Opinion on Grading Toned Wheat Cents
dwj6211
Posts: 3 ✭
Hello collectors universe! First post here, been mainly active on other communities, but happy to be here!
I mainly collect cents…I’ve been doing some consolidation in my collection lately and came across a handful of really eye-catching toned wheaties that I’ve saved over the years. They’re not necessarily high-value coins, and they just don’t flow colorwise in my album, but they’ve got some great toning and eye appeal that I think would look amazing in a slab with a proper grade versus just sitting in a flip….
Before I submit, I wanted to ask two questions:
In your opinion, which third-party grader is the best when it comes to certifying and grading toned Lincolns? I’d like to stick with either PCGS, NGC or CAC simply because of the holder design I think would be more aesthetic than ANACS or ICG etc.
What exactly constitutes “questionable color”? The PCGS grading standards define it as “Toning can be added, enhanced, or accelerated by artificial means, creating the appearance of natural toning”— but that is very subjective IMHO.
I’m a bit cautious because I know “questionable color” is a higher possibility, and if that happens it really would be pointless… even though none of these coins to the best of my knowledge have been artificially toned.
I’m not looking to sell or flip these — just think they’d be fun to have slabbed and displayed properly.
Any thoughts? Here’s a 1910 and a 57-D example of the kind of ones I’ve got laying around… photos don’t do them any justice! 
Comments
The 1957-D looks artificially toned for sure; harder to tell on the 1910. FYI, you can buy your own slab holders on Amazon or eBay for about $1.50 each.
I agree that the 57 looks like heat/water damage toning lol.
I'd use ANACS first. They are cheap and fast. Call first and see if they are running a special. Pick out a few coins with different EVEN colors to see what they think. No pink, yellow, orange, one or two green, blue and purple with color around the edges. The results should give you some idea of market acceptability. When you learn what to look for, then you can pay the money and take the wait from the top services.
I collect Lincoln cents and have seen a lot of coins with original color in problem slabs. I learned what I know by by looking at hundreds of Lincolns housed in Part II Whitman holders. You would not believe many of the things I've seen. Your '57 is not one of them!
The 1910 looks very nice if that is its true color; nevertheless, much of the time you will be rolling the dice sending toned coins to a TPGS. A long time ago. a very famous numismatist sent a coin that had toned naturally in his safe for over a decade to a major TPGS. When they called it questionable color, he had a fit and published a scathing rebuttal in the coin papers. Good Luck.
Thank you! I wish there were more standardized guidelines around what constitutes questionable color/toning!