Any speculation of toner premiums going to zero are premature-at least from my vantage point (there was a thread on the PCGS forum where this was discussed). This past Sunday featured some nice toned Morgans that I was following. While I was hoping for some "deals" in my favor, it was not destined to happen. In fact, several coins sold higher than their previous auction appearance. Some were only marginally higher and likely led to a small loss to the seller when considering fees. However, they still cost the new buyer more (and a significant premium over guide). Below I will cover six of the better coins that I was following. 1) We start with this 1881-S; it is a gem (65) with nice rainbow colors. The coverage isn't complete enough to consider it a monster but it is a strong coin. Bidders thought so too and took it to 1,800 (with the fee). This coin had sold a whopping four times previously in the 2017 to 2024 time period. The low point was a Legend 2019 sale at $852 and the high was $1,560 at Heritage in November 2024. The GC result was higher than all of those. It does not appear that a lack of "freshness" impacted the bidders. Result vs Guide (using PCGS guide as of 2.24.25): 1,800 vs 185 (9.7x premium) https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1754328/1881-S-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-65-Toned 2) Next up is a vivid 83-O in MS 64. Again we have nice bright colors but it falls short of monster toning. I think some people might question this one although I'm good with calling it market acceptable. It has sold before: $815.62 in 2017 and $2,306.25 in 2019 (both times at GC). The current 2,531.25 isn't a big increase over the 2019 result (down if we want to account for inflation) but still shows the strong premium has not gone away. Result vs Guide (using PCGS guide as of 2.24.25): 2,531.25 vs 115 (22x premium) https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1756288/1883-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-64-Toned 3) Our only confirmed drop compared to a previous sale, this 1884-O MS 66 brought 3,150 compared to 3,642.50 at Legend in 2022. It has a hint of textile and color across the entire obverse. This is also a higher grade with CAC approval. It wasn't my favorite among the options (can't quite say why besides it not drawing me in on first impression like some of the others did) but was still a solid coin. Result vs Guide (using PCGS guide as of 2.24.25): 3,150 vs 450 (7x premium) https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1756289/1884-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-66-CAC-Green-Toned 4) Just short of a gem, this vivid 64+ hammered at well over 4k! I know it used to be in an NGC 64 star slab and I believe it sold on Instagram a few years ago for below the current result (but cannot confirm for certain). Result vs Guide (using PCGS guide as of 2.24.25): 4,443.75 vs 150 (29.6x premium) https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1756292/1886-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-64-Toned 5) This textile toner might border on being a monster. The 63 grade did not scare bidders off and it went for 3,487.50. This beat out its previous GC result of 2,963.12 in 2021 (no TrueView photo back then though as the coin was reholdered in the interim). Result vs Guide (using PCGS guide as of 2.24.25): 3,487.50 vs 90 (38.8x premium) https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1756291/1885-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-63-Toned 6) Last but not least, is one more that I consider on the brink of being a monster toner (you can probably give it the designation). This 66+ has the right colors plus a cool triangle pattern. It sold for 7,368.75 compared to "only" 4,700 at Legend in 2020. Result vs Guide (using PCGS guide as of 2.24.25): 7,368.75 vs 650 (11.3x premium) https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1756290/1885-O-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-66-CAC-Green-Toned-Roadrunner-Collection And a bonus 7th item...I wanted to get a reverse toner into the mix too. This MS 63 1879-S has full reverse coverage and appears toe be quite vivid. The final price of 1,086.75 was greater than the February 2024 823.50 (also at GC). Result vs Guide (using PCGS guide as of 2.24.25): 1,086.75 vs 100 (10.9x premium) https://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/1758869/1879-S-Morgan-Silver-Dollar-PCGS-MS-63-Toned
Not trying to kick the market, I personally think that the toned market has become lax. The good pieces that follow standards are slowly leaving the market place. I will still collect toned coins, just not if they are hiding something.
