I'm in the process of pricing/orchestrating a trade for some Mint Sets that I have, and I was told by the counter party to go through the sets and assess a value. I know with some certainty that my trading partner won't pay any degree of premium for toning, so I was wondering the rules on toning for non-silver coins. I have some purple-green nickels, some blue only nickels, some golden nickels, some rainbow pennies and some bleached pennies. Do any of those varieties carry premiums? These all come from 1960 and newer sets.
Your question is really hard to answer because it lacks specifics. Can modern toned mint set coins be worth a hefty premium? Sure they can, if they look like this: In my experience, modern toned coins carry premiums if they are high grade, dramatically toned, and are certified in either NGC or PCGS plastic. Go through the coins and if they are worthy of submitting (MS66 or better) and have great toning, take a shot by having them graded.
I would never trade toned coins straight across for untoned coins, unless the toning was ugly. If you consigned your toned Lincoln's and Jefferson's to an eBay seller well known for selling this type material you will come out substantially better than trading with someone who doesn't pay a premium for attractive toning.
No concrete way to assess a blanket value on these, but the advice above is good. If it is attractive toning, it can carry a nice premium. Don't trade them for comparable untoned coins unless that is what you want. He should know that nicely toned coins carry a premium and may be trying to swindle you out of them. Be cautious.
Well, the trade isn't for coins. I spoke with my trading partner, and he said he doesn't like toned coins, so the issue is moot, anyway. I'll try posting up some photos later. Been raining the last few days and a bit overcast.
Here are sample coins. Basically, I'm wondering if the color counts as mottled or toned nicely for pennies. It's a lot darker and less opal like than the coin posted by Lehigh. The nickel looks like a nickel sulfite layer color... it's blue in hand. The penny doesn't look like it'd grade any higher than MS63 or so, which I guess means I shouldn't bother with it.
