Toned Coins Only

Those who were on the old Toned Coins thread, welcome. Hopefully the folks who want to get off topic will stay over on the first thread. If this gets out of hand again I will ask for some help from a moderator.

Our toned coins are shown at http://www.1881o.com/toned-coins.html but of more interest for most is our recap of the work done by Doug Kurz on Toned Coins and the proper sequencing of color to know if a coin is artificially toned. Doug did the famous Sunnywood's set on PCGS and I believe it was later auctioned for some serious money.

The coins on our site link to high res images (2200px) images and we blew up the color regions even larger so the color spectrum can be viewed and analyzed. Hopefully this page and linked images will help those working to study toning.

 

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The web site went down before I could post this coin. It is a favorite of mine because of the pattern and it is a higher grade MS65+ for the 1881-O series.

My best guess is that it was an end roll coin and the sharp edges you see are the folds of the wrapper. The clean cheek would also contribute to that because it would have been uncovered. The bright blues, blue-greens, magenta, and reds probably place this in the third cycle of color. The high res images for this coin are at:
http://www.1881o.com/25622437_65-_toned.html

 

This might peak your interest in toned Morgans
https://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/do...culation-strikes-1878-1921/imagegallery/71635

 

That's is one valuable set right there, wow! Beautiful.

Must have taken awhile (and a lot of $$$$) to put that one together.

 

And when it sold it sold for BIG bucks!

Just the 1880-S sold for over $35,000, so maybe toned coins are worth a little study.

 

I don't know how much it sold for, but the Sunnywood 1881-S represents the pinnacle of rainbow toned coins IMO.

 

I believe this is the same coin that regraded a 68+ and got a CAC. If I am right it sold for just under $46K

http://legendauctions.hibid.com/lot...cac-ex-sunnywood-simpson/?cpage=3&ref=catalog

 

This one is just gorgeous. Very nice.

 

PCGS had the Sunnywood Collection on display at the Fun show a few years ago. I have never seen a display that was that gorgeous. Several show cases in a row just filled with color. Every time I walked by there was a line of folks trying to get a look. One morning I got to the show early and when the door opened, I went straight to the display. I had a while before the line was trying to push me out of the way. That was a Fun day.

 

This is the one known as "The Moose" right? spoke to one of the former owners of this coin. A dealer. Met him in Baltimore. It used to be a MS67. He resubmitted it over 40 times, he said. He even has a letter from David Hall himself explaining that it doesn't quite meet their standards of an MS68. Then, well....

 

Do you know if it finally found its home in the 68 before or after he sold it?

Can you imagine submitting that much then throwing in the towel and selling it just to see it upgrade after?

 

He said that it upgraded while in his possession. After the 40+ attempts and after the letter from David Hall. He made thousands when he sold it, he said.

 

One of the misunderstood things is how this happens and what is actually on the coin that creates the color. That is why I think the work by Doug Kurz is so important, and why we quote it on our web site. It is one thing to appreciate the results, but a whole different level of knowledge when you understand how it happens. It is understand how and why that helps you avoid the fakes.

Whether you like them or not, toning on coins happens because many metals react to their surroundings.

 

Toned coins can be pricey, but they don't have to break the bank. I snagged this one on the Bay last week.

It is an MS64 in a secure plus holder and comes with this high res image. I paid $30 over the PCGS stated value, which I think was a bargain. Not monster toned, but not too far off and it can be a good teaching tool which is often what we look for.

I guess I could enhance the value if I could give it a catchy name.

 

I have fought for some over the years, but never 40+ times. However, there is usually an exponential value change in the upper grades, so the difference between a 67 and 68 probably more than compensated him for the effort.

 

I haven't posted my toned thornhead lately

 

So does this mean the population for MS 67 is inflated by at least 40?

 

I don't think so because PCGS would not increment their count unless they actually changed the grade, and even then they would decrease the count of the old grade. The instances where counts can get off is crossovers between TPGs and instances where someone cracks out a coin and resubmits it as raw.

 

I was assuming the coin was cracked out before being resubmitted.