Why toned coins

GDJMSP · Oct 16, 2009

Vess1 said: ↑

That is pretty believable since at one time, that process was not frowned on and did not detract from prices but would have increased prices! Why every coin wouldn't have been dipped (if needed) would be a legitimate question.
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The process is not frowned upon today either. In fact it is practiced as much now, if not more, than it ever was. Just not necessarily by the same people. For as experience and knowledge grows, so too do the likes and dislikes of collectors.

I'm wondering if the color on a bag toned Morgan like I posted above would remain or be as brilliant if it were dipped at some point? I'd have to imagine the dip would remove the color. So couldn't you say a toned Morgan like that was never dipped? If so, the luster looks the same on it as any other MS Morgan I have. I can't tell the difference. Maybe that's why coins that were dipped carefully, make it into slabs?

Well it depends on what you dip it in. Some of todays dips like MS70 do not remove toning but will remove haze and certain contaminants thus sometimes, but not always, enhancing the luster or eye appeal of a coin. It can even brighten the color sometimes. But a normal commercial coin dip will remove the color in a heartbeat.

Now you say you can't tell the difference in the luster in that coin and that of others. Maybe it isn't any different, but then again maybe it is and you just don't know how to see the difference. Luster, just like toning, can be very subtle in its differences. Just like many coins that some would say are blast white - well they really aren't blast white. They are toned, but toned subtly. You see, the problem is not everybody knows what blast white really looks like for there are many, many shades of light gray. Very, very rarely will you ever see a Morgan that is the same color as a freshly minted silver coin. The difference can only be seen by placing the coins side by side. Then it becomes obvious that the Morgan is not blast white, but lightly toned a grey color.

I just got a pretty much blast white 1891 NGC MS-63 dime in the mail today. I suppose it could have been dipped but it made it into an NGC slab and the cartwheel luster looks good to me. There's a light brown area on the reverse at 4 o'clock barely noticeable. Other than that, glaring white and cartwheel luster, both sides.
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It is highly probable that the coin was dipped at some point and that what you see is just the remains of the color that was on the coin, or it could be that it is has re-toned since it was dipped. The key to knowing which is more likely is what I mentioned above - knowing what freshly minted silver actually looks like. Many think they do, but most are quite surprised when an honest comparison is made before them.

Just always keep in mind that with any silver coin more than 50 years old, the odds are 8 out of 10 or higher that the coin has been dipped at some point.

Leadfoot said: ↑

The coin in question:

That almost looks like "tab" toning you'd see on a commem.

Anyone know if these coins had similar cardboard sleeves, and the premium on this coin is because it is an original tab-toned specimen?
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That's tab toning if I've ever seen it. Used to have a picture of the old tab holders around here someplace but danged if I can find it now. :headbang:

Simple description, they were small cardboard holders with hole in the middle much like a single space you would cut out of an album with a back in it. The coin was placed in the hole, and to keep it there there was a small fingerlike tab of cardboard rounded on the bottom that came down to the center of the hole to hold the coin in the holder. The holders usually had the name of the coin printed on them.
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Why toned coins

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