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Buffalo Nickel Toning - Happenstance?

Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,727 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited December 21, 2018 8:11AM in U.S. Coin Forum

I built this set a number of years ago and put it away. I recently dug it out to look for a few coins someone was seeking, that I didn’t have in ‘stock’.

I was surprised and actually delighted to see that a few nice toners had developed, since these are all the rage now.

My question is - why wouldn’t most or at least more of them tone? I get that it’s a chemical reaction between the metal, surface condition, and environment, but these seemingly are comparable coins in a comparable environment. I’ve owned danscos of Peace dollars, Roosies, and walkers where pretty much every coin showed showed comparable toning after a number of years.

Would like to hear opinions or see other examples....are buffs that much more resistant to toning, where all conditions must be perfect for attractive toning to develop?


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Comments

  • OnWithTheHuntOnWithTheHunt Posts: 1,271 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Very nice. Wouldn't mind seeing the rest of the set.

    Proud recipient of the coveted "You Suck Award" (9/3/10).
  • koynekwestkoynekwest Posts: 10,048 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Looks fine to me.

  • Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,727 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes - thanks, I'm quite sure it's NT -
    but I'm wondering why those coins around it did NOT tone similarly....

    Successful BST transactions with 171 members. Ebeneezer, Tonedeaf, Shane6596, Piano1, Ikenefic, RG, PCGSPhoto, stman, Don'tTelltheWife, Boosibri, Ron1968, snowequities, VTchaser, jrt103, SurfinxHI, 78saen, bp777, FHC, RYK, JTHawaii, Opportunity, Kliao, bigtime36, skanderbeg, split37, thebigeng, acloco, Toninginthblood, OKCC, braddick, Coinflip, robcool, fastfreddie, tightbudget, DBSTrader2, nickelsciolist, relaxn, Eagle eye, soldi, silverman68, ElKevvo, sawyerjosh, Schmitz7, talkingwalnut2, konsole, sharkman987, sniocsu, comma, jesbroken, David1234, biosolar, Sullykerry, Moldnut, erwindoc, MichaelDixon, GotTheBug
  • Insider2Insider2 Posts: 14,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It is possible that there is a very slight percentage of something in the alloy of the toned coin or that it was in an environment that left something on its surface that would produce the color eventually.

  • koynekwestkoynekwest Posts: 10,048 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I've had the same thing happen to me. I have no explanation why this happens.

  • ike126ike126 Posts: 802 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Wow beautiful!!

  • Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,727 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Thanks! My photos don’t capture the range of color or luster appropriately.....I really wish more of them had toned like that!

    Successful BST transactions with 171 members. Ebeneezer, Tonedeaf, Shane6596, Piano1, Ikenefic, RG, PCGSPhoto, stman, Don'tTelltheWife, Boosibri, Ron1968, snowequities, VTchaser, jrt103, SurfinxHI, 78saen, bp777, FHC, RYK, JTHawaii, Opportunity, Kliao, bigtime36, skanderbeg, split37, thebigeng, acloco, Toninginthblood, OKCC, braddick, Coinflip, robcool, fastfreddie, tightbudget, DBSTrader2, nickelsciolist, relaxn, Eagle eye, soldi, silverman68, ElKevvo, sawyerjosh, Schmitz7, talkingwalnut2, konsole, sharkman987, sniocsu, comma, jesbroken, David1234, biosolar, Sullykerry, Moldnut, erwindoc, MichaelDixon, GotTheBug
  • SmudgeSmudge Posts: 9,830 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Maybe has to do with where it was before going into that holder. Nice looking coin.

  • BuffaloIronTailBuffaloIronTail Posts: 7,551 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It's the strangest thing! They just start randomly doing that. My only guess would be that it might be a surface thing unique to the coin that causes it.

    Pete

    "I tell them there's no problems.....only solutions" - John Lennon
  • Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,727 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Glad to hear others have had similar experiences. I don't think the sulfur content in the pages would vary that much, so it would seem to be the surfaces of the individual coins.

    I had purchased an old National album of Jeff nickels some years ago that had a number of nicely toned coins in it. This thing hadn't seen the light of day since the mid-60's, I was told, and could believe it. A number of the war nickels not surprisingly were extremely toned.
    So I plopped some BU shield and Liberty nickels in the empty spaces, and virtually nothing has happened over 3+ years and counting. I realized nickel (and apparently its alloys) are much less reactive than silver, still, its strange to see the variability from what tones and what doesn't.

    Cherish those nickel toners that you do find!

    Successful BST transactions with 171 members. Ebeneezer, Tonedeaf, Shane6596, Piano1, Ikenefic, RG, PCGSPhoto, stman, Don'tTelltheWife, Boosibri, Ron1968, snowequities, VTchaser, jrt103, SurfinxHI, 78saen, bp777, FHC, RYK, JTHawaii, Opportunity, Kliao, bigtime36, skanderbeg, split37, thebigeng, acloco, Toninginthblood, OKCC, braddick, Coinflip, robcool, fastfreddie, tightbudget, DBSTrader2, nickelsciolist, relaxn, Eagle eye, soldi, silverman68, ElKevvo, sawyerjosh, Schmitz7, talkingwalnut2, konsole, sharkman987, sniocsu, comma, jesbroken, David1234, biosolar, Sullykerry, Moldnut, erwindoc, MichaelDixon, GotTheBug
  • Namvet69Namvet69 Posts: 9,277 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Is the paper mounting board archival quality? I think clean nickels are more reactive to all the stuff in the atmosphere or general environment. Nice set.

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  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It likely is due to further contaminants on the surface of the coins prior to being put in the albums... finger oils, smoke residues etc.. Cheers, RickO

  • BuffaloIronTailBuffaloIronTail Posts: 7,551 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ricko said:
    It likely is due to further contaminants on the surface of the coins prior to being put in the albums... finger oils, smoke residues etc.. Cheers, RickO

    Maybe even Peace Pipe residue???

    Pete

    "I tell them there's no problems.....only solutions" - John Lennon
  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @BuffaloIronTail .... :D Or smoke from the buffalo chip campfire..... :D;) Cheers, RickO

  • scubafuelscubafuel Posts: 1,946 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I’ve seen that type of album toning in Danscos as well. Interestingly it’s not the pastel toning that so many buffs are appearing with. I’d like to see a few of them “in-situ” so I’d have a better idea of the conditions that cause that.

  • erwindocerwindoc Posts: 5,290 ✭✭✭✭✭

    In one of my dansco nickel albums, the nickels from 1999-2003 toned up nicely just like that. Not sure if it was something in the page or the material during that time. They were stored with the rest of the album and they didn't tone up and even placed in the album at about the same time.

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