I am still trying to familiarize and educate myself of different types of toning and how to distinguish if a toning is AT or NT. Can anyway give me some info on the toning of this coin? Also, does anyone have some useful links that demonstrate some different types of toning and distinguishing information. (The coin has a really pretty dark purple-ish tone that i couldn't really capture on the scanner or camera.) Thanks!
i am super new to coins, but sometimes purple = bleach toning. I have a a few coins i messed with and toned with bleach, and it gave me a purple type toning.
Ill say this, the toning on this Kennedy is most likely natural. However, artificial or natural is irrelevant (to most) because it is not a desirable color or type of toning. Telling the difference between NT and AT: I could type for hours about this, but the whole topic is not as easy as black and white. Obvious Artificial: Chemicals, cooking, or some other form of rapid toning are the easiest to spot as they show strange patterns, the color doesn't flow through the devices properly, and most importantly the colors and their intensity are a dead give away. Crayon colors, progression of one color to another are just not right. Experience in seeing toned coins, both artificial and natural, is the best way to get better at judging. However I will link you to some obvious artifical toned coins on ebay. These are artificially toned coins: http://www.ebay.com/sch/haleyschevy/m.html?_trkparms=aid%3D333005%26algo%3DRIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D15%26meid%3D917429755053197950%26pid%3D100016%26prg%3D1006%26rk%3D2%26&item=271024668752&rt=nc&_trksid=p5197.m1997&_trksid=p4340.l2562 Natural toned coins: If you see enough NT coins, you really start to make better judgments. Learning the various environments that tone coins is key. For example: Album toning roll toning mint set toning bag toning etc... These are naturally toned coins: http://stores.ebay.com/kryptonitecomicsandcoins I will also qualify this with: Even the TPG's can't tell the difference sometimes. They will more times then not, question the color. Plenty of AT coins have made it into slabs, and plenty of NT have not. Also, if you are looking to buy a toned coin, start with the quality of the coin before you even look at the toning. Don't get me started! -greg
Well said gbroke. Always be mindfull of paying any premium on a toned coin.. in tpg plastic ... and especially if raw. Research toning on google... ask question specific to any toned coins on this forum, or other forums.. and as Gbroke says, always look at the quality and grading attributes of a coin first. There was once a wise man (forget his name), that once said that it's likely that 50% or more of the monstor toned coins you see in tpg plastic where likely,, how should I say this.... hummm.... maybe.... were likely given a boost towards their monstordom at some point in their life. As to the OP's question regarding the toning on this coin.... IMO, it looks NT to me, but poorly stored and maintained. Honest Ntoning of silver will most often take this form.. ie.-ugly.
That coin is naturally toned, and not particularly attractive in its toning--I think if someone would want to "shake and bake" the coin, they'd go for more of a rainbow effect.
Well that's the thing, when it comes to toning both AT and NT - you never know in advance what you are going to get. That is because every coin is unique, so every coin will react differently. It's all really just a matter of luck.
Once again, score one for Doug. One time, I was experimenting on a common date Washington quarter just for fun. I did the peroxide bath, and it came out bright yellow! One never knows.
Thanks for the informative response! Hopefully, with time and experience, I will be able to quickly determine how a coin might have been toned. Regarding the coin, it definitely is very.. .. blegh! But it was a color and look I had not seen before so it intrigued me.
Hey Mike, One really good way to improve your skill on separating NT (market acceptable) coins from AT coins is to look at as many NT coins as possible. All the colorfully-toned coins shown in the link below got PCGS's blessing and a PCGS grade (which is their way of giving their stamp of approval that the coins were "market acceptable"). The whole question of NT vs. AT is really a complicated one and has more to do with intention and time rather than process (as far as I understand it). Does PCGS or NGC ever make a mistake? I am sure they do. One way to improve your chances if you dont' have your skill set built up yet, is only buy colorfully toned coins if they were (are) PCGS or NGC graded. You should note however that sometimes NGC will bless a coin that PCGS rejects and visa versa. My experience has been (so far) that PCGS is slightly stricter than NGC with colorful toning (but others might have a different opinion and experience). Certainly you can find some crazy examples in both companies slabs. I have to add that I personally feel the most confident in buying colorfully-toned coins that are PCGS graded already. If you buy RAW (ungraded) colorfully-toned coins, you are gambling a bit more, at least until you acquire more skills on this front. http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/showcase.aspx?sc=1362
Once I put a few common rosies in the oven. 2 were blue, but most of the coins were more yellowish. there might of been a red one too, but none were the same.
Toning in general, is icing on the cake for a lot of coins. Like Greg pointed out well, look to buying a really nice quality coin before putting toning in the mix. Doing the exact opposite is not a great idea, you will lose sight about what collecting the coin is about. In the end, this might lead to a buying mistake and you will end up with a coin that you thought was natural and illustrious toning when it's not the case.
I've been around the toned coin market forever and one thing I can tell you is that the determination of AT and NT is often times based upon likelihood or, to put it another way, probability. There are certain "looks" that coins receive from storage via different methods just as their are "looks" from various forms of manipulation. Based upon the metal, age, grade and series one can, with experience, get pretty darn good at determining AT vs. NT even before one takes into account the exact colors that will appear on a coin. The JFK in the images looks to be an original AU/BU.
