1875 Seated Liberty Dime ~ Smokey and Rainbow Toned

This little lady arrived in today's mail.
I really like the obverse with it's smokey tones.
The reverse is also very pretty with it's rainbow toning. The coin is even more appealing in hand.







Even though the regular strike mintage for this coin is considered high at over 10 million minted I have read it is somewhat rare in higher grades.
Here are some specs from PCGS

Rarity and Survival Estimates
SURVIVAL ESTIMATE
All Grades 4,000
60 or Better 500
65 or Better 70
NUMISMATIC RARITY
All Grades R-4.2
60 or Better R-6.0
65 or Better R-8.3








I also wanted a regular strike 1875 to go along with the 1875 Cameo proof I procured just recently. The mintage on the 1875 proof is only 700 total.





Have a great weekend.

Cheers

 

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Wow!!!

 

Nice coin but that toning is on its way to being considered terminal and may cause irreversible damage. You may want to consider professional conservation though it might be past saving.

 

I agree. NGC absolutely will not give a star designation to ANY coin that has toning that fades to black at the edges, even if the rest of the coin is monster toned. They consider any black toning to be terminal. The coin is very attractive, and while I love toned coins, this one has some pre-terminal toning. I agree completely on the professional conservation, and recertification.

 

I do not know enough about terminal toning to comment on that, but if you're worried about it you could sell that Ultra Rare Monster Toner on Etsy and with the proceeds buy a blast white one and a Flowing Hair Dollar with the left overs.

 

Thanks for the info. I was unaware of that. I will keep this in mind for future purchases.

 

Black toning may be an indication of irreversible damage to the surface of the coin.

 

I really like the look of those dimes but you may want to call a TPG to discuss conservation of them.

 

Those are some really nice dimes! I am not a big toning fan, but agree with others regarding the terminal state.

 

I got lucky, detecting and found an 1875-cc, but no ways as nice as these. Will try to do pic for contrast.

 

@Eric the Red I agree with some of the other comments about the degree ("Terminal") of toning, however, that toning most likely occurred while in an album as the central part of the Obverse is mostly white, and it is encapsulated in a relatively modern (from July, 2019 onward) ANACS Slab, so IMO if you left it in that slab and kept in an AC environment, you shouldn't see any further changes.

If, as @Dynoking and @Morgandude11 suggest you consider sending it to a TPG for conservation, I would suggest contacting NCS (an NGC affiliate) and attach your images and ask them IF they believe they could Conserve it successfully. If they reply that they would have to see it in hand, you could sent it in to them--they won't break it out unless they feel the process will work.

 

I agree with the storage suggestion, but does toning actually stop?

 

@Dynoking there is NO guarantee that any slabbed coin will not continue to tone--to a degree--from what it appeared to the unaided eye at the time of encapsulation, however, there are many silver alloy coins (I'll focus on these for now) in old holders that were "white" when slabbed, or that had some degree of toning that would be considered non-terminal (i.e. not Glossy Black or Dull Black per Sunnywood's Color Classification System for Toned Coins) that were stored in "favorable" conditions and did not progress to the Terminal Stage. Slabbing a coin in the more modern Holders where the Plastic used for the Case; the Insert used to hold the coin in place; and the Label were all of non-outgassing materials significantly reduces or eliminates the Holder from contributing to any potential toning (the top tier TPGs use a controlled atmosphere where the coin is slabbed), however, although the atmosphere surrounding the coin is only only a few cubic centimeters in volume, the ultrasonic seal is often not perfect (i.e. not hermetically sealed) and gas can permeate somewhere along the Seal. An example of this would be in storage where the ambient temperature changed in big swings, and there was high humidity or sulfurous gas present; the internal atmosphere of the Slab could be partially expelled during exposure to warm temperature, and when the ambient air cooled, a partial vacuum would be created, sucking in a small amount the local atmosphere; a repeat of this cycle would generally result in some toning over time
.
If a Slab is stored in controlled conditions (e.g. an AC environment where the humidity was kept below 60%) and there was no material in close proximity that could outgas (e.g. normal paper products), then you shouldn't see any perceptible toning, or toning progression (i.e. darker color or change in color) over time.

NOTE: we have to exclude coins that were treated chemically (e.g. dipped) where the chemical agent was not completely rinsed off; also, dipping a coin until all traces of previous toning have been removed--and especially re-dipping or exposure to the Dip for too long a period of time--will result in random, uneven surface erosion, creating pits and fissures that increases the overall surface area; while this coin may remain bright in ideal storage conditions, it will generally start to tone (a light gold) over time, and further progress if not stored ideally, whether kept Raw or Slabbed.

A discussion of Toning due to Thin Film Interference, and the Toning Progression Spectrum, can be found at this Link:
http://www.jhonecash.com/research/sunnywood_classification.asp