AT or NT? 1855 Seated Liberty Quarter

Artificial or Natural toning?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I'm thinking NT. Both sides have a soft natural look to them. The colors are not bright and bold but appealing.

 

Probably natural, but this is retoning after a dip.

 

The obverse splotches indicate that?

 

Yes.

 

It does not matter because AT or NT, this color and pattern is what people like and there are a lot of them around.

 

She's gorgeous...

 

My first reaction as well. Natural but not original skin.

 

Yes, but how long ago was it done?

 

NT, I like it

 

NT. Pretty coin.

 

Natural, probably from several decades in an album. If it was dipped, that would have been a while back.

 

@physics-fan3.14, I have copied the obverse photo below with some circles. Are these the splotches being referred to? If not, what is the diagnostic that indicates an old dip and natural retoning? Not a challenge, I simply don't know.

 

It has some nice album toning after a dip long ago. It's what the late Boston coin dealer, Don Romano, called "original now."

There is nothing wrong with it, and I find it attractive. I hope that it has formed over a period of years. If it's happened in the last 6 months, which probably not the case, you will need to look into neutralizing it. Attractively toned silver is nice. Black silver is not.

 

Look how well it compares to this PCGS slabbed MS63 proof:

 

Stars are more fully struck than the proof also- awesome.

 

But look at how.much more bold the drapery is struck on the proof than mine.

 

For sure, can’t win every round when you’re fighting a proof.

Personally I like fully struck centrils whenever possible on these but especially on proofs... just feels like they should be there.

 

Those are a couple of them, but its far more extensive than that. Look at the toning above her foot. Around star 1. Around the top of her head. Around all of the right side stars.

The toning isn't "smooth." It's splotchy and speckled. This can be a natural look, but usually it implies to me that its retoning after a coin was dipped.

 

What are the chances that a coin from that era would remain bright white and then attain ring toning? Clearly had a bath and then retoned, probably in a Wayte Raymond album or something similar. "original now," as JM said.
I have also taken bright white, dipped and cleaned coins that I purchased in my early young &dumb days, put them away in brown paper and they attained similar hues of toning.