1957 - 1964 Jefferson Proof Pliofilm Toners

DRUNNER · June 26, 2020 4:09PM

(An attempt at an educational post, but if you have alternative views, or have just been cooped up too long with Covid-Watch . . . feel more than free to post/flame/ramble.)

I like the Jeffies . . . . picking up a toner or two when a show comes up otherwise empty on better coins is fun. Others of you must agree . . . I can't seem to find those nice target babies I used to in the cheap 2x2 pages!!! In an addition to the Appalachian / Toning threads of late, let me add a bit on the "Proof Pliofilm Toners" of 57-64. AKA the "flatpack" proof sets.

I have seen hundreds in that year-range in various hues of blue / green / purple. Several intense examples have sold at Long Beach (to me) for the low-3-digits . . . and years ago when a local shop was bombarding our hosts with proof singles (mainly Frankies and hopefully cameos), the Jeffie singles that had color were cut out of the pliofilm and dumped into a wicker basket on the counter. This shop would (honest) go through 2000-4000 sets per month, and pumped a megaload of proof singles through PCGS . . . leaving these toned Jeffie singles in the cut-out film sitting in the basket. You could go through and pick out the vivid ones first at about $1.50 ea., then later, they got to just pastel hues as they got picked through.

So why? Why just the Jeffs? Fairly simple. Metal content. The huge piles of these sets (I see mainly 1960-1963) were dumped into crates that sat near sunny windows or heater vents and the pliofilm imparted a nice similar blue/green/purple toning with intensity determined by heat in the film and duration. Not the other denominations? Nope. The pliofilm off-gassed just the right compound to react with the copper-nickel of the Jeffs . . . but not the Lincoln or any of the silver. Most always . . . the other coins would be perfectly original. You just had this blaster blue or purple Jeff in the middle of a normal proof set.

My Dansco has a series of the lesser toned examples on the proof page . . . and I have socked away a few graded examples. One guy at LB pretty much made a few shows on selling the more vivid ones. They DO attract attention in a case. Below is a recent super one that got kicked out (not every grader is familiar with the details -- and the vivid toners are bound to raise an eyebrow, until you recognize the pattern -- and how many guys are submitting 75c. coins for grading anyway???)

Surely the Mint had no idea that the basic packaging could (over time) impart color to just one metal composition. It has happened elsewhere (Canadian Proof dollars--1971). And . . . why should they care anyway? The color tends to be very evenly distributed and occurs where the pliofilm has not been compromised (cracked).

If you find them . . .don't be too quick to condemn them as nefarious. There is a perfect numismatic reason how they occurred. Now, if you choose to call that AT or NT, that is another discussion altogether.

I just got that one from Keyman. Nice intensity . . . not really captured by my pix.

Have a good one . . . and as always, be careful of off-gassing anywhere!

Drunner

joeykoins · June 26, 2020 4:41PM

Love the blues!

DRUNNER · June 26, 2020 4:45PM

The TrueView does give a better indication of the color . . . .

Drunner

stockdude_ · June 26, 2020 4:59PM

Wow great informative post! I have two PCGS 1963 proof toners with very nice pastel toning. Now i know where it came from. One of them is actually going into my box of 20!

keyman64 · June 26, 2020 5:51PM

The 1963 that @DRUNNER posted came out of a problem free ANACS holder Cert# 5205672 and I have photos of it in that holder somewhere. I tried to get it into a problem free PCGS holder and they did not like it that day.

Here are others that PCGS did bless and were a part of my 1950-1964 Toned Proof Set (all denominations) before I sold everything about 18 months ago. The 1955 came out of a problem free NGC holder. So, most TPGs would grade them at one time or another. I had many more that I made/crossed/bought/sold etc. They really are pretty.

PR66

bolivarshagnasty · June 26, 2020 5:52PM

DRUNNER, It wasn't just Jeffersons that turned. The Jeffs may have been more prevalent based on your coin shop story. I too love the Jeff proof toners. In 2018 I bought some of the best from a Forum Member that had all high grade toners. I cherry picked those that had no spotting, which as you know are harder to find. Here are a few proof flat pack images I have saved.

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That last one is Hubanks Kennedy find. The TrueView.

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Couple of my proof nickels.