1997 NT beautiful Rainbow Toned American Eagle- Newbie needs advice!

I am a newbie to coins and collecting. Mainly just have a few from my Grandfather’s private collection and estate that I am considering selling on Ebay. I opened this box to take photos to begin my research, and realized it was quite unique.

My questions are: What do you think a range of worth this could bring? Is it more valuable to keep for my grandchildren, or will the value pretty much remain the same (is that even possible to estimate?). If I do plan to sell it, should I do so on Ebay or is there a better site for coin collectors? Before I sell it, should I have it “slabbed” by one of the reputable companies, and if so, what is the easiest way to have that done? I live in the Atlanta area, so would I get a better offer going to a local coin dealer, rather than selling it online?

I realize all of my questions are not going to bring factual answers, but more likely based on opinions, but I would greatly appreciate your advice!

Thanks so much!

 

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On any other coin I would call that AT, but in this case you may be correct. It is still questionable if the TPG's call it NT.

 

That was another fear I have. This is definitely NT though. I have zero experience or history with coins, I would not even know the first way to try to artificially do something like this. This coin has sat in my grandparents house in its display case. Most of the others have plastic cases around the coins, I am guessing this one became toned because it was either taken out of its case or never had one to begin with. However you can definitely see how it was displayed face up in its box, because the back has no toning at all.

 

There are many folks here that submit coins to TPG's. I have yet to do so, they will now better than I. These American eagles tone spectacular. It's a perty coin.

 

I wonder... You suppose if Grandpa had this case sitting open for display on a nightstand for a period of time that the natural sunlight coming in the window would do this majestic work over a period of time leaving the unexposed tail side of the piece natural?

 

Do you know if your grandfather bought the coin straight from the mint, or from another seller?

 

Most likely they had it open and on display in their glass cabinet in the living room, that was right next to the sun porch, so a lot of light came into all the windows. I still need to look up how toning actually happens, but if it has to do with exposure to light, it probably happened that way.

 

Always straight from mint. He did not buy coins from dealers. His main reason for purchasing coins were to let them grow in value and give to us when he passed away...which is exactly what he did.

 

To try to respond to your questions:

First off, that is a bullion coin. The value is directly tied to the silver bullion spot price which currently is pretty low. Whether or not that magnificent toning adds much value is up to conjecture.

As far as selling locally or via the web, well that’s up to what is comfortable to you. I am an old guy and do 99% of my deals face to face. If you sell to a dealer you have to realize he needs to make a profit too. If you put it up for auction, you may get $25.00 bids.. Or someone may fall head over heels in love with the toning and drive it to who knows what? It’s a big gamble.

I think I would want to keep it in the family to remember grandpa. Then you have no regrets. Good luck!

 

Welcome to coin talk Beautiful Coin I would send it to be graded and keep it for my kids! You could check the NGC and PCGS price guides online, also Ebay's sold list!

 

selling it to a dealer and you will get bullion prices. selling on Ebay may get you more money. This toning looks very artificial to me. Caused by heat or certain chemicals it was stored in/with. you would be surprised how much this toning gets on Ebay. I would not get it graded by PCGS or NGC because you will get back those grading fees when you go to sell it. you have to remember this is a bullion coin. If I were you I would keep this for your grandfathers memory and then hand it down when you are ready to do so to your kids or close friend.

 

Thank you for your advice! I am curious, if a coin gets put into a box and placed in the attic or some other area that is not tempature managed, and the toning results from that environment, is that also considered artificial? This is not what happened with this coin, but it’s very likely it was in direct sunlight and had tenpature fluctuations because of that. My grandparents kept many of their coins in a glass cabinet display type case, in a very sunny room. However this is the only coin that toned, the others that I was given also have plastic cases around them, so I am guessing that is why they stayed true.

