Experiment in toning

Bochiman

So, I am still new to much of numismatics. (yeah yeah....many of you know that by my questions ).
I wanted to take a silver coin and "naturally" tone it....no chemicals, no heating, etc.
So, I took a 2004 SAE and put it in tissue and an envelope and put it in a window sill (not with direct sunlight though).

It's been 2 months (and, since i live in the Puget Sound area, it isn't like we get much sunlight anyway ).
I took it out last month and looked. No change. Took it out today and there is a light golden touch to its periphery.

So, how do the tonight colors work? Start with gold? Anything else can/should be done to get different colors (naturally...ie...direct sunlight? touching the envelope directly rather than tissue?, etc).

I figured using a SAE would be an acceptable way to learn as it will still be worth its bullion value and I don't really consider this AT...more like accelerated tonight...and I am using it to learn.

baccaruda

I placed an SAE on top of an old book (the book was upright in a bookshelf and the SAE was on top of the pages). I forgot about it until 6-8 months later when I found it. Small rainbows on the outside-facing rims.

The key is not touching it - and that's the hard part. Put it somewhere and leave it alone, or hopefully forget about it.

nwcs

If you allow natural forces to work, even with a bit of help, there is no telling what the outcome is. And the time required will vary. I have seen a franklin half, an ordinary one, tone quite fast over 6 months. I have seen a JFK tone next to zero in the same time -- and they were both 100% white when it started. I have seen an onza go from white to absolutely gorgeous in 10 years and a SAE go from white to a little gold toning in 7 years.

dorkkarl

sae's are not good practice if your intersted in coins - too high of silver content. buy yourself some bulk 90% silver coins & experiment away.

K S

aeast236

I have had a SAE in small manilla envelope in my widow sill for over a year and it is getting some gold and blue rim toning. Excited...i put all my Britannia's there also We'll see. I am having fun with it and check them every couple of months. I know I should leave them alone but it is also neat to watch them develop toning.
-Aaron

baccaruda

If you keep moving it, it's unlikely that the toning will be attractive. I had an SAE sitting on my desk for over a year that was in between a piece of an old tapestry. I check it all the time. It toned - but all splotchy, uneven, and generally unattractively.

Fight the urge - don't look at it.

jhuberdude

I tried to AT a penny the other day. I heated it with a torch. It almost immediatly turned golden and then blueish...then it folded in half and all the zinc dripped out of it. It was pretty funny!
All I had left was a slight bit of burned copper, and a blob of zinc on the bench.
John

EvilMCT

Just pulled out a partial tube of 2000 SC quarters that I had picked up from the bank. I searched through, found the best overall coins and stashed them in a plastic tube. Since I didn't have enough to fill it up, I folded the wrapper up and inserted in to make sure the coins weren't loose. Mush to my surprise, I now have a florescent green quarter. I wasn't expecting this toning to occur at all. Looks pretty odd, but none of the other quarters had this toning. It obviously had a reaction to the paper, just not one I've seen before.

Ken

nwcs

Here's my favorite accidental toner. The onza I mentioned. It was in a small envelope for around 10 years and lost till I refound it last fall.

Pushkin

nankraut

John: turn down the heat.

Placid

Maybe I am wrong but I thought facial tissue was not the best to use because it has a low sulphur content.

pontiacinf

try putting some dandruff shampoo on a silver coin

Bear

I didnt know coins could suffer from dandruff?

ss350camaro

<< <i>try putting some dandruff shampoo on a silver coin >>



Got any example pics ?

bushmaster8

Selsun blue coins look very AT though...not natural look.

Once I poured some high power sulfuric acid based drain opener down a bath drain. Whole house stunk to high heaven. Next day some post 1981 BU cents that were laying on my dresser had some of the most attractive tone I have ever seen on copper coins.

FrattLaw

Just empty a bottle of Jewelluster and stick a coin in there and watch what happens overnight!

Michael

Bochiman

yeah, but I liken all the chemical "solutions" to doctoring.

I was looking for more of an accelerated "natural" toning.

nankraut

IMHO, "accelerated natural toning" IS doctoring.