I showed this to a coin show dealer that is known for specializing in toned items today

piecesofme

and he shot me down like a pheasant sayn that there's no way it's naturally toned and PCGS or NGC would never certify it...only to make me a handsome offer some 20 minutes later when I made another pass by his table.
I call bs on him. It IS naturally toned because I put it in a blue velvet box when new and just happened to open that box about 2 months ago and this is how it came out of it, along with some other pieces that toned, but this was by far the best one.
Why would a renowned dealer known for toning specialty (at least locally) shoot me down only to make me a real good offer 20 minutes later? Maybe because he realized I knew it was legit and wanted in on a very cool piece?

What do you think, should I end it in for grading? When certified these can go for hundreds of $'s. Is it worth the $20 to send it in when I know it's legit?

Banknotes122

should of just taken the dealers offer and forgot about it. Unless you think you can make more with slabbing and selling on your own. Whichever is true, good luck on selling it. Maybe post a grade if you do send it in for grading.

ChrisRx

Must be personal taste, but I personally have never liked these "modern" over-done "toners." Even if they are "NT" it doesn't change my mind. I like my toning like an aged fine wine.

TomB

Does that say 2016? If so, then that is an awful lot of toning to have happen in just two years, at most. I have no idea as to what the dealer was thinking, but I believe we all know that if it were in a no-problems PCGS holder that it would be worth significantly more than raw.

derryb

IMO placing coins in a blue velvet box, or in a Taco Bell napkin, meets the definition of Artificial Toning.

Coulport

'AT' as in accelerated toning so won't holder.
Dealer probably wanted it for show and tell.

BAJJERFAN

@TomB said:
Does that say 2016? If so, then that is an awful lot of toning to have happen in just two years, at most. I have no idea as to what the dealer was thinking, but I believe we all know that if it were in a no-problems PCGS holder that it would be worth significantly more than raw.

I've seen toned ASEs in PCGS holders that were somewhere around a few months or less old.

ricko

There is no doubt in my mind that the coin will sell for a premium. However, that does not change the fact that it is not a natural tarnish. I would be surprised if a TPG would slab it without 'questionable' rating. But place it on ebay and you will definitely make some cash. Cheers, RickO

piecesofme

Thanks for all the thoughts and opinions. It is natural, I know because I've owned the coin since before it was like this. I'll be sending it in to NGC when I get enough of others to make it worth doing and will check back, good or bad, with results.

BAJJERFAN

@ricko said:
There is no doubt in my mind that the coin will sell for a premium. However, that does not change the fact that it is not a natural tarnish. I would be surprised if a TPG would slab it without 'questionable' rating. But place it on ebay and you will definitely make some cash. Cheers, RickO

It's natural because that is the result you might expect for the conditions under which it was kept. How it came to be exposed to those conditions might result in intentional toning. Artificial toning might be something painted on or otherwise added [possibly by electrodeposition] that intends to mimic or duplicate the real thing.

derryb

@BAJJERFAN said:

@ricko said:
There is no doubt in my mind that the coin will sell for a premium. However, that does not change the fact that it is not a natural tarnish. I would be surprised if a TPG would slab it without 'questionable' rating. But place it on ebay and you will definitely make some cash. Cheers, RickO

It's natural because that is the result you might expect for the conditions under which it was kept. How it came to be exposed to those conditions might result in intentional toning. Artificial toning might be something painted on or otherwise added [possibly by electrodeposition] that intends to mimic or duplicate the real thing.

placing a coin in what some might consider a harsh environment to induce toning is natural? Granted, it is not as harsh as a blow torch but it is intentionally induced. A two year old coin does not naturally tone as illustrated in the OP. That said, the results are sorta cool.

PerryHall

The grading services don't care if it's AT or NT. They only care if it's MA (market acceptable) or not.

Bochiman

Won't slab at NGC. Doubtful, but small chance, at PCGS.

asheland

I’d send it in. I bought this one a while back:

And it straight graded.
Unfortunately I like it too much so I’ve never tried to sell it.

