1921 Peace Dollars do not tone.
topstuf
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At least they're not supposed to.


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--Severian the Lame
<< <i>Eww. >>
This toning is an acquired taste and not for everyone just like head cheese at the deli counter.
MS66
Now this is a 1921 toner......brown is still a prominent color.
PO01....Look Ma, no brown!
MS66+
As RickO would agree, do not need or want brown tarnish on this beautiful coin.
I also have this one which is more white,,,,,
GrandAm
<< <i>'21 Peace dollars don't always tone nicely, but when they do:... >>
Stay crusty, my friends.
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BryceM, your 21 toner never gets old. Is this Peace buck a CoinFacts plate coin? If it is I prefer your image, jmo.
<< <i>At least they're not supposed to.
Not everyone is a fan of brownish toning, but when the right juxtaposition of parameters occurs (like on your coin there) I think it looks incredible!
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Box of 20
SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!
That is why you often see them tone toward the darker, tarnished side......
An Inside View of the Coin Hobby in the 1930's:The Walter P. Nichols File,Edited by Q. David Bowers,p.33.
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.---Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States of America, 1801-1809. Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.
...I don't know why that would be, do they not contain silver as do Morgan's or any other coin containing the metal...
Here's what Wayne Miller has to say about toning on Peace Dollars:
"Toned Peace dollars are much more scarce than toned Morgan dollars,and very seldom show bright,vivid colorations. This is due to the following factors: First,the toning of silver dollars is usually a long-term process. Being minted much more recently, Peace dollars did not have as much time to interact with the sulfur in the bags in which they were stored. Second,there is some evidence that the acid bath into which the planchets were plunged after annealing to remove discoloring oxidation was more highly concentrated for Peace dollars,in order to maximize the frosty whiteness of the planchets. This could serve as a detriment to subsequent interaction of the silver planchet metal with sulfur and oxygen, thus retarding the toning process."
The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbookby Wayne Miller,p.38
Miller remarks that, "the typical 1921 Peace dollar has good luster,although some specimens exhibit a rather unappealing grayish cast.Many 1921 dollars are toned, with light yellow being the most common coloration. Bagmarks are average, and specimens with minimum abrasions are available."
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be.---Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States of America, 1801-1809. Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.
I always wondered about the discrepancies of toning between Peace and Morgan dollars, similar to Franklin vs- Walking halves.
Peace dollars and Walking halves are two series tough to find nice toners in.
...Thanks for the info, mr1874. Very interesting...
Stuart
Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal
"Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
<< <i>I get a laugh outta goldbully reposting Bryce's coin right after he posted it.
Can't stop laughing here.......
One is a Todd image the other is Phil's image....that really is funny isn't it?
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What the headline should be is that 1921 Peace dollars are always dipped.
Stacks/Bowers had an auction a few months back with a nice run of original 1921 peace dollars in 64-65 grade. All very original, and shades of copper and brown. Some with blackish stains. But, I felt those were a nice group of coins, as nice as you could expect the 1921 to come....when not dipped. That same sale had a group of MS63-65 1859-s halves kept together and original since day one. If you want to look at what original 1921 peace dollars should look like....check out that sale below. In fact, the owner of that collection had mini-hoards of other coins in the 1850-1930's era. All very instructive.
S/B Feb 2015 Americana sale.
A nice golden hue over tremendously deep luster is what the usual low-relief dollars are supposed to look like. The 1921 coins tend to tone with more of a brassy, copper-brown color like those in the auction RR posted, like the one Stuart posted here, and like the second coin in my first post, which graded AU58. The spilled-apricot-jam look can be fantastic too, like the ones posted by CRO, BG, and Walkerguy, but that look is a little hit-or-miss. Sometimes they're nice, and sometimes not that pleasing.
Im toying with the idea of someday selling my current Peace set, which contains many coins I believe to have been dipped (and even one I sent in for the dastardly deed) and starting over, this time with an emphasis on attractive, high-grade originality. That's the sort of set that could take a LONG time to really assemble correctly. My current 24 coin set contains maybe 2 or 3 that would qualify, one of which is the 1921. One advantage is that the market often ignores such coins and they can sometimes be had for less than a freshly dipped example.
