Beware of rainbow toning

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by merrill01, Mar 27, 2015.

  1. bkozak33

    bkozak33 Collector

    so what.
     
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  3. Maxfli

    Maxfli Well-Known Member

    Meh. To each his own, of course, but toning holds no interest whatsoever for moi.

    Edit: to clarify, I have some coins with toning. But toning wasn't a factor in the purchase decision.
     
  4. rooman9

    rooman9 Lovin Shiny Things

  5. Tim C

    Tim C Active Member

    Early coin Doctoring!


    Were they kept in the “back” because that is where the “Chemistry Lab” was?


    Sure I can! A phony is a phony, there is no difference between
    someone with intent to causes a coin to tone and the hucksters on TV trying to sell those gold or platinum coated state quarters. An altered surface is just that, an altered surface. You can call it what you want but we have a saying up here: “If your cat has kittens in the oven, you don’t call them biscuits do you.”

    Re – reading the statement just quoted above, maybe you should see if you can get a guest appearance on “Coin Vault”?


    I also find it hysterical that some people assume that others just don’t understand the basics of coin toning just because they don’t agree with them.
     
  6. Hommer

    Hommer Curator of Semi Precious Coinage

    In reading this, why do I get a feeling of deja vu?
     
  7. V. Kurt Bellman

    V. Kurt Bellman Yes, I'm blunt! Get over your "feeeeelings".

    So this is a perennially controversial topic then? I was starting to suspect so, especially since so much anger seems to accompany the opposing viewpoints. I am aware that the high end market wants to value toning. If that's what they want to do, fine. Good for them. As someone who never has had a desire to do a registry set, it doesn't bother me in the least.
     
  8. charlie123

    charlie123 Well-Known Member

    I don't know. Perchance is your name Yogi?
     
  9. KoinJester

    KoinJester Well-Known Member

    Niche maybe but more original skin than the toning in most of the high dollar sets, but original skin and toning go hand in hand, for the most part.
     
  10. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Why ? Simple, because I liked the coin that much.

    The only apparent difference between you and me is that I know that natural toning can be duplicated and you don't, or you just refuse to believe that it can be. But I also know that there is no difference between natural toning and artificial toning except intent. One happened by accident, and the other happened intentionally, that is the only difference there is. There is not 1 person on the planet that can tell one from the other, unless they did it themselves. There is no machine, there is no test, there is no anything, that can differentiate one from the other. So if one is worth X then so is the other.

    You see, I would be paying for the color, the look of the coin, because I like it. How it got there, that doesn't even matter because you can't tell one from the other.

    Now also understand I'm not talking about some of the nonsense that you see on ebay where some guy baked the coin in a potato or poured liquid chemicals on a coin to create the color. I'm talking about coins that look the same or similar to those in your collection, coins that just about any toned coin lover would pay extra for.
     
  11. tommyc03

    tommyc03 Senior Member

    As are my silver eagles stored in a Whitman bookshelf album.
     
  12. Vegas Vic

    Vegas Vic Undermedicated psychiatric patient

    I think it is theoritically possible. I just don't think it is possible today. Were it possible today as @Lehigh96 said the market would already have been flooded to the point that toned coins would carry a deficit, not a premium. The fact it is still a premium tells me it is not viable today. If I could crack an 81s for $50 and tone it to $1000 I would be cracking as fast as I could. The market would literally drown in toned coins.
     
    torontokuba and Lehigh96 like this.
  13. carboni7e

    carboni7e aka MonsterCoinz

    /thread.
     
  14. MadMartigan

    MadMartigan Active Member

    It is possible for coins to tone in last than 10 years. I have had my current Dansco 7070 album for around 8-10 years I have several really nice golden toned coins in that album since I put them in it. I mean they are not extreme examples of toning but a nice golden toning.

    They are the silver ikes and the silver kennedys and my morgan.
     
