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Heritage has finally run out of adjectives

shylockshylock Posts: 4,288 ✭✭✭
I guess it was just a matter of time when Heritage would run out of original ways to describe their auction lots. If you do a search in their upcoming NY Sig Sale for "tobacco", no less then 28 lots pop up. "Tobacco-brown" is a favorite, with "tobacco-gold" second. Overall, they've set an all "-" time record for hyphenated adjectives in their lot descriptions.

Dealers and those of us who've listed a decent amount of EBay auctions can relate -- describing coins in a fresh way is tough! I guess it's the English major in me that's always found this aspect of the hobby interesting. Someone should write a coin related thesaurus someday.

type "tobacco" in here

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    RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭
    I just saw tobacco toned used on eBay the other day and my first thought when looking at the auction title was that the coin had been toned by tobacco smoke. image Didn't even occur to me that it would be a color type.

    Russ, NCNE
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    tradedollarnuttradedollarnut Posts: 20,803 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Shylock's back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    image
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    ElcontadorElcontador Posts: 7,743 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Paul,

    It's often hard to try to describe something in a positive light, so you often run out of adjectives. I mean, how many people would put in a strong bid with an honest description of a coin that follows:

    "1883 No Cents Nickel, MS 64 (name of company that holdered it). Typical dead looking mid-grade Unc. Liberty Nickel with a large unattractive streak of uneven urine-colored toning across the obverse devices. Average strike and amount of contact marks for the grade. Worth a strong bid by someone who likes ugly coins and doesn't want to spend the time looking for a nice one.

    "This coin has no reserve, because the seller always kicks himself for buying it in the first place."
    "Vou invadir o Nordeste,
    "Seu cabra da peste,
    "Sou Mangueira......."
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    RELLARELLA Posts: 963 ✭✭✭
    I tried searches on a few of the off-brand color words that I like to pull out of the hat when the more common words are nearly dead and got more than a page for many of them. I have a masterlist of color words for coins at home but there are few words that properly match the colors you see on most toned coins; I'm always happy to add to the list but few of the new words are applicable to more than a handful of coins out of every thousand.

    RELLA
    Do not fall into the error of the artisan
    who boasts of twenty years experience in his craft
    while in fact he has had only one year of experience...
    twenty times.
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    poorguypoorguy Posts: 4,317 ✭
    Adjectives are a fun and eye-catching way to describe coins but Heritage using "Tobacco" as a color is, no pun intended, "off color". Usually when describing a coin, one would use a positive adjective to identify a color with. With all of the negative attention "Tobacco" has been getting, for many good reasons, it is not a very good adjective to describe the color of a coin even if it is correct.

    Here are some adjective which might suffice instead of tobacco:

    amber, auburn, bay, beige, bister, brick, bronze, buff, burnt sienna, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, cocoa, coffee, copper, drab, dust, ecru, fawn, ginger, hazel, henna, khaki, mahogany, nut, ochre, puce, russet, rust, sepia, sorrel, tan, tawny, terra-cotta, toast, umber

    There, heritage. Keep these in mind when describing coins and you might not get reamed by these forum gurus.
    Brandon Kelley - ANA - 972.746.9193 - http://www.bestofyesterdaycollectibles.com
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    GeminiGemini Posts: 3,085 ✭
    Maybe these coins were kept inside a humidor...
    A thing of beauty is a joy for ever
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    NewmismatistNewmismatist Posts: 1,802 ✭✭


    << <i>"Tobacco-brown" >>



    Is that a synonym for fugly?
    Collecting eye-appealing Proof and MS Indian Head Cents, 1858 Flying Eagle and IHC patterns and beautiful toned coins.

    “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.” Mark Twain
    Newmismatist
