what are the hardest early silver commems to get nicely toned?

michael

out of the 1892 to 1954 early commem series waht are the top ten hardest commems to get that are neatly/nicely toned??

sincerely michael

and waht is your fav monster toned commem?

michael

for me pilgrim and neatly colored lusterous boones

and also neat lusterous arks! with any kind of great eye appeal

sincerely michael

mbbiker

stone mountain and lafayette

MastaHanky

I haven't seen any nicely toned Bay Bridge commems...they're either blast white or splotchy.

Gemini

I have been looking for a nicely toned Long Island for a long time and haven't found one yet.

I have a nice Washington-Carver which I haven't put up yet on the boards that has pretty red blue and green toning. unfortunately it is only on the obverse.
I am not too sure if these are that easy to come by nicely toned either. Anyone know or have toned one also?

Higashiyama

As far as the hardest, how about the Lynchburg?

Higashiyama

Gemini -- here is a fairly nicely toned Long Island!

Baley

I've yet to see a a really attractively toned Monroe. anyone have a pic?

coinut1799

Arkansas, all years and mints. They are hard to find really nice toned or untoned.

smprfi

I've noticed the pilgrims are difficult.

coinguy1

Michael, in alphabetical order, here are the ones we have a really tough time finding with great color:

Alabama (both varieties)
Bridgeport
Connecticut
Grant (both varieties)
Hawaiian
Hudson
Lafayette Dollars
Lexington
Missouri (both varieties)
Monroe
Sesqui
Spanish Trail
Vermont

I guess there are quite a few of them! If I were forced to choose the toughest early commemorative half dollar to locate with attractive color AND eye-appeal, my vote would probably go to the Monroe.

ANACONDA

"nicely toned"....None are hard to find "nicely toned" if "nicely toned" in your post means attractive original toning.

if "nicely toned" means multicolored toning that would garner a substantial preimium simply because of the toning then the following coins
in my opinion, in order from hardest to easiest are the hardest to find "nicely toned":

old spanish trail - i've never seen a monster or near monster toned piece

alabama - rarely seen with gorgeous colors, can't remember ever seeing one

wisconsin - i can't ever recall seeing a monster or even one that is close to spectacular

Hawaiian (often comes with green and yellow toning which normally isn't attractive in my opinion)

missouri (Pinnacle had one that was displayed in their site about a year and a half ago tha was gorgeous but not with more than two or so colors, i've sold one with nice purple-ish toning, other than that, usually comes kindly flat and brownish)

connecticut - occasionally comes with a little color but i can't remember seeing a near monster toned piece or better

Pilgrim - i sold a really cool red one to a fellow hear on this board and i own one really nicely toned one but that's about it

Grant - i have a nice multicolored one and a couple others come to mind but generally they are nice but not multicolored

sesquicentennial - most are not attractive, i have an orange/reddish one but it has a rather large unattractive finger print on it

Maine - i have one with a little deep purple as the only color, sold one with great dcolor in 63 that never made it to eBay

arkansas - occasionally comes nice...sold a arguable monster to one of my best clients on the West coast that was an ngc 67, most would call it a monster, have sold some cool green pieces also

I've been a lover of toned Commems for a number of years.

Greg Bingham, Mark Feld and Laura Sperber (all three of this board) and Larry Shepherd are four people who know a great deal about toned commems.

adrian

Higashiyama

Coinguy or Anaconda or anyone else -- can you post a picture or provide a link to a monster Lynchburg?

keets

hey adrian

i don't collect or search commens at shows or online but occasionally i will look on eBay for boones because i like the theme of the coin. given the relatively small mintage for the individual coins in that series, it seems logical that finding attractively toned examples would be difficult and aside from some brown/gold coins, it is. i haven't yet seen a coin with anything that approaches vibrant or weak pastel color.

my question---why are some coins in the classic commem series so difficult to find with color?? i assume they were all issued in the same type of tab holders and that all would have been subjected to similar storage for a number of years. so what gives?

thanks.

al h.

ANACONDA

Intrerestingly enough, i created my list of commems without having seen mark's post.

It's nice to see that we agree on quite a few types.

Hi - i have one image of a nice lynchburg on this computer (i'm at my office) but it's not a monster.

adrian

ANACONDA

Keets - this is what i understand...joconnor could probably set us all straight.....

planchets were washed by the manufacturer and/or the mint at differenent times using different chemicals...

the planchets were rinsed in different ways and to varying degress...

coins have been delivered in many different kinds of mailers...many of them made out of a paper/cardboard material

made by different manufacturers

containing different chemicals.

Also, not everyone stored their coins in the original mailers...

some were stored in tissue paper, velvet boxes and other things.

All these factors lead us to what we now see in the form of many different kinds of toning on commems

adrian

Higashiyama

keets -- the topic of why toning occurs in different ways on different issues is an extremely interesting one. Over the 62 year time span for the classic commemorative series, many different holders were used to deliver the coins -- tabs, envelopes, velvet cases, rolls. Even in the case of tabs, the makers were different. The way the planchets were prepared and the way the coins were struck will affect the toning. Where they were issued and how widely distributed they were is also important. With wider distribution you will tend to get a greater variety of toning. In some cases, large hoards were stored together, as is said to be the case with the greenish/yellowish Hawaiian toning that Anaconda refers to.

