Blue toning on silver coin...natural?

I am considering purchasing the coin below and was wondering about the toning. Would you say this is natural or artificial. I'm also a touch skeptical about the lighting...I once purchased a similarly blueish Morgan dollar only to receive it and see it was much much darker. It was returned.
Thanks!

 

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I've had the same thing happen with coins I've bought, in natural lighting there's a good chance that coin will be very dark.

 

Yes, it's likely quite dark. I've seen the word "anthracite" used as a color description. I actually like this piece, dark or not.

 

The halos around some letters lead me to believe it toned this way from being in an album, but not doused in chemicals. Not sure if that answers your question about natural toning though.

 

I like it a lot too...it is a very low mintage and is in pretty nice shape from what I can see underneath the darkness.

 

The problem with coins like that is when you put them in a flip all you see is a dark circle with little detail, unless you flash a strong light on them.

 

Soooo, keep one of those bright little flashlights in your mouth while you look at it.

 

It is pretty, but it seems extremely colorful for what looks like a slightly circulated coin. What bothers me , is I am very uncertain about the toning due to the comparison of for example the 'E' s ( open letters) are stained/colored between the arms, but the 'O's and 'D' ( closed letters are not as stained/colored , as if a solution had thinly been applied to elicit a chemical coloration. JMHO. Jim

 

I've seen that same type of toning on old Sterling Silverware that has tarnished.

 

Not a surprise, it's Sterling.

 

We get blue like that on silver Roosevelt Dimes, and their Proof counterparts. Sometimes.

 

A bit off the track for the OP but I do have a very personal experience with the 'blue' as it was my very own self that did it. Blue on other metals I've seen too, but this is just an example of what LordM was talking about. That said, the photos look a tad juiced, and I would expect a little different look in hand, or at least only when the coin is tilted 'just so'.

This is a coin I (REALLY!!!) inadvertently left on a windowsill for about 2 years-ish. It's relatively common and has enough hits it was not worth all that much and I'd set it down while rearranging my silver duplicates box.

The sill is from a window in an uninsulated room over a former porch (now a sunroom) so it gets quite hot/cold with the seasons. The house was built in 1927 so who knows what kind of paint it was too. Unfortunately I can't remember which side was down, I suspect it was the hoo bird side.

So, not an attempt to make 'pretty toning'...not exactly artificial, but perhaps a confluence of events for some accelerated natural toning. And in trying to describe it with so many words I feel as though we are splitting hairs. I didn't do anything to it with chemicals, just left it out in an environment where this happened. OTH how is this different than a light baking in an oven with a reactive surface (assuming it was actually the sunburst side down)? I guess the answer is only if it's market acceptable.


Now this next coin was found acceptable by PCGS.

The obverse (dragon) side has a blue undertone. Not as bright a blue as my window sill coin of course but I have a couple other silver Japanese coins that have the reverse color scheme...in slabs by both companies.




Having lived near Tokyo for several years I can tell you it gets very hot and humid, and the homes are generally not insulated like the general US population is accustomed to. Not saying I can tell you where this coin aged, but I'm sure it was experiencing much more temperature fluctuation and humidity than average.

 

With reference to the 1914 BWA coin, I have seen this type of coloring on silver coins that have been cleaned/polished and have then re-toned after the procedure. On the obverse behind the king's head, there appear to be polishing hairlines from rubbing, about 15 degrees off the vertical, and if this coin was to be dipped, these hairlines would become very visible and detracting. This coin has seen some circulation and exhibits some wear on the band of the crown, the cheek and George's mustache. An EF silver coin in its original state, generally would not tone naturally this way, unless it has been cleaned of all surface residue.

 

+1
Was thinking the same - cleaned/retoned

 

Blue toning can be natural, but the OP's coin is artificially toned.

 

If it toned that way in an album, isn't usually 1 side more toned than the other?
I like the coin very much but it's such strong toning all over, it looks AT.

 

It depends on what kind of album we're talking about.

Usually, however, "album" toning is heaviest at the rims (where it was in contact with the page) and lightest at the center. The toning displayed on the OP's coin does not even closely resemble what I would call typical album toning.

 

It has been stored in something for lifetime, and back in its day it was most likely paper. And not the Gluten-free kind.