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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ksparrow, post: 561380, member: 7638&quot;]Well, I think &quot;ugly&quot; is in the eye of the beholder, Lehigh. I believe you were stating your preference for a particular appearance, although I think you might have been a little more tactful.However, I understand that opinions are strongly held and often strongly expressed, so I didn&#039;t take it personally.&nbsp;&nbsp; I do appreciate you inquiry into my preferences as to toning and luster. By muted luster, I did not mean to imply &quot;lackluster&quot; or flatness. I just don&#039;t particularly care for coins that come out of the gate screaming. I have in front of me an MS Morgan, it is lustrous and cartwheels like crazy, and next to it my slq looks rather drab. However, I find that the quarter invites closer scrutiny, because the gradations in the golden tone highlight some areas of the design and add shading and mystery to others. There is a sense of things emerging from a background. I also have a feeling of antiquity when I examine this coin with its patina that ranges into a russet brown in some areas. On the reverse there is a very subtle halo of rose that surrounds the eagle, as you tilt the coin in the light it appears to be flying through an evening mist. </p><p><br /></p><p>I originally trained as an archaeologist, and became used to studying the patination on objects as they emerged from the ground on 17th and 18th century sites in the Mid- Atlantic area. Browns, yellows, golds are what you typically see, and some blue. I relate these same gradations of color to artwork like Paul Klee&#039;s, platinum/palladium photographs by Strand, Curtis, Stieglitz- they have a subtlety and depth that appeal to me. So, from a purely aesthetic perspective, I would rather have this one lowly quarter in front of me than 2 or 3 bright white specimens, even if they had vibrant colors. I can appreciate their sculptural beauty, their color and the natural processes that created it, but they don&#039;t resonate for me.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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