Oh wow... my collection changed!

It could be because of any of a thousand different things, or a combination of all of them. But the basic underlying reason is because of how you stored them.

To lessen or slow down toning as much as possible, you can never stop it completely, you have to utilize proper storage. And that is pretty simple and easy to do. But you have to do it, or your coins will tone.

Proper storage entails several things.

1 - good quality coin holders. That means hard plastic coin holders for each coin. No flips, no 2x2s, no albums.

2 - coins must be stored in some kind of a closed container that minimizes air flow to and around the coins. That can be a safe, a Tupperware container (or one like it), but some kind of closed container.

3 - the container with your coins inside needs to be stored in a cool, dark, place where the temperature remains fairly constant. A closet that has no walls that border to the exterior (meaning no walls where the opposite side of the wall is outside your home) is ideal.

4 - you need to use silica gel packs inside your closed container to reduce and maintain a minimum of humidity. And the packs must be monitored and changed or recharged as needed.

5 - there should be no products such as paper, cardboard, plastics that contain PVC, wood inside your closed container with the coins. And yes that includes original mint packaging, for example the boxes that Mint and Proof sets come in. By all means save and preserve the packaging, just don't store it with your coins.

That's about it. Not much to it really, but it works. Doing all of those things will slow down or minimize toning as much as possible.

Now somebody is going to say - I don't do all of those things and my coins don't tone. Well, I believe you. But you're just lucky. That's because, like I said, toning is dependent on a thousand different things. So every single individual is going to have different conditions in your home. And those conditions are what cause toning, or don't cause it. And it includes things you would never think of like what you cook for dinner and how often you cook it - and how you cook it. meaning fried, baked, boiled, roasted, etc etc. And whether you have a gas or electric range, a gas, electric, oil, or water heating system in your home. Whether you have A/C or not, and how often you use it. A humidifier or dehumidifier and how often you use it. Whether you have hardwood floors or carpet, or tile. Even if your wife uses hairspray matters.

And where you live matters. And not just the town you live in, but where in that town you live. Meaning how close to a factory, power plant, or highway, and what the prevailing wind patterns are. And what your humidity is like.

The point is that everything, every little thing that you do inside your home affects how and if your coins tone, and how fast they tone, and what colors they tone.

Now am I telling not to do any of these things ? No, of course not. What I am trying to do is explain why your personal experience with coins toning may be different than somebody else's.

But doing what I said above will minimize the possibility of your coins toning no matter what your personal conditions are.