proof nickel toner

Fairly new to CT, so I apologize if this is getting the thread off topic, but for a coin like the OP's, is it possible that over time the toning on that coin could diminish? I guess it could tone differently, but would the toning really ever "go away" over time? If so, are we still talking decades before a substantial change could take place?

 

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No. The toning wouldn't diminish on it's own. You could get rid of a substantial portion of it by "dipping" (cleaning using chemicals.) That method would remove the ultra-thin layers that have built up on the surface of the coin that are responsible for the toning.

Toning, on its own, only moves in one direction; that is, it gets heavier. If the coin in the photograph were exposed to the elements, it would eventually turn black. The toning progresses in the colors of the rainbow: Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. These colors correspond to layers of different thicknesses on the surface of the coin. When the layers become thick enough, the color is a nasty black.

 

but as the majority of people on here will tell you, "DO NOT CLEAN THE COIN..." i pearsonaly love toned coins and ive only been collecting for about three months now.

 

Good point. I should have included that. I guess I was just speaking hypothetically, since you'd have to be pretty hard up to dip a coin like the one I posted.