Ever see a coin that you fall in love with, one that should be in your price range? I expected some sort of a premium for this and honestly thought the dealer was joking at first. I saw this beauty at the Denver world's fair two weeks ago. I have never seen so much silver on a Lincoln cent. The lighting in the case made the fields look black which made a silver toned Lincoln bust just pop right out. I held it in my hands and had to hand it back: PCGS PR69RB. The true view just doesnt do it justice. Dealer asking price: $1075.00
PCGS Pops don't even list "RB" as an available category after 1995. And I want a half-ounce or so of whatever the dealer's smoking.
Toning is just time, chemistry, and temperature. Easy to manipulate. Nobody should be willing to pay ridiculous premiums like that. I'd say it might be worth five or ten dollars over an untoned example of the same coin. That would pay for the chemicals and the time to artificially tone it.
For that kind of money you could go get 100 or so "normal" examples - PR69DCAMs to boot - and experiment until you figured out the combination. You'd still have 20 or 25 to dribble out into the market, each for their own obscene premiums.
Right? I would have paid like 100 bucks for it, which is still pretty high. PCGS doesnt even have a price for this coin in RB let alone without a cameo designation. I figured he was using it as an attention grabber and wasnt interested in selling it. I saw it clear from another booth.
I could have seen $100; I know how desirable that toning is. That's still 10x retail and then some, without DCAM.
I'm having a hard time believing that the toning didn't have a "little help". But I guess the PCGS knows best.
I'm a toning junkie and even to me that price isn't a joke, it's downright insane. The scary part is someone will probably pay it. The only way I know to protect myself from myself when it comes to toning is buy cheapish coins with cool toning. If a coin has high dollar numismatic value, I won't buy a toned version unless it's slabbed in order to avoid something with artificial toning. As a relatively new member of the coin community that's the only way I can protect myself. Worst case, if artificial toning slips past me, I'm not out a huge amount of money. A $20 Peace Dollar with fake toning is still at least worth melt value. Still, to a toning junkie like me, this coin is so coooooool....hello, my name is GerardV, and I am addicted to toned coins, it's been one week since I last bought! Yet, even an unchecked addiction couldn't get me to pay that crazy price.
I suggest that toning artists should be able to apply color to coins as an artistic expression, as long as they are clearly marked as "AT" or "artifically toned". A very small punch could permanently mark such a coin in a satisfactory way. The toning would be worth whatever the market will bear for artificial toning... taking into account uniqueness and the time and effort that such toning involves. That way toning enthusiasts could acquire beautiful pieces at reasonable prices, and we could essentially destroy the practice of faking toning for high prices.
I just want to point out that the PCGS true view really exaggerates the reverse colors. They arent that bright and if turned in the right light the fields will still appear black. The true view doesnt show just how bright the silver tone is on this coin. I should have taken a picture of it with my phone. In hand this coin is very much different.
This used to be mine (Jason Wendt, Instagram- Vivid_coins) It is one of a kind and an absolute stunner of a coin as Dennis King would say.