 

let me put it this way. this bullion coin has very questionable color because it does not look like natural colors at all. heat caused this color. chemicals it was stored in could have caused these colors. after time and experience you get to see what looks natural and what looks very artificial. yours looks very artificial. sorry to tell you this. there are "coin doctors" out there that can tone coins to look like natural toned colors. as I said before I would just keep this bullion coin in remembrance of your late grandfather.

 

I added these two photos to show how the toning even went into the edge of the coin, where the depression in the box is at to allow for a finger to push the coin out of the box easily.

I do understand that you don’t know me, and you do not know the history of this coin, and I am sure their are several fakes out there. However the only thing that was done to this coin, was it sat opened on display in my grandparents home. If that means it could have been artificially toned because of its environment, than I would agree. Other than that, nothing was done to purposely make this happen.

I guess it’s too pretty to look real, which is good for me to know as well. So if I did intend to sell it, I would probably want to get it professionally appraised by one of the organizations.

If I kept it, what would be the best way to preserve the toning so it does not change? Can I just place it in a plastic case that fits around the coin, or would it be better to have it appraised so that it could be incased in something airtight. Or, lastly, since it’s no longer in the same environment, would it be less likely to tone any longer, and should remain as is just kept in its box?

Thanks again everyone!

 

See... This is the entirely unique and totally subjective part of coin collecting. While the last thing I would do is disagree with @spirityoda, to my eyes you have a magnificently, if not near perfectly naturally toned Eagle. It is an area of collecting that is unique to the individual collector and one of the reasons it is near impossible to put a value on a piece such as yours. Personally, I would pay a premium to own your coin. Others may and likely would view it otherwise.... Now understand that encapsulating the piece does not guarantee it will not further change over time. If you suspect as I do that this was done over time being exposed to the sunlight near a window, simply keep the box closed. Encapsulating the piece isn’t cheap and doesn’t guarantee further toning won’t occur.

 

Thank you! I appreciate that, and it’s so interesting that I have spent all morning researching about toning. This coin may very likely create a coin collector out of me (I can see my Grandfather smiling at this right now! Ha!)

It’s truly fascinating.

I just found this collectors page that has a lot of naturally toned coins of all shapes and sizes. The toning is simply beautiful, and I am definitely more intrigued by this than just regular coins (I am certain that is because I am new to coin collecting, and the colors are what is catching my eye more than anything!)
http://www.robecsimages.com/

 

Also, I just spoke with my aunt, she reminded me that my grandparents had a study that they kept several of their coins in as well. If it was kept in this room, it would have sat in a wooden shelving unit purposely built for display, and they had a small wood-burning fireplace in this room as well. So if this coin was kept in that room, it’s possible the changes of tempature and the wood burning smoke/chemicals caused the toning. I am not positive nor is she, but it could be a probably reason than just simply happening over 21 years because of sunlight.

 

NT vs. AT is meaningless, sir. All that matters today is if the toning will be deemed "market acceptable".

 

I have looked at some sites and images of obviously doctored toned coins, and in some of these articles that I’ve read this morning even show some that are AT compared to the NT. So I completely understand why @spirityoda or any experienced collector could see just these photos and wonder if it’s artificial.

But your answer is a bit more confusing to me. Doesn’t AT (artifucially toned) mean that it was purposely done to hopefully make it look natural and to hopefully add unique value to the coin, and NT (naturally toned) mean that it happened over a period of time and was not the intention of the owner?

 

I been collecting coins almost fifty years. The beauty that lies in toned coins has been a recent development to my disease. To show you how subjective this spin on collecting can be.... The piece below is a magnificent piece on its own and would easily command four figures. I met her more than a year ago and have been negotiating with her owner ever since. Only other time in my life that my heart exploded like this was meeting my wife. The owner has deemed this gorgeous toning at almost double what this spectacular piece would command on its own. I do love her and one day she will be mine, but to me it doesn't hold quite the value he places on her. I won't stop trying to work a deal though........ @Jhayes222, you too hold a beautiful piece. More though, you hold a piece that was close to your granddaddy's heart. And I think that makes it invaluable.