<< <i>I bought this at a local show a few years back - still think it's the prettiest one I've seen.
And here is one I can certainly appreciate, and would love to own. It may not have wild Morgan colors and I wouldn't want it to have them.
But that white skin with subtle color is what I always look for and seldom see. Note...... a lot of folks I see call that white skin "Haze." Even on Walkers.
I guess that's why I seldom see them as they go to the bathtub.
<< <i>Actually, one is my photo and one is the TrueView.
Very nice image.
--Severian the Lame
<< <i>You may notice that 1921 Peace dollars tone similarly to Alabama and Missouri commems. >>
Good catch. Both commems are 1921 as well, of course. I never noticed the toning was comparable between this group, but you are absolutely right. Throw the 1922 Grant Commem Half in there as well come to think of it.
I bought a roll of 20, 1922-S, about 3-4 years ago for about $30 each. I was a bit concerned that they were cleaned, even though the paper wrapper look old, that means nothing since I had checked them & noticed 6 or 7 were closer to MS63, maybe MS64 going by a graded 22-S @ MS63. I took them out for 6 months, 8 months at best & put them in another cabinet opened/loose to see what would happen & although they were starting to show blue, slight purple but mainly a brownish tone as talked about here, I thought maybe it would be best to put them into one of my Peace/Morgan 20 coin holders, like the ASE holders from the Mint so they stayed the way they looked. If the humidity will level out, I may pull them back out for another shot at some deeper toning...

Here's the Obverse. Not sure where that picture went so I'll post it again.
I'm glad someone likes head cheese. Yummy.
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Is the 1921 Peace dollar a one year type coin?
Actually, trying to find a 1921 Peace WITHOUT tarnish is the difficult task.
Cheers, RickO
Old thread. I don't even remember the coin I posted.
But that's nothing new.
If you mean "High Relief", then yes. There were some Medium Relief 1922-P's minted. Not a lot but you really need to know what to look for in order to know for sure. More than likely, you'd have to go to a qualified coin dealer, or send it to a 3rd party grading company, since they'd know what to look for. I've looked on NGC & PCGS but they have yet to get one in to be graded. Every time I get a 1922-P, I just keep thinking, "is this one of those coins?" I'm sure those Mid Relief 1922's are gone, worn out, melted down, or maybe tucked away in a large private hoard of Peace Dollars. All I look for are nice 1921-P, 24-S, 25-S, 26-D, 27-P, 28-S, 34-S & 35-S. All the one's in between as long as they're in great shape & at the right price, since they're not worth as much as the coins I listed. I've been taking my time to find those high mintage years that have been graded. I've been lucky & found some in MS63, 64 & some MS65's. Now I just go back to the good old 1921-P Peace Dollars. Even if they've been graded with Details, [Cleaned] which normally, they're a lot cheaper & I've also stayed up all night to grab a nice one here or there. Also when in doubt if I get one ungraded in a white paper, flip holder, I head to the coin shop, just to make sure it's worth as much or more than I paid because I hate it when the seller has, "Rare", in BU condition, "Low Mint", "Best Find",or when they grade it in MS, when you know it's not.... It's always worth a 2nd opinion. Then, if the dealer I go to say, yep it's been cleaned then I put it in my other cabinet & let it start to age a bit & if it'll start to tone, I'll let it tone. The reason I do it that way is I've notice a heck of a lot less Details if they're a little toned & not sent in for grading when they are really shinny clean, or really noticeably cleaned on the Obverse, except around the Letters, Date, or on the Reverse around the lettering, between the Sun Rays, around the Eagle/Eagle's Wings, or where ever it should normally show a little toning or that normal luster.
With my 22-S, they looked good clean but with the few that should grade MS63 & MS64, plus the 2 not pictured - MS65, I figured I'd be better off letting them sit out & slowly start to tone. I keep remembering Details-Cleaned, or that one, Details, Improperly Cleaned... If the graders offer to clean them, they're not gonna look like someone cleaned them wrong......
For RickO.............This MS66 may be the most tarnish free 1921 Peace $1 on CoinFacts.