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Message:: [QUOTE="statequarterguy, post: 791892, member: 21782"]Thanks all for the explanations.  Makes since why I’ve even seen what I thought was AT in slabs.  I also remember encountering many collectors that liked 20th century coins blast white and anything earlier toned.  But Jim, when you say, these toned coins were around before the AT craze, are you saying they were around with such vivid colors or more subdued, as I remember?  I do remember seeing some nice colorful toning on some real rarities, like an 1804 dollar, which was some of the most colorful toning I saw, but it was nothing compared to the intensity of what’s call natural today.  Guess it would depend on what the coin came in contact with. As for what’s considered AT.  I know from the basic chem. class I took, that I could speed up the toning or expose the coin to the right element and produce a desired color, much like what a coin is exposed to in an album or envelope.  Would that be considered AT?  At the opposite extreme, I can see where painting the coin with a stain would be artificial.  But, what about the later example where one is simply helping nature?[/QUOTE]