BAJJERFAN

@derryb said:

@BAJJERFAN said:

@ricko said:
There is no doubt in my mind that the coin will sell for a premium. However, that does not change the fact that it is not a natural tarnish. I would be surprised if a TPG would slab it without 'questionable' rating. But place it on ebay and you will definitely make some cash. Cheers, RickO

It's natural because that is the result you might expect for the conditions under which it was kept. How it came to be exposed to those conditions might result in intentional toning. Artificial toning might be something painted on or otherwise added [possibly by electrodeposition] that intends to mimic or duplicate the real thing.

placing a coin in what some might consider a harsh environment to induce toning is natural? Granted, it is not as harsh as a blow torch but it is intentionally induced. A two year old coin does not naturally tone as illustrated in the OP. That said, the results are sorta cool.

No, the after-effect of placing it in that environment is the natural outcome; the act of placing it in that environment is intentional exposure. People intentionally place coins in specific environments because they know what the outcome will be.

ricko

For years here, a necessary ingredient in artificial tarnish has been intent. Not the only parameter... but important. That goes for taco bell napkins, sunlight and envelopes...... One must remember, tarnish on silver is natural environmental damage when caused by sulfides (and a couple of other minor players). My experiments have shown it can be accelerated by many methods -- one I developed was so incredibly effective and fast, I dismantled it after the first few runs. Done properly, no one - not anyone - can differentiate between natural and accelerated tarnish. Done poorly, almost anyone can see it. Now, of course, tarnished coins have become a collector segment. The market is now flooded with AT... most poorly done, but purchased at a premium. Very sad..... Cheers, RickO

derryb

@BAJJERFAN said:

No, the after-effect of placing it in that environment is the natural outcome; the act of placing it in that environment is intentional exposure. People intentionally place coins in specific environments because they know what the outcome will be.

Then there is no such thing as artificial toning if it is caused by an environment? How about inside my oven?

BAJJERFAN

@derryb said:

@BAJJERFAN said:

No, the after-effect of placing it in that environment is the natural outcome; the act of placing it in that environment is intentional exposure. People intentionally place coins in specific environments because they know what the outcome will be.

Then there is no such thing as artificial toning if it is caused by an environment? How about inside my oven?

That would produce a coloration consistent with what one would expect from simply heating coin in an oven or by some other means. When you heat a coin with a torch, it's natural for it to discolor, no? If you want to use the term artificial to mean or include an identical result obtained by a totally different means then that's fine. Ice on a pond in winter is taken to be natural, but some consider the ice made for an indoor rink to be artificial. Then you got natural turf and artificial turf. Artificial/synthetic vanilla vs natural vanilla.

blitzdude

Looks AT to me. Would be surprised if it slabs without details

hchcoin

I would stick a few more ASE's in that box if it was me after that result

piecesofme

@hchcoin said:
I would stick a few more ASE's in that box if it was me after that result

I already sold the others ones that were far lesser toned, one did not tone at all, 6 others did to varying degrees but nothing like this one. I was blown away when I opened it.
Sorry no pics of the ones already sold that were sold at a coin show.

BAJJERFAN

@ricko said:
For years here, a necessary ingredient in artificial tarnish has been intent. Not the only parameter... but important. That goes for taco bell napkins, sunlight and envelopes...... One must remember, tarnish on silver is natural environmental damage when caused by sulfides (and a couple of other minor players). My experiments have shown it can be accelerated by many methods -- one I developed was so incredibly effective and fast, I dismantled it after the first few runs. Done properly, no one - not anyone - can differentiate between natural and accelerated tarnish. Done poorly, almost anyone can see it. Now, of course, tarnished coins have become a collector segment. The market is now flooded with AT... most poorly done, but purchased at a premium. Very sad..... Cheers, RickO

If you still have them why not send some to TomB to photograph and post pics here.

jmski52

Nice coin, period!

ricko

@BAJJERFAN... This was back in 2001-2002... I long since dipped them - they were just experimental coins then... I was studying tarnish and none of the coins left my possession. Cheers, RickO