  15. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    That is exactly the reason I am so ardent in this thread. A significant portion of my income is from dealing coins and my areas of specialty are Jefferson Nickels and rainbow toned coinage. I don't really mind when a person says they don't like toning, that is a personal preference. But when people slam toned coins and call them artificial without presenting any facts or evidence to back up their claim, it bothers me. And when someone insinuates that dealers who specialize in rainbow toned coins are fences for coin doctors, that really bothers me.

    Ok, I missed your post about being in the hospital. I apologize and hope you feel better.

    Consider this my get well soon present.

    [​IMG]


    For the record, I'm not really angry, I am just naturally argumentative. I have been having heated debates with Doug since I joined this forum. Although we have discussed this topic several times before, there are other topics which are much more frequent and far more contentious.
     
    Coinchemistry 2012 and green18 like this.
  16. Lehigh96

    Lehigh96 Toning Enthusiast

    The rainbow toned coin market didn't exist in the 80's. Back then, artificial toning was used to hide flaws on coins in order to achieve a higher grade. The practice of artificially toning coins in order to boost eye appeal and drive a premium price didn't start until the mid to late 90's. Are you claiming that someone in the 80's artificially toned that coin to look exactly like a bag toned Morgan Dollar when there was no way to profit financially from his efforts?

    Rainbow toned coins are not "made up" as you and the OP like to say. They are the inevitable result of years of storage in an atmosphere conducive to toning coins, such as sitting in a canvas bag in a bank vault for decades.

    They were kept in the back because coin shops only have a limited amount of space in their display cases and most collectors were not interested in toned coins back then. They preferred freshly dipped blast white coins. You probably think that your little joke is clever, but the joke is on you. The chemistry lab was in the back. They used the lab to dip toned coins and make them white so that you and everyone else would not know about toned coins. Then they selected the nicest toned coins of the bunch and held them aside for their clientele who had a specific preference for toned coinage.


    So what your saying is that when you see a coin, you can determine method of storage and intent. Ok, how did I store this coin and what was my intent?

    [​IMG]

    The coin was blast white when I purchased it. And for the record, I would not do a guest spot on Coin Vault, but I would accept a full time position.

    So you think that it's because we disagree? More like the fact that you think a Wayte Raymond holder is a "Wyatt" holder. Someone with extensive knowledge of toned coins would not make that mistake.
     
    Coinchemistry 2012 likes this.
  17. re-collect

    re-collect Active Member

    I thought I could tell the difference between natural and artificial toning. After reading this thread, I'm not so sure now. What to do, what to do?
     
  18. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    I'm confused....

     
    torontokuba likes this.
  19. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    The best way to collect toned coins is to try to find them near guide. For example I bought this entire 1962 silver proof set for $25 from an eBay dealer.

    [​IMG]

    Cut out the toned Lincoln Cent ... submitted to PCGS ... and got the ultra rare PR68BN grade (it's one of I think only 3 PR68BN lincolns graded by PCGS in the entire Lincoln series.

    Here is the TrueView photo.

    [​IMG]

    So subtracting out the silver melt on the other proof coins. I think this monster cost me about $10 for the coin (plus slabbing and photographing costs).

    It's a radioactive beast ...

    [​IMG]
     
    19Lyds, Chiefbullsit and ldhair like this.
  20. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    Some other crazy great toners I've picked up over the past few years ...

    PCGS PR66BN
    [​IMG]

    PCGS PR66
    [​IMG]

    PCGS MS66
    [​IMG]

    PCGS PR66
    [​IMG]

    PCGS SP66
    [​IMG]

    I personally find these toners a lot more beautiful and interesting than their much more common "dime a dozen" untoned counterparts. But to each their own. I actually like that a lot of collectors don't like toners because it means less competition and lower prices for me! So thank you for not liking these (and keep not liking them, please!).
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2015
  21. robec

    robec Junior Member

    Now you've done it!!

    The resident coin doctor and chemistry expert from this thread will now replicate all this toning, flood the market and make our collections worthless
     
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