Rainbow Toning's effect on price

I would be one of those who just wont pay a premium for a toned coin...I tend not to care for the rainbow tone...I have recieved coins from collections that have been untouched for 50-60 years and they show color in the tone but it is very light to the point you can barely see the colors unless you look at it at an angle...this is the only way I like color on the coin and I still wouldnt pay a premium for it...

I can understand why people might be willing to pay more for one though, its a personal taste thing for the collector and a way to make more money off a coin for the dealer (thus the huge amount of AT coins)

so true, about much of the hobby, people try to pin down absolutes and in the end it is so subjective which makes absolutes hard...still doesnt stop one from trying.

 

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My eyes are not the greatest but I can see the progression of toning on the coins you showed. Thanks for also giving the grades for toning. I had not heard of that grading system before.

My problem is how to actually assign a grade to toning. You can define wear which allows you to assign a grade to a circulated coin. Defining toning is quite another animal. Would 50% of a coin's obverse have to toned to qualify as "Much Nicer" or "Spectacular"? Do certain colors have to be present to qualify for certain grades? Are there minimum percentages for each color? What if 50% of the obverse is toned black; would that qualify the coin for a "Much Nicer" grade?

I understand where you are coming from. Grading toned coins is highly subjective. I guess one would have to look at a large number of graded toned coins to learn the different grades.

By the way, I like some toned coins. But I would have a hard time paying multiples of sheet for them.

 

I don't necessarily use that grading system when purchasing toned coins, I go more by instinct based upon years of experience. However, I think the proposed grading system is consistent with the methodology that most rainbow toned collectors use to purchase coins.

Unlike wear which has very defined grades and rules, grading toning is highly subjective and completely at the discretion of the buyer. As I stated in my previous posts, it is completely reasonable for two different toned coin collectors to assign a totally different toning grade for the same coin based on their own individual preferences. I think that this process would probably drive a person with a meticulous nature almost insane. The best comparison I can make in the collector world would be rare art. Not every impressionist collector is a huge fan of Monet, but they are still able to recognize the monster when they see it.

As with all areas of life, there really is no substitute for experience. I would not advocate a novice collector of rainbow toned coins paying 10X bid for any coin. They would be better served by starting their collection in the 2X-5X range until they can better appreciate the subtleties of toned coins. However, this is a case of do what I say not what I do, because the first rainbow toned coin I purchased was based upon a horrible Heritage scan and I paid over 7X bid. Here is the coin.

This is really the purpose of my post. Trust me that I am not trying to convert everyone into rainbow toned collectors as this will only make it more difficult for me to attain these coins (increased demand). Rather, I am trying to provide information to collectors for the reasons why rainbow toned collectors pay the premiums they do. I see many collectors chastise the purchasing habits of the rainbow toned collectors without a full understand (sometimes no understanding) of the rainbow toned coin market. For all intensive purposes, price guides don't exist for common date rainbow toned coins. Imagine collecting coins without a price guide. My contention is that most collectors can't imagine purchasing a coin without a source of information regarding the coin's value. This is the situation that every rainbow toned collector faces with every purchase, and there is a very real fear that you will pay 5X bid when everybody else would only pay 2X bid. Collecting rainbow toned coins takes courage and confidence, and a little bit of gamble doesn't hurt. I am a gambler by nature (poker player) so it only seems appropriate that I ended up in the gambling end of the numismatic pool.

 

hey rlm's cent that 1917 look like a DDO!

 

Don"t I wish!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have an 09 vdb PCGS 66 RB that will definetely rival that 09 p. If I ever decide to sell it I will keep you in mind AJ.

 

Nice thread, I'd pay extra for a nice toned peace dollar but I can find one.

 

I like rainbow sherbert :smile

 

Ouch!

I sure would not feel comfortable paying a huge premium for some pretty toning. I might be willing to pay a very small premium. I guess if I got good at it and felt comfortable with my skills I might be willing to dabble in it a bit (not for me so much as to sell to people like you. :mouth

It sounds like you know what you are doing and enjoy it. Good luck. I hope you make some good purchases.

 

Don't worry, it is not that bad. When I bought the coin, bid was only $98. I think I could sell this coin for a small profit right now with a little patience.

 

Tater,

Island Coins has a whole bunch of super toned Peace Dollars on their website, but you might want to make sure you are sitting before you look at the link. We wouldn't want you to get hurt when you faint after seeing the prices.

http://islandcoins.com/rainbow peace dollars.htm

Personally, I think the 1924-P PCGS MS64 with the rainbow obverse is the best combination of eye-appeal and value at only $275.

I also dig the russet toned 1934-P NGC MS64, that coin is super cool. Hope you find one that you like at price that is right for you. Good Luck!

 

Beware of artificial toning.

I'm not saying these are coins are AT. I'm just saying beware. There are very, very few toned Peace dollars. I personally have never seen anything remotely resembling the Peace dollars at the Island site.

There was a thread on this site a while back explaining the reasons why so few Peace dollars have rainbow tone. If considering exotic toned Peace $1s, might want to search for that thread first.

 

Thems some scary Peace dollars

 

You took the words right out of my mouth. :kewl:

 

I have never seen coins to tone like that...and I have seen coins sitting in houston weather for 50 years....

 

morgan picture bring up question for me. What causes the break in the toning? where it still silver in color.

 

It's a bag toned Morgan. If you study up on the history of Morgan dollars you will find that the production of them was government mandated, mainly to help out silver mining interests. They weren't necessarily needed in commerce. Not in the quantities they produced anyway.
So, millions of them sat in burlap bags in mint vaults from their day of production for several decades, going unused. This is why there are so many affordable, high MS examples left today.
Anyway, while they were sitting in those bags, the bag material caused a chemical reaction on the surface of the coins that was in contact with it. As you can imagine, some coins overlapped others, thereby protecting portions of the surfaces of those outside coins. That's how you get the different sized crescent toning patterns on them.

 

Can unattractive toning bring the price down at all?

 

Definitely. Spotty, streaked, dark, brown, black, ugly, or unattractive toning certainly can and will bring the price down. How much depends on demand for the coin, how ugly it is, and a host of other factors.