good reading available to the OP. Here are a couple toned coins (posted just for fun).

 

I've got a couple of those myself - raw pieces that could go one way or another on account of market acceptability, but what can you do? Sometimes you just rolls the dice and takes your chances. If anything comes back as questionable, I can always crack it out and stick it in the album.

 

the bottom quarter looks AT for sure.

 

And some more (just for fun):

 

Now here is the story about where toned coins come from.....






PS: they (toned coins, especially Morgans) are amazingly addictive

 

I agree, and rainbow morgans just are spectacular!

 

Here is the most popular thread for toned coins if you want to view some:

http://www.cointalk.com/t191715/

Also, toned coins are weird. Who would collect those?

 

I agree. However, the tricky part of the thing is that it very well MAY be naturally toned, by exposure to chemicals in an album or roll plus the right amount of humidity, etc. This coin is an example of what Greg was referring to concerning market acceptability. PCGS or NGC would probably give it a "details, questionable toning" judgment.

(I think it's AT myself.)

 

Weirdos.

 

Lol.

 

The quarter photo had the white of the slab color-corrected which made the coin look juiced. Here is a better photo I think: