Does .999 or .9999 Silver tarnish (US Liberty Silver Dollars or Canadian Maples)?

I have a question. I have seen online some auctions by highly respected sellers of coins that appear to be slightly tarnished. The seller had 6 Maple Leafs and 2 Silver Dollars. Four of the Maple Leafs were still in the original RCM (Royal Canadian Mint) sleeves but still looked slightly tarnished. The other 2 Maples and 2 US Silver Dollars had been exposed to the air for a long time and looked tarnished. Does .999 Silver tarnish? The other question I have is does anyone else think that Canadian Maple Leaf 5 Dollar Silver Coins look fake based on how the surface looks like it has fine scratches and is not smooth like other Silver coins?

Any replies are greatly appreciated.

 

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Does .9999 silver tarnish? You betcha. Proper storage will help to slow the oxidation down but sooner or later you're gonna get tarnish.

 

I love tarnished bullion coins and bars.

 

Just the opposite, I would be really worried if they wouldn't tarnish in time.

 

Question, is tarnish the same as toning? I love coins that are naturally toned, especially coins that have a rainbow/oil spill color tone to them.

 

Yes they will. I made the mistake many years back of dipping some of the older ones I have. Wish I hadn't. I've got some more recent ASE's that are still in the tubes and I plan on leaving them that way come hell, high water, tone, or tarnish.

 

Yes, 99.99999999% silver can tarnish. Silver is not tarnish resistant at any purity.

 

Guess you could say the two are the same. Sounds better when we refer to the discoloration as toning......

Just thinking though. When you get that ugly black stuff on a coin. Wouldn't call that toning.

 

Maybe call it "Toned Out"...

 

As other have said, tarnish is the same as toning. Toning is used to make it sound better.

Silver at any purity level will tarnish unless put into specific mixtures designed to prevent it. Sterling silver is resistant to tarnish only by the inclusion of other metals that makes the mixture resistant.

 

Very few rainbow toned coins are natural. Most are doctored. If you buy a Morgan dollar that is nicely toned and it turns out to be artificial, it can greatly depress the value. There are many experts on Cointalk who can tell the difference, but not in the bullion forum.

 

Yeah same I have a 1996 maple that is black (and has a slight copper/rainbow shine when put under sunlight) on the edges of the coin

 

They will tarnish, as others have said, but it is not a big deal. The coin was bought as a bullion investment and will not lose its value.

 

The final stage of toning is black or terminal. This stage is tarnish like we think of on silverware. The definitive work on stages of toning was done by Doug Kurz in my opinion. http://www.1881o.com/toned-coins.html

Interestingly PCGS (and maybe others) will not grade a terminal toned coin which I find strange since it is just an extension of other color. I have had more than one coin rejected because of terminal toning.