Let's talk about toning.

Okay so I understand toning is just a nice way of saying tarnish.

Coins can tone in all sorts of ways, it can have a beautiful rainbow tone, a dull, grey tone, or it can be thick, black, and ugly.

I understand all that...

But here is what I want to learn.

If coins can tone in rainbows, why don't I see other silver toning like this as well? Like silver jewelry, flatware, etc. No I'm not talking about silver colored or silver plated, I mean sterling silver items. I never seen a set of sterling flatware tone with rainbow colors, and I have not seen a sterling silver ring tone like that either.

Almost all toning of silver, except coins, I have never seen tone in a rainbow fashion. So that is my 1st question.

1. Why do silver coins tone into a rainbow, but other silver items don't?


2. How long does it take silver coins to tone? Can it happen overnight? Or does it take many years?

3. Do coins keep toning? Do they just get better and better looking as years pass?

4. Is there a time when the coin stops toning.

5. Is there anything that can be done to a coin to keep its current toning intact, and stop it from toning further.

6. Is there a way to rapidly tone silver coins that won't be labeled as artificial?

 

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I'd rather know if there's a safe way to remove it. I see so many color toned coins that people rave about, that I consider ugly. To me toning is just surface damage that so many collectors seem to like. I'm just expressing my own preference for untoned, original surface coins.

 

Silver does tone with colors. This merc has greens, blues and reds. Not a great pic but it's the only example I have on file. I'll have to dig it out later and reshoot it in all it's glory.

 

The toning is a natural occurence and it's a luck of the draw. To speed up toning, is to create AT.

Sterling can tone but usually it's the result of poor polishing or heat. It may be because of the alloy that prevents the nice rainbow effect.

 

3 years ago all of my ICG Proof 70 is untoned,Now look I do not really know after keeping in a safe vaults for 3 years look all those state quarters toned. Can still call this as Proof 70 Cameo?

 

More Toned ICG proof70cameo

 

Thank you Doug, my advice was going to be two words: Advanced Search

 

Tone depends on three things 1)what agents are at work? sunlight? heat? moisture? storage? 2)what reactive materials are the coin(s) in contact with? cotton bags? plastic? wood? sulfurs? and 3)length of time how long have one and two be getting it on? Any and all changes in those three and you have different colors, strengths, patterns the list goes on. As for stopping it I suppose a true vacuum would stop it as it would no longer have air present to oxidize the coin. Other than that GDJMSP is right in saying only control no stopping it. He is also right about other items toning. Take some silver jewelry and put it up inside and up against a cotton duck bag from the mint and leave it there after a while it will start to turn pinkish red I believe. I even have some old plated silver flatware that went rainbow and have even seen stainless steel flatware take on coloring if not outright toning.

 

I thought toning was like rust? Leigh, don't you use steel wool on you coins when they rust? Especially those War Nickels.

 

I have found that the best way to prevent rust is to use Krylon.

 

What is toning? :eating:

Paul, did you stop collecting rusty coins?

 

Ruben brings out the best in me.

 

We can always do like the Smithsonian and use TarnX (TM). That actually brings forward a thought. (Don't snicker) If you think the debates on cleaning coins is intense, you should see some of the intense arguments on cleaning classic paintings, like Leonardo's "Virgin and Child with Saint Anne".

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...d-restoration-pushed-overzealous-British.html

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Anger+over+Louvre’s+plan++to+clean+a+Leonardo/24904

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/a...eonardos-virgin-and-child.html?pagewanted=all

 

I search out rainbows and toned coins. The above statements are all correct. Coins can tone naturally and in coin bags and from coins laying on top of other coins in bags(morgans) Toned coins are beautiful at least to me

 

Rainbows

-- another stolen coin

 

Sorry, I mean this one

 

baaaaaaddd trip. Lady Liberty is comming after me.

 

I thought it was Naval Jelly.