Very interesting analysis, thanks. Those premiums seem to be fairly in line with what they have been for years.
Nice review, thanks for sharing. I am not a toning expert by any means but my limited experience over the years causes me to question the '84 O for lack of color variation. The '85 O looks like it was hit with sulfur based on other coins that were presented as examples of artificial toning. Over the years there were some scientific papers posted here on CT and that caused me to research further on the net. The explanations were over my HS science class education. Overall I've found toned coin prices to be highly subjective. I can not remember the year or MM but I bought a graded monster toner from Great Collections for $500 and change. I had it in my case for 6-8 months. It caused many people to stop, look, and talk about it but no one would give me my ask price of $750. I kicked it back to GC and got $600+ for it. That was enough to cure me of MT. I am happy to see there still is a strong market for MT. Happy collecting!
Each to their own. I don't want any of that stuff at those prices. I would much rather purchase a rarer coin with good eye appeal for the grade, than pay high primiums for common dates with "killer toning." So far as toning goes, my avatar coin looks great to me.
One observation I have made is that the number of dealers with at least one toner in their case has increased over the years. I started going to shows in 2014 and 10 years later, I see many more cases with toned coins. I think it does bring eye balls to the dealer and even if the toner does not sell, other coins might. And toned prices are indeed subjective. One can get a relative idea but often auctions are the best way to unlock the value. Buy it now listings can sell too but those can take longer if the right person is not looking.
I began to closely follow toned Morgans around 2015 and the premiums have been on a mostly upward trajectory. Mid-2020 is when I saw a decent spike and it continued to rise through 2022/2023. By 2024, there was a bit of a pause and that continues to this day (by pause, I don't mean a decrease but relative stability in premiums).
Wow. I have plenty of toners myself but I'll never understand this market. At shows I've gotten amazing, graded toned Morgans for less than $200 that are comparable to these going for thousands. Rarer dates and very high grades I understand but strictly for the toning on common date, common grades is surprising. I can understand a premium but not these premiums. Its interesting to have a record of some over time to see just how much it can fluctuate from auction to auction. You could sell a monster toner ten times and see ten drastically different hammer prices depending on the week and who's fighting for it. Any hopes of a deal on anything has to be at shows, in person, dealing with a dealer with old inventory. Online is a great convenient option that I will use, but too many hands in the cookie jar. And too many eyes. Good for sellers.
In my very limited experience, the ones I've bought (not Morgans) for other reasons that looked colorful in the seller photos are butt ugly in hand. You have to get the lighting exactly right to see as much color as was in the images. I tend to shy away from the pretty looking ones as a result, but I don't buy anything just for the toning.
Here are two sets of photos for the same coin. This is an 1874 Proof-65 quarter. Photo angle #1 Photo angle #2
In the 10 years that I have gone to shows, I have not found any amazing examples comparable to these that were priced low. Most of the time I have walked away and went back to online auctions since the show prices were well above. There has been the occasional purchase but most I had to pay up for (some were a little below what I figured they would auction for but never significantly lower). Many people who have toners for sale either picked them up at auction or know what they have. So you need to run into a dealer that is not current with the market (and that often will not happen at shows since the other dealers will pick off the deals early on). As far as the premiums-it can be staggering but eye appeal sells and enough people have the funds. Another thing to consider is that a coin like an 1881-S Morgan is super common but one with monster toning is much less common. The total numbers of monster toners are more in line with the numbers of better dates-just like a better date has a higher premium for its scarcity so does a monster toner.
Part of online buying is knowing what to look for in a photo. There are sellers on eBay that juice their photos (to enhance the color) and one learns to avoid them. And some coins are "accurate" but it takes the right lighting condition or angle to see that color.
You have sellers juicing coin photos and women using filters to look like super models. A lot of "buyer beware" online these days!
The real skill is finding the sellers with pictures that just hint at the color... but when you get it in hand, it is amazing. Honestly, I've found that Heritage often underplays the color in their pictures.
