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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GDJMSP, post: 2725838, member: 112&quot;]Easy to understand why some might think so, but it only makes sense until you realize that they don&#039;t. Then it becomes confusing. Especially when you consider that all of our silver coins, in all denominations, had the same composition, yet all of them tone differently.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>If that was true then you would expect other silver coins from the same eras to tone the same, or at the least in a similar manner. But yet they don&#039;t, not even close. So that can&#039;t be it either. </p><p><br /></p><p>So what causes the vast differences in how coins of the same composition, from the same era as well as from different eras, tone ? There is one simple and very obvious answer. And yet very few see it because it&#039;s so obvious they apparently can&#039;t see it even though they&#039;re looking right at it. It is the luster.</p><p><br /></p><p>All struck coins have luster, (and yes that includes Proofs !) but if you look at them carefully you will see that the luster on all of them is quite different. Luster is the one essential ingredient in the mix that people never seem to think of, never seem to realize that without it, there would be little or no colorful toning. That&#039;s why you don&#039;t see colorful toning on circulated coins - because they have no luster.</p><p><br /></p><p>As I mentioned, the luster on all coins is quite different. And if you look at them microscopically you will see that the luster, created by metal flow, is different in width, length, depth and height. That is the distinguishing factor - the differences in luster. And if you think about it, understand that luster itself as well as toning is all a matter of reflection and refraction, THEN it makes sense that those differences in the width, length, depth and height of luster is what causes the differences in how toning looks to our eyes.</p><p><br /></p><p>How toning appears to our eyes all hinges on one very simple principle, the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. This is a simple illustration that I&#039;ve used for many years to simulate what luster looks like on the surface of a coin if viewed microscopically - </p><p>/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ - a series of peaks and valleys. Now change the width, length, depth and height of those peaks and valleys and you change the angle of incidence. Round of the tops of the peaks and or the bottoms of the valleys and you change the angle of incidence. Now throw thin film interference into the mix, and you get color. Differences in the thickness of the film, (which equates the thickness or depth of the toning), of course changes the colors as well. But even when the thickness of the film is consistent, at whatever that thickness might be, the angle of incidence changing is still there. And that angle of incidence is determined by the luster. The sharper the edges of those peaks and valleys are the more luster the coin will have. Smooth them over a bit and the less luster it will have. Smooth them over completely and you have no luster at all.</p><p><br /></p><p>And consistency is the key element, the more consistent those peaks and valleys are, the sharper the quality of the luster will be. That&#039;s why Proof coins have the most luster of any coin, because they have the most consistent surface, a polished surface. And this reflects the light back to our eyes in a very narrow band, a very sharp band, because those peaks and valleys are all every close together. Business strikes reflect the light back to our eyes in a wide band, because the peaks and valleys are farther apart.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now back to Morgans and Peace dollars, and the drastic difference in the toning of them - it&#039;s quite simple to understand once you understand everything above. It&#039;s the peaks and valleys of the luster being different. Peace dollars have a satin finish, Morgan dollars do not, and that changes the luster. Change the luster and you change the toning.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is not to say that Peace dollars don&#039;t have luster or as much luster as Morgans do - they absolutely do. Some Peace dollars have booming luster that seemingly drips right from the coin ! But it is a different kind of luster, it&#039;s not the same as that on a Morgan. So they tone quite differently - as do all coins. And it is all determined by the luster.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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