A Little Colour on Your Silver

I suspect Steve's patinated bronzes are stable for a lot longer than any of our silvers. They got green and red while buried which they no longer are. Many toned silver coins were cleaned long enough ago that the same toning factors in the air that drive the US silver dollar market are working on them as well. Some of you can check me on this. Will your coins change in the next 50 years?

When will the market include large cents with smooth, hard green patinas? What is the newest coin that shows an honest and natural patina?

 

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Nice toners all!

There's some decent yellow and blue toning on this Roman Republic coin I dug out of a box at a local coin store. I suspect the toning is rather recent, since it came out of an old 'Par Avion' Airmail envelope dated 1958.

MF Servilia 1; Rmn Rpblc ca. BC 136
Silver Denarius; 21mm/3.9 g
OBV: Head of Roma
REV: Dioscuri Galloping in opposite directions

 

Here's my only toner.

 

One of my favorite toners. Actually bought it based on the tone and the portrait.




I have others but these will do.

 

Very interesting thread. I would like to know if any paid more than 10% than if it had been gray or silver color. Looking at the wear, and color patterns, and the fact that most are over or near 1000 years old, and the theory that it is Ok to clean ancient coins, is the AT/NT argument non-existent, minor, or major. Is it Ok if someone tones an ancient? Since toning can progress except under stringent conditions, and also since it can progress to noticeable corrosion ( same process ) is there much concern over it? Thanks Jim

 

Forgive me. Not my coin unfortunately, but what beautiful colours.

 

Value in collectibles is a matter of opinion. Right now there are enough people who want silver dollars with bright colors that people can expect to get a big premium for what would have been considered garish fifty years ago when I collected US. Back then when question was whether it was OK to dip such ugly things to remove the tarnish. We had plenty of people cleaning silver with baking soda and scratching them badly. They were told that was bad but it was OK to dip. Fads change. I prefer tarnished silver and gray is ok. You can pay extra for bright or colorful as you desire.

IMHO it is not OK to paint something on a coin to make it tone but silver will tone naturally and exposing a coin to heat, light and fumes (putting it in a window) is not a felony. Can I tell the difference? Maybe. I consider the AT/NT business a bit funny now since many of the AT coins would not be that way had someone not made some decision fifty years ago. Buying cheap high sulphurenvelopes, placing the coin in a cheap cardboard album, building your coin cabinet from oak, storing coins in the shed with your gardening supplies, living in a town with a steel mill --- just where is the border of 'natural'?

 

I'm not sure if I paid extra for those particular toned coins that I posted, but I'm pretty sure that the toning lured me towards a few of those sweet lil' darlings!!

 

great looking coin Z, i hope pa pa Z had a nice birthday and dug his cool present.

@desertgem check out this thread TIF started several months ago, interesting..

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/cl...ins-opinions-and-controversy-expected.261701/

i really don't have any well toned ancient coins.

@dougsmit this is one of my youngest coins with a nice patina on it, it's not that "new" however.

 

I don't intentionally seek toned ancient silver, but I took this denarius out in the morning sun to see if I could get a shot at an angle that highlighted the color. It really is a beautiful coin, but I bought it as a high-grade Emesa mint denarius of SS. It just happened to have some pleasing color...

 

I like it

 

Thats a beauty, JA.

 

Great coins all, nice thanks

 

Beautiful Trajan ro.

 

While colors are nice, I actually prefer my ancient to be near black or have a circulated cameo look.



My favorite "natural" look:


Not sure why but I like it:


Circulated cameo look, Bright grey against dark grey.

 

Here are a few of mine with toning I like:

 

A couple more that I missed:

 

Actually one more that I missed. A really nice and darkly-toned Marc Antony denarius. It's actually LEG XV(you can see if you look really close) but was struck with worn dies.

 

I like the toning on these 2.
IMHO the Otho has an especially nice tone.