I've been going back through all my old stashed silver coins, thinking of letting a lot of it go (probably between 500 and 1000 face?) and i'm separating anything I want to keep. I've been noticing something I never really paid attention to before. I've got a decent amount of uncirculated and ms coins mixed in. And some of them will be a white, non shiny silver color, while others will be silver and shiny, not proof but definitely different. Not cleaned, as far as I can tell though. I took pictures with my tablet, not sure how well they show what i mean though. What causes this difference in otherwise identical coins? And in the same grade, which tends to be more desirable... or is that purely subjective?
Franklins should be frosty white. Neither of your coins is 100% original. The top coin (shiny silver) has been cleaned.
ok. thank you. I am not asking about these two in particular, though. I especially noticed it when sorting my '64 kennedys, but those are already stored. And some of those are slabbed, with the same thing happening... white vs silver, not shiny vs shiny, same grade. these 2 franklins just happen to be the ones that were in front of me when i decided to ask the question. any further insight into why some coins will be frosty white and others shiny silver is appreciated.
What you ask would take a time consuming answer. Basically, original coins of various types, from different eras, compositions, mints and countries have a basic surface appearance and color. Collectors need to learn what this appearance is for what ever they choose to collect.
ok, thanks anyways. I may unpack and take pictures of my pcgs ms kennedys another time, though, to show exactly what i mean. I feel like i'm not asking my question properly or something. thanks for your time.
Your question is explicit and worded simply. Answer: Unoriginality, eye-appeal, and grade! Example: Using the coins you posted, you'll need to go on to the Internet and look at the luster and color of untoned MS-65 Franklins.
This would be a good time to fixate on the numismatic term "patina." Using your two coins as an example, I would figure a strong chance of the upper one having been dipped at some time in the past - either that or it was very lucky (yes it does happen) to have been preserved in such fashion as to not have acquired any atmospheric "weathering" at all. In most cases, it happens over such a long period that the owner - if they study the coin often enough - ages along with it and doesn't notice. The bottom one is what I'd expect a Franklin minted 66 years ago to look like, all other things being equal. It's why some Lincolns are Red and some Brown.
From those pics, my opinion is that one was cleaned and the other left alone. The cleaning is apparent all over the fields of the top coin, on both sides. There's too much chatter there, so I'd guess it was wiped with a cloth.
