TONING QUESTIONS

Rusty4768

what defines "natural toning" and "artificial toning" in a coin? how can you tell the difference???Any help will be greatly appreciated :-)

homerunhall

natural toning occurs, usually on silver coins over long periods of time.

artificial toning refers to man made attempts to make a coin look better by adding color thru heat and/or chemicals.

grading experts can tell the difference due to their experience in grading sometimes millions of coins. For me, the artificial toning does not look the same as the many naturally tonoed coins I saw come out of original rolls and bags thirty or more years ago. the colors are different and lay on the coin different.

That said, there are some coins that are difficult, if not impossible, to tell the difference.

Thanks,

David