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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 1150808, member: 27832&quot;]&quot;Without any aids or chemicals&quot;, eh?</p><p><br /></p><p>I guess it&#039;s annoying to be pedantic, but I might as well keep at it. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Air is composed of chemicals. Albums are composed of chemicals. Every material that your coins will ever touch is composed of chemicals.</p><p><br /></p><p>Keep your coin in a hard vacuum, and it will never tone. Keep your coin in a highly &quot;artificial&quot; environment of &quot;chemicals&quot; like pure argon or helium, and it will never tone.</p><p><br /></p><p>Put your coin in a paper album, and it will tone -- because of the <i>chemicals</i> present in that album, which in turn are there because of the album&#039;s <i>artificial</i> manufacture.</p><p><br /></p><p>Put your coin in an &quot;all-natural&quot; environment -- sitting out on a rock somewhere, or buried in topsoil -- and it will tone even more quickly.</p><p><br /></p><p>The chemical process of toning always requires chemicals. These chemicals can be supplied in a number of ways, and the process can happen slowly or quickly, intentionally or accidentally. The result, in terms of the coin&#039;s chemical and physical state, is the same -- metal on the surface of the coin is oxidized, forming a layer whose thickness falls into a particular range.</p><p><br /></p><p>Trying to distinguish &quot;artificial&quot; from &quot;natural&quot; toning, when they both produce <i>the same physical result</i>, is just never going to work. It&#039;s like trying to adjust the value of a coin depending on how much greed or luck went into its last purchase -- &quot;you got that nice XF 1895-S Morgan for $15, so even though FMV is $1200, I&#039;m only going to give you melt for it.&quot; Yes, intent is important. No, it doesn&#039;t change the characteristics of the coin. And no, in my opinion, it doesn&#039;t change the coin&#039;s <i>value</i>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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