It's been here for a good bit longer than several years, I first saw it done about 25 years ago - and the guy doing it, said it had already been going on for a long time. But it became much more common in the early 2000's, and it took about 6 or 7 years for a significant portion of the market to catch on. Once they did, prices for attractive toning began adjusting - downwards. Today, there's still a significant portion of collectors who are either not aware of it, or simply simply refuse to believe that it's possible. If it were not for them, prices would have adjusted much further downwards.
Although someone related to toning see my new research article "just" posted on the Newman Numismatic Portal here: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/579875 Improperly Cleaned? Improper Alloy Mix?