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Message:: [QUOTE="GDJMSP, post: 2293944, member: 112"]In the post of mine that you quoted, the key phrase is - That is because toning, if left unchecked, will destroy coins with a certainty. And I pretty much already answered your question in post #93 - Toning is kind of like a living thing. As long as you feed it, give it what it needs, it will continue to grow. And the more food you give it the faster it grows. The things it primarily needs are air flow and moisture (in the form of humidity). But temperature changes can also accelerate it somewhat. So if you could take these things away, completely, toning would virtually stop. But there is no such thing as an airtight coin holder - not one. The plastics they are made of are air permeable, air can pass right through the plastic itself in other words. But at a slow rate. And they are by their nature made of 2 halves, which do not seal completely, not even slabs. Even with the sonic sealing method they use there are still air gaps. Air is necessary for toning to occur because without oxygen there can be no oxidation. Air also contains various contaminants, and these contaminants affect toning. Some speed it up, some can cause a given color of toning, others a different color yet. Air also contains humidity, the more humidity the faster the toning. This is where proper storage comes in. A hard plastic coin holder is where you start. No they are not airtight, but they do slow down and greatly limit the amount of air that can get to your coins. But by itself that is not enough. So you place your coins in their holders inside another, larger, container and that can also be closed up. This further limits the air flow from getting to your coins. But more importantly it provides you with a contained space so the air inside can be treated if you will by using rechargeable desiccant packs to limit humidity inside that contained space. And you keep this container in an area of your home where it is dark, and the temperature remains fairly constant. Do all of these things and toning will be slowed down so much that even over a period of time you will not readily notice any changes. Now above I mentioned your lifetime as a time period. But that is to put things into perspective if you will. Yes toning will occur, even with proper storage, over a long period of time. But it happens slowly, so slowly that if you look at your coins every so often you will not notice any changes. Now if you wait 30 years and don't look at them, and then look at them - yeah you'll probably see a change. But even then it's not going to be terribly drastic. And yeah, the initial level of toning that you mentioned is also important. Toning occurs in stages, it is progressive. Rule of thumb, the darker it is the worse it is, and it has a terminal point. Once reached, the damage is already done and cannot be reversed. Typically, terminal toning starts at the outer edges of a coin and works its way inwards, but just like anything there are exceptions. So if when you purchase a coin if it has very dark or even black toning around the outer edges then the damage may have already started. And it will continue, even with proper storage, but at a slower rate. And I say may have because sometimes even with black toning, if a coin is dipped and the black toning stripped away, underlying luster may be revealed. Other times the luster is already gone. This is why many collectors will not purchase a coin with dark toning - they know what the end result is. There is much I could write about this and go on and on, such as toning being dependent upon luster, or the difference in the way a circulated coin tones and the way an MS coin tones. And in other threads I have written about the different things at various times, but to put it all in one place would be a book. But ask a specific question and I'll try and give a specific answer.[/QUOTE]

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