What toned coin to buy?

I have been enjoying the photo of all of the beautiful toned coins and have decided to add one to my diverse collection. They all look different and unique. I especially like the toned Indian head cents. I looked at a 3 piece set of toned morgans at a dealer the other day priced at $79 for the set of 3. I am not an expert but all were toned on the obverse and normal on the reverse. Is this a good sign of natural toning?

Have look at a few on the bay but based on what I have read here, I am afraid to bid and end up with an artificially toned coin. I would prefer to buy a raw coin.

Where is a good place to look?

Thanks.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

If you are just getting started with toned coins, I would strongly suggest you begin your education by collecting mint sets from the mid to late 50's. They are readily available, There are some really spectacular coins available with little premium, they are almost never AT, and will give you a good foundation upon which to branch out into other types of toned coins.

As for your questions:

"... all were toned on the obverse and normal on the reverse. Is this a good sign of natural toning?"

No, not necessarily.

"Where is a good place to look?"

Please see my comments above -- unless you are skilled enough to be able to tell the difference between an AT and NT coin, I would suggest you stick to certified coins, or the mint sets above. To send you out into the shark tank of toned coins without a good understanding of toning is wrought with danger.

 

When I see a post stating what should I buy, where to go, what to do, etc. I always answer the same.
This is sort of like asking who should I marry, got a name for a good divorse attorney, what kind of car should I buy, What can I do about a bad mother in law? Just way to many questions that require someone else's results.

 

I agree with Mike. If you want raw NT coins, the late 50's mint sets are the way to go. If you are looking for coins older than that, I would highly suggest that you buy NGC and PCGS coins only. There is just too much risk in buying raw toned coins unless you very experienced with toning.

Remember that just because a coin is in an NGC or PCGS holder, that does not mean that the coin is NT. It simply means that they consider the toning market acceptable. I will not go into a diatribe about what I think the TPG's should do on this issue. If you really want a raw coin, buy a slabbed Morgan Dollar and then crack it out. Most of the common date Morgans are in the $30-$50 range below gem state and nicely toned examples can be found for premiums ranging from 1.5X-5X bid price. There is no price guide for toned coins, only how much the coin is worth to you. I just bid 25X bid price on a Jefferson Nickel this week and lost the auction.

If you have any questions about a possible purchase, please feel free to post a photo of the coin here and we will give you our honest opinion of the coin, the toning, and the price.

Good Luck in you search for a toned coin from a fellow toning freak.

 

The toning on one side means one of two things; it was roll toned or it was AT'd. I don't have the coins in hand so I couldn't tell you one way or the other, but I would suggest looking at both naturally and artificially toned coins to make a decision.

 

That is simply not an accurate statement.

 

Thanks for the comments. It's hard for me to judge from picture so what I am planning to do is attend the Fort Worth Coin Show next month. I'll set a budget and let my wife pick out a toned coin. I'll be happy because I get my coin. she'll can't complain since she picked it out. I'll keep the advise about the TPG slab in mind.

Why the 1950's mint sets? What is different from the early 1960's?

 

Nothing could be further from the truth. Coins can be NT toned on one side from certain albums, and also being set one side up on any number of surfaces.

Respectfully...Mike

 

I believe it is the packaging these sets (mint and proof) were distributed by the mint and subsequently stored in. Here's an example, but there are many more striking, and all of the coins can be found nicely toned:



Have fun...Mike

 

Hi Carl, This is Mike. I don't want someone to do the work for me, I just need advise on where to start.

 

I would like to have a 1952 set which is my birth year, but that would exceed my budget. This will be my first time to attend a coin show and I already have some ideas of what I want. I will get what I want first and if any $ left over work on what I like.
Thanks for the help.

 

Good luck & please let us know what you find!

 

About toning on one side , it probably doesn't mean much at all , Ive seen coins toned on one side and coins toned on both sides . One thing about toning on Morgans they generaly follow a certain color pattern , I think blue , gold , to red , If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me .
Rusty

 

Yellow-Magenta-Cyan is the typical color progression:

 

Thanks Paul , I knew I had the colors right , but in the wrong order :headbang:and that's a big mistake , thanks for the correction .:thumb:
Rusty

 

I'll have to take a copy of this coin pic with me. I am color blind. I see colors, just see them different. I see the basic Blue, Green, Yellow ect. The Magenta, Cyan, ect. don't exist to me. That's the wife's job. In fact I think I will down load a few of the nickels and cents also so I can compare.

Thanks to all.

 

No worries, magenta and cyan are just fancy words. Magenta is anything in the red family (eg pink-fuschia) and cyan is the blue-green family (eg turquoise-emerald). In the color progression yellow-magenta-cyan, you will see progression from color to color frequently. For example, yellow then orange then magenta. The orange is the combination of yellow and magenta.

Here is an example of a Jefferson Nickel with the yellow-magenta-cyan color progression shown in gold-pink-lime green.

 

Here is an example of what I'm talking about (late 50's mint set toners, compliments of UtahCoin from the PCGS forums):




NOTE: The nickels are the toughest to find toned, as shown in the above photos. Often what you find is toned silver and copper, with slight toning of the nickels, as shown above.

NOTE: Notice the color of the nickels -- a light sky-blue (ref: Lehigh's AT nickel thread).

NOTE: The copper is toned only on one side (ref: a post by the_man who suggested one-sided toners are either roll-toned or AT).

 

That is good advice, but I wouldn't worry Doug. If the wife is there, no chance he is going to go nuts.