rainbow toned coins
slimies
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I have a couple that i've gotten in change or found on the ground. may sound like a noob question.. i've been eyeing some on ebay but is there a way to determine if the rainbow tone is natural or artificially made
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Lots of experience and it still is not enough in many cases. The best folks who know the difference are the folks who experiment toning coins. After a while, certain patterns and defects are commonly found on fake toning. A good start is to join the ANA and order the toning lecture by Bob Campbell.
ill have to check that out.. thanks.. dont wish to get taken on ebay by an artificial one
here's one that sat in a coin box in a sleeve at my desk for quite a while .. this one mom and dad had brought back to me from alaska back in the 90's
I’ve been wondering the same thing. I’ve got two sacs from 2000 recently out of a vending machine at work one “D” and one “P” both have similar toning but you can really see the colors in natural light.
heres a coronation one for Elizabeth thats been sitting on my desk drawer for a while .. i have it in another post but was able to get clearer shots and the toning is more noticable in these pics
Nice!
i should be able to load clearer pics tomorow once i get on .. i got some better shots finally
Here’s some artificially toned ones I made several years ago. I used to make “how to detect artificial toning” displays with them when I was in the Charlotte Coin Club. The second one is where I took a picture of the same coin every few seconds as it went through the artificial toning process. As the oxidation toning layer gets thicker it goes through that particular progression of color if the toning is done with just heat and no chemicals. That coin was heated evenly and that’s why it is uniformly toned. If the heating was done unevenly you’d end up with bands of the different colors, but it would still be the same progression. That purplish-red color in one of them is usually the give-away that it is artificial and that heat was used. That purplish-red is less common on naturally toned coins, but very common on artificial ones done quickly. The other pictures involve combinations of heat and chemicals, the first one is where I was going after green, which is usually not on artificially toned coins, but rarely it is. On all of these, the biggest giveaway is that the color layer goes right up and over the letters and other raised designs on the coins without any interruption. On coins that naturally tone slowly over time, there is usually a small un-toned outline around the raised letters and designs where the microscopic metal flow lines around these prevents the toning from happening.
Mr_Spud
ah thanks for the info .. the coronation medallion was just left on my desk for a long time uncovered or holdered.. i should be able to load better pics then the ones above tonight. and the alaska one came in a felt holder. the coronation one doesnt show the colors unless i tilt it on an angle to the light . if look at it straight on the colors are almost dull. ill load pics of it straight on and how it looks on an angle too .
Here’s the coronation medal at an angle (rainbow tint) and straight on (no tint).