By Douglas Keefe,
Beachcomber Coins
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which literally means two people viewing the same thing can have two different opinions as to its attractiveness. Nowhere is this truer than with coins. I’ve written in the past about how detrimental cleaning coins can be to the value of the coin. A novice collector will look at a coin that has been toned due to storage and think that it can be returned to its’ original brilliance through a little elbow grease. Wrong! A true collector can tell when a coin has been cleaned and as such will probably not want it in his collection. Two opinions about the same coin.
Original toning can greatly enhance a coin’s value. This is especially true for uncirculated Morgan silver dollars dated 1878 through 1904 and to a lesser degree all other uncirculated silver coins. What I am referring to is the natural toning that occurs on these coins due to how and where these coins were stored. Silver is prone to oxidation which can result in turning a coin anywhere from gray or black to having a rainbow hue of gold, green and/or blue colors. The colors will only occur on uncirculated coins. Once coins have circulated, the original mint patina is lost and only gray or black toning will occur, not the colorful toning. This toning is a chemical reaction to the environment and container surrounding the coin. And coins that have some or all of those rainbow colors can command a premium price, especially if they are uniformly and attractively arranged on the coins’ surface.
One collector will say he wants the coin in its original bright condition where another collector will treasure the colorful coin and appreciate what nature did to affect the coins’ appearance. Two opinions, but the second one is worth more money. A more desirable coin will have a combination of all three colors, blue, green and gold appearing on the coins’ surface, which can be on either the front (obverse) or back (reverse) of the coin. Uniformity can also affect the desirability of the coin, that is it takes up the entire surface of the coin, not just a portion.
I mentioned the silver dollar series, but this colorful toning can occur on any silver coin. But even advanced collectors will have a differing opinion, one wanting a bright uncirculated coin where as another will cherish the toned example. Unfortunately, this colorful toning only occurs on silver coins, not copper or gold. Copper coins go from a bright red color to a rich brown as they respond to their environment, and gold may have a mint patina, but it doesn’t change color.
Depending on your tastes, if you wish to collect silver coins with a rainbow look, be prepared to pay a premium for appearance, that is unless you find a dealer who doesn’t care, uncirculated is uncirculated in his mind, toned or not. Once again, the same coin with 2 different opinions. Be careful though, because some unscrupulous dealers have started artificially coloring coins to mimic toning, hoping to sell them for a premium price. A sharp eye can tell the difference.
Since the only silver coins minted today that are not released from the mint encapsulated in air tight plastic are the American silver eagles, these are the only current issues you can hope to find toned. I was fortunate to come across a silver eagle which features Lady Liberty walking toward a rising sun with the sun and front of Liberty toned a golden color, giving the appearance of golden sunshine shining on Lady Liberty while the back of Liberty looked as though she was in the shadows. A truly unique coin, but probably only attractive to this beholder.
