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Message:: [QUOTE="Tom Maringer, post: 2111539, member: 7033"]I liked the article a great deal! There was just one line that I have to differ with: where you said: "but no amount of meddling can replace the simple element of time."Actually... it can! I own Shire Post Mint. We make fantasy coins and we do a lot of tumbling and coloring with combinations of heat and chemistry to emulate the look and feel of coins that might be hundreds of years old or more. I have played with various processes on my fantasy coins... and have gotten to the point where I can basically emulate ANY pattern of toning you care to show me... in just a matter of hours. I can even make patterns of toning you have never seen... like starbursts and patterns that follow the precise outlines of the coin design... or form haloes around the head. I have not done any of this on real coins, only on my customs (and those gorgeous toned examples sell quite well)... but the fact that I can do it means that others can do it too. I know this is an uncomfortable topic for those who have invested in toned coins... but the fact that they can be so easily faked means they probably should never be worth more than just a few dollars extra. I promise that I will never do it... and I also do not plan to share the details of my processes. But it only cost me a few weeks of trial and error... and that kind of research can be done by just about anybody with a little workshop and chemistry background.[/QUOTE]