Guest Commentary in July 4 issue of Coin World by Weimar White. A chemist for 42 years and specialist in Carson City coinage and member of the LIberty Seated Collectors Club, American Numismatic Association, and American Chemical Society. Here are a few of the statements made by Mr. White; I take this to mean a toned coin has been damaged to some degree. This don’t sound good to me! This is what I’ve always been told. Now I find out its the oxidation! Maybe there is something to this after all. Mr. White finishes with this statement; After all this I still like those “honey” colored Buffalo nickels, but then they aren’t silver are they.
EXCELLENT post Dan! That was a very interesting and informative commentary...thanks for posting the highlights here. I guess if I'm concerned that any of my Morgans have been dipped I could weigh them...nah, I probably don't want to know
Good thread OldDan... Robin....IT is said that most Morgan dollars have been dipped sometime in the years past...it is said that few Morgans are not dipped.... Speedy
One-tenth of one milligram ? Probably not a common household scale. But if I had one it would be easy to prove !
Yeah, Speedy...unfortunately I've heard the same before also and believe that it is most likely so. However, I'm ok with living in denial They're still purdy to me
hehehe....don't do that...you can do what I do and not collect them...there are tons of other purdy coins out there ;--) Speedy
Sorry Speedy...I just can't pass those Morgans up . But I do have several other goodies that I'm pursuing as well. Maybe with so many new members lately I'll start another thread to see what we're all working on so I don't end up hijacking Old Dan's thread here
That's a facinating post. Apparently some of the most cherished "facts" in the hobby might be very close to being old wives tales. So on the one hand it might be a good idea if some people or organizations research new cleaning and preservation instead of just repeating the "no cleaning permitted" mantra -- not to force any changes but just to see what they can discover. Maybe some of the new breakthroughs in nanotechnology can be applied to numismatics. On the other hand, once a coin is toned, I would imagine that the surface is generally protected from further "damage" and since the initial "damage" is incredibly slight, it's better to just leave the coins alone and toned, and they should stay in that condition basically forever.
Mr. White is quite knowledgeable and well known. His book, Coin Chemistry published in 2004 is a compilation of articles he has written over the years on the subject of coin toning. While I will readily agree with the facts about toning that Mr. White presents, and that's what they are facts, I also disagree with his premise that removing toning is what is best for the coin. For to remove toning is to remove any semblance of originality that the coin has. ( there are some forms or degrees of toning that can be harmful to coins and need to be removed - this needs to be remembered ) Mr. White states - "I have suggested that toned coins not be designated as “Mint State”, because they were not toned when originally minted." While the statement that they were not toned when minted is quite true - it is also quite true that dipping the coin to remove toning in no way returns the coin to its original state either. Therefore, by following Mr. White's logic, there is no such thing as a Mint State coin once the coin is more than a few hours old. For toning begins immediately once the coin is exposed to the air. This is also a fact. And it is because of this fact that many other numismatic experts disagree with Mr. White and his ideas regarding toning.
Haven't read the book. Books a Million or Walden around here doesn't carry it. Anyone want to send me their copy
On a related note, is there any information on the proper method of cleaning coins of dirt, dust, fingerprints, etc.?
Most will tell you there is no "proper" method for cleaning coins. The only time a coin should be cleaned, IMO, is when whatever is on the coin that you want to clean off will be more harmful to the coin if left on it, than cleaning the coin will be. The best way to avoid the "need or desire" to clean a coin - is to NOT buy coins that need cleaning in the first place.
