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Message:: [QUOTE="satootoko, post: 36057, member: 669"]Sometimes. Part of the problem is definition.  If I put some Mercury dimes in a Whitman album when they were new (and I was very young), and then put the album away until last week, the coins would be heavily tarnished.  Most folks would consider it "natural" because it was the result of environmental exposure that was not intentionally designed to cause the tarnish.  Another example of "nature" tarnish is the discoloration of the end coins on one side, and the edges of the others, after being wrapped for years. On the other hand, if last month I took some blast white Morgans, put them in an envelope I had coated with a paste made from match heads, and baked them in an oven with a pan of water, they too would be badly tarnished.  However, most folks would consider it "artificial" because it was deliberately caused by exposure to abnormal environmental conditions. But, what if I just put them in some kraft paper envelopes, and put the envelopes in a safe for a year without any dessicant; all without knowing that the paper had a high sulpher content, or that the humidity in the safe's closed environment would get very high? Personally, I think many so-called "toning experts" are wrong a significant percentage of the time when they pontificate that a particular coin's tarnish is "natural" or "AT" simply because of the unknowability factor retlating to the owner's intent.[/QUOTE]