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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;mac266, post: 2446273, member: 26371&quot;]I was teaching a group of Boy Scouts their Coin Collecting merit badge the other night, and to my surprise, even the adults were engaged.&nbsp; I kind of figured many of the scouts were there just to score an easy merit badge, but maybe I&#039;m a really good teacher, because they enjoyed themselves!&nbsp; They kept asking a lot of questions and wanting to see examples of what I was talking about.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was thrilled.</p><p><br /></p><p>One of the adults asked a question about toning (he is one of many, many Americans who have &quot;a box of old coins and knows nothing about them&quot;).&nbsp; The question was whether toning helps or hurts a coin&#039;s value.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think my answer left him a little confused.&nbsp; I briefly explained the difference between technical and market grading, and said how a coin&#039;s toning does not affect its technical grade, but when it comes to market grading, &quot;it depends.&quot;&nbsp; It depends on whether the toning is attractive, unattractive, or neither.&nbsp; I explained rainbow toning and artificial toning, and how some folks pay a premium for rainbow toning, but how AT is considered damage.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, with toning, the answer really is, &quot;it depends.&quot;&nbsp; There isn&#039;t a clear cut answer, and it can be very subjective.&nbsp; We try to make technical grading as objective as possible, but there is a degree of subjectivity to it.&nbsp; Market grading, on the other hand, is almost purely subjective once the technical grade is established.&nbsp; I think he wanted a more concrete, one sentence, easy-to-understand answer, but I don&#039;t believe there is one.</p><p><br /></p><p>Does anyone disagree with me here?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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