Toning is corrosion!

Nature loves transition metals, and wants them to be in happy, committed relationships.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

There are many ways

 

Thanks for doing that! It's like I've tried to impress on my boys as they were growing up: "Some of the greatest gains in knowledge is through experience,...but it doesn't have to be your experience. You can learn through others."

This is one of those cases!

 

Experimenting is fun

I have (had-- exchanged most for ancient coins) dozens of pounds of junk silver, US coins pulled out of circulation and worth only melt or slightly more. I kept a few handfuls just for posterity and fun. With a few of them I played around with toning. This one came out very pretty. I should get it out and see if it has changed much in the last ~3-4 years.

Liver of Sulfur with or without electricity is probably what they use.

 

This is what I found the best method to be. The chemistry and physics are exactly the same, just over different time scales.

 

I love it when the same dealer has a dozen rainbow toned coins.
If that doesn't indicate artificial toning I don't know what would.

 

Well, it COULD indicate a long time selecting and collecting, I suppose. But in that case, they would be markedly different from each other.

 

It is upsetting because it is just another way a great hobby is corrupted.
It would be nice to be able to put together a toned collection but now you cannot do it with any confidence.

Thanks scammers, please die in a fire.

 

"There is nothing good in this world that dedicated scammers on the Internet cannot ruin."
- My One and Only IT College Prof (adjunct, after my degree)

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."
- Obiwan Kenobi

 

I’m majoring in Corrosion Engineering, and when I started four years ago, I thought I’d be able to have a better understanding of toning on coins. If there’s one thing I’ve realized about the wonderful world of corrosion, it’s that nothing is typical and there are always exceptions (but isn’t it that way with anything scientific?).

Under “normal conditions” (standard temperature and pressure, relatively low concentrations of reactants, etc.), the passive silver sulfide film should prevent most subsequent corrosion from occurring unless the electrochemical potential becomes high enough for pitting to begin. Evidently in environments with very high sulfur content and high temperature, the passive film gets massacred. Evidently there is some other corrosion mechanism that comes into play at higher temperatures. I guess I’ll learn more about this in my high temperature corrosion class next semester.

Out of curiosity, did you use pure sulfur to do this or some other sulfur-containing compound?

 

I LOL'd at the "Non-GMO" label. If there's one thing I hate, it's those doggone chalcogenetic engineers with their Franken-elements...

 

I was curious about that since it was never an organism to begin with, much less a genetically-modified one.

 

I know that "everything's made of chemicals" is a tired comeback, but I still kind of wish Monsanto and the rest would add a prominent "Non-GMO" label to every retail container of Round-Up...

 

Hey, some transition metal dichalcogenides are kind of cool.

 

Again, winnah, winnah, chicken dinnah! But then again, my "intent" is ALWAYS to avoid it and prevent it. Toning, that is.

 

I'm almost in your camp. I'll accept a small amount of toning if a coin otherwise meets my criteria. But I never actively seek out toners and would never pay a premium for one under any circumstances.