I'm wondering if this is a true toned coin or environmental toning? The obverse has beautiful colors and the reverse in normal. Any thoughts are appreciated!
I don't know whether the toning is natural or not, but I think it's pretty and can see why you like it.
I appreciate the replies! It did come in a 2000 Sacagawea mint roll. I don't know how many fingers touch it at the mint,But it sat in the roll for 18 years.
It could be an endroll coin from a roll stored in a hot environment, maybe. Looks like heat-induced toning to me.
Well, I don't know either. I'm not a grader but this one comes to mind. It looks somewhat similar to yours. This was disappointing! I can tell you it was in my old Whitman folder since the 60's and was never touched....by me anyway. Can't say where it was between 1944 and the 60's.
That is a beautiful cent and natural, I think. I had one like it (also a '44) that came out of a BU roll. I imagine the grading services hedge their bets by applying the "too good to be true" rule sometimes, and err on the side of caution. Aha. Seeing those open-ended rolls makes me think even more that what you have there is an endroll coin. The obverse was facing out and the roll got left in a hot environment, like an attic or car trunk over a few long, hot summers, for example. Mind you, this is purely conjecture on my part, but I think it's plausible, especially down here in the steamy South. Would a grading service accept the toning on that Sac dollar? There's an outcome I would never try to predict.
Ive turned a zincoln blue and green with a blow torch. Question though. Whats "natural" or not? Is there some kind of "tone" that the mint is responsible for? I thought all toned coins were environmental or PMD?
I think it's better to think about it as "market acceptable toning" rather than natural/artificial. In the bigger picture, it doesn't really matter how the coin became that color. Coins which are artificially toned can be deemed market acceptable, and coins which are naturally toned can be deemed not market acceptable. That said, I think it looks cool. If I found one, I'd put it in a flip. I wouldn't purchase it for a premium or send it to be graded.
Keep in mind that the U.S. Mint was toying with different finishes for the 2000 Sacagawea coin, and this could be an early strike or a late strike, and even with the environmental? damage it could be the result of the Mint's finish process for that year.
