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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Kasia, post: 1376732, member: 31533&quot;]I would say that yes, it is AT, but only because a substance was deliberately put on to &quot;age&quot; it, which is not normally done in the processing of coins at a mint. Now if that was the normal part of minting, then it would not be AT, because it would be the norm and you would not be able to get one that is not toned immediately. Even if this is is the only coins (type/year) that had this process applied to, it is AT in that it was done purposely and extraneously. </p><p><br /></p><p>Now if something was done at the mint in processing where this effect happened to it several years after the minting, and it happened to all or nearly all of the coins over time, then it would probably be considered by some as NT, and others as AT. Because the &#039;intent&#039; to have them tone would not be there, but the process would have been there for some other reason. This is one of the problems, IMO, with labeling the difference with NT and AT as &#039;intent&#039;. Rather, I think it should be more linked to both &#039;deliberate&#039; in altering the color, where the purpose of doing something was to alter the color in a fashion that allows some to appreciate them more than if they weren&#039;t altered, and to the analysis of the actual toning and colors that appear. A NT toned coin would be one that had no &#039;deliberate&#039; (where you could actually list what about it was unnatural) change in appearance other than what could appear normally. Since all coins capable of reacting with the environment can eventually tone (tarnish) over time if given the proper circumstances (not being in an absolutely sterile and non-reactive environment) then the natural progression is to tarnish (i.e. tone). It can be beautiful and it can be ugly. For silver, the end result can be black.</p><p><br /></p><p>But to call NT and AT indistinguishable, IMO, is not correct. NT coins show the toning in their crevices and raised designs differently, and colors are limited as to palette. Wild colors that don&#039;t occur in NT coins are of course a giveaway, as is toning that evenly goes over the entire design, not impeded by different heights and depths of designs. There are a lot more ways to tell, and there will be some coins where it is not easy, if near impossible to be sure, but many of the coins can be identified as AT or NT. Basically the difference is air transported chemical reaction over time (naturally, not sped up), where the laying of the toning is NT, and sped up air or gaseous or heat or chemically treated coins (AT) that do not and cannot duplicate the natural beauty that is created by NT.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Be that as it may, the coins Siggi showed are gorgeous, and the effect of the AT is nice to see.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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