Higashiyama

(Anaconda -- beat me to it, but at least not 100 % repetitive!)

coinguy1

Here is a Boone that Michael had posted previously. I have seen it in person and it is even prettier than the images would suggest!

keets

thanks for the quick replies. the matter of planchet washing is one that really interests me. it was first brought to my attention in a thread relating to the toning on early 1960's proof Jeffersons. i beleive it was brian(TBT) who alluded to the many changes the mint made over the years. will that topic be included in Breens proof book? if not, can either of you point me to some reference that explains it beter? thanks again.

al h.

coinguy1

Higashiyama,

Here is a link to a pretty Lynchburg sold by HNA in 2000.


Link

ANACONDA

Here's some you might like to see...

keets

very nice on the '36 boone. that looks like tab toning from the original holder on a coin which appears absent any contacts. the toning on the '37 is probably what many of the white coins offered looked like prior to being dipped. i'd guess MS66 on the 1936 and MS64-65 on the 1937 with both being quite well struck. any idea what accounts for the break in the tone circle on the obverse of the '36?

al h.

IrishMike

I am surprised no one has mentioned the Maryland. I have only seen one that had attractive toning.

gmarguli

old spanish trail - i've never seen a monster or near monster toned piece

These just don't come with colorful toning. I've seen a red one and one with a rainbow, but nothing on the level of monster.


missouri (Pinnacle had one that was displayed in their site about a year and a half ago tha was gorgeous but not with more than two or so colors)

I've seen a rainbow one. Don't recall if it was the 2*4 variety or not. The rainbow wasn't stunning or anything, but it was there.


connecticut - occasionally comes with a little color but i can't remember seeing a near monster toned piece or better

Small rainbows are fairly easy to find. Never seen a monster or anything close to it.


Pilgrim - i sold a really cool red one to a fellow hear on this board and i own one really nicely toned one but that's about it

And I love that red Pilgrim. I've been offered a lot more than what I paid you for it, but it's not leaving my collection - ever! I'd love to get that 1921 you have, but it's a "tad bit expensive".



sesquicentennial - most are not attractive, i have an orange/reddish one but it has a rather large unattractive finger print on it

I saw one that looked solid gold. Really stunning. It looked plated it was so gold. It was in a SEGS slab, which kind of scared me. However, I'm not saying it was AT.


Maine - i have one with a little deep purple as the only color, sold one with great dcolor in 63 that never made it to eBay

This one can be found with rainbow color on the reverse fairly frequently.


I've yet to see a Lexington that has great color.

keithdagen

One of the things that I have noticed as I have started a toned commem set is that attractively toned commems are rarely available in grades below MS-65, with most of the ones that catch your eye being MS-65 or higher.

rainbowroosie

Had this same discussion at the FUN Show with Larry from SIMCO. The Spanish Trail always gets mentioned. He had one 7 or 8 years ago in his retail ad, and prefaced his comment with something like "get your speed dialers ready -- a rainbow Spanish Trail"...Truly a special coin with pretty color.

michael

wow lots of great replies!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and great coin photos

i loved that boone you posted mark!


sincerely michael

michael

isabella nicer than the scan with booming lustre underneath the toning

sincerely michael

Blackhawk

I've never seen an attractively toned Wisconsin. If any member has one, I'd be interested in seeing a scan or photo if it's not too much bother.

Bill

FinallyHere

I thought I would chime in on this one.

I like Mark's answer and Adrian made some great points as well, however I think I would rank the Maine, Maryland and Lexington at the top of my list. I've sold a lot of really gorgeous commems, but as I reflect on what I have seen with truly great color these three come to mind. However, the Spanish Trail is another as Adrain pointed out. I've actually sold two Alabama's, a 2x2 and Plain, that had stunning color for the issue both having multiple colors...not just one or two colors. These were both placed with the same client who is actually not a commemorative collector per se, but realized how truly rare Alabama's are with great color.

I also think the Sesqui and Monroe are truly rare with great color, however I know that Gregg Bingham has both of these issues and they are amazing coins....as are all of Gregg's coins for that matter. I had the chance to see his Lexington recently at FUN, a replacement for what he had, and while it had color only on one side, it was a monster coin nonetheless.

There are too many commems that don't come with monster color to list, and I certainly would not want to try and list them in order or toughest as this will differ from collector to collector depending on his experiences. In all honesty, I can't think of a better person to ask than Gregg or possibly a few other collectors I have had the pleasure of working with who have made it a life long endeavor to search out the best and most colorful commems. It is those collectors that have truly specialized in this arena that could share the most.....in my opinion. As a dealer who has sold some great color commems over the years I still think the collector who specializes in this area is the best source for this information. The lists of toughest coins would most likely look similar to be sure, but the order would be different for most every list!

Have a great day everyone and great question!

Mike

Website

scher

ive beenworking on these for awhile..i first did a white 65 set.. not too tough..then decided to do a great colored set 66+ and am about done ..for me the toughest hawaiin,monroe,and lafayette..easiest by far..oregon..lots pretty oregons, they are pretty and cheap..
bruce scher

michael

ttt

RegistryCoin

I agree with most coins listed by Adrian and Mark. My set is about half and half, white/toned. Most of the coins listed I have in white.
The ones I have had a problem finding in either v. nicely toned or b. white are Ala., Bridgeport, Cincy, Lynchburg and Spanish Trail.
Fav. monsters?- There are the rare monsters in most each issue. I think the Ark. monster(s) may be the rarest. (Tex. monsters - most undervalued, personal fav. monsters - BTW and WCs.)