Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="900fine, post: 799993, member: 6036"]FAQs about copper color : Q: "How do I recognize a recolored coin ? How can I spot bad color ?"A: One learns to spot bad color by looking at a lot of good color. Q: "How can I be sure any given early copper is, in fact, good color ? How do get a 'standard' from which to work ?"A: The key is luster.  Hustlers can fool around with color; they can even retool missing details. But nobody can fake luster. If they mess with anything else about the coin, it will ruin the luster to some degree. Once it's gone, there is no way to restore it. So look for early copper which still has original luster; look for cartwheel or even early die state prooflike coins. These will almost certainly be AU and MS coins*. They will show a variety of color from dark brown to full mint red. The most instructive are coins which show both brown and some mint red remaining. Look at the "interface zone", as red and brown intermingle. Look how the red fades down into brown. There's this "misty" look which cannot be faked. It's a wonderful and beautiful thing. Once you have found early copper coins with original luster, one can be confident that the color is also natural. Not always, but almost always. Look at lots and lots and lots of them, at coin shows and auctions. You will find a very broad range of legit color, and will learn to recognize the "oddness" of unnatural color, even on coins which are worn to VF and have no remaining mint luster. Once you have a lot of "good color" in your head, you will recognize bad color. Realize that recoloring is sometimes a slow, natural process; many coppers are recoloring themselves after a cleaning very long ago.    * Realize that not all AU or MS copper will have original luster. Many have been messed with, and many others have been through a lot in 200 years and lost luster by natural means.[/QUOTE]

Create my FREE Account!

Log in or Sign up

Reply to Thread

Useful Searches