How would a fairly dark colored silver coin be graded as compared to a coin of similar condition that still has the appearance of new silver? Does anybody have any experience submitting coins like this? A few examples of some dark silver I have below (I'm not going to submit these btw, don't think they'd get a straight grade, looks like they've been improperly cleaned)
I believe in general the market views terminal toning - toning that is black or close to it - as a negative. Mainly because toning this dark is probably actually eating into the surface of the coin. If you dipped all the toning off that peace dollar, you would possibly find micro pitting. So while I agree they may not be unattractive, at some point deep dark toning becomes a problem coin, and TPG'ers will label it as environmentally damaged.
People who make belt buckles and other texas tough man jewelry would pay above silver price. I have properties in Flagstaff and at the big PowWow gathering usually in Spring or early summer have many of these on sale by the indigenous tribes from the north and east parts of the state. The Coin Shop is constantly looking for bags of circulated buffalo 5 cents as they are popular also. Haven't made it there during these last 2 years though. Jim
They look great. I don’t know how the dark toning effects grading but those look cleaned. I see a bunch of little scratches on all of them.
The only reason i asked is the coin in the upper right (what is it by the way?) is pitted and looks like it could've been cast rather then struck, but I'm probably seeing it wrong.
It's a British trade dollar, the picture lighting is not the greatest either so that might have something to do with it, I really need to get a better camera and work on improving my photography skills
It is a pretty sweet coin! i like that it combines different cultures all in one coin, for example the reverse & edge designs look like something you would only find on an Asian coin but the rest looks British, pretty cool
OP, if it is pure black, it might get body bagged by the tpg as being corroded. If matte black it definitely should, as it is most likely corroded. Short of that, I believe color, if judge natural, should not add or subtract from the grade. The TPG is supposed to be judging the coin underneath. I have seen pretty dark MS68 classic commems, and white 62's. It is not supposed to matter. Historically the reason so many collectors hated dark coins was it can be hard to judge if it was improperly cleaned if it has heavy color on it. Myself, I like color, but prefer lighter so I can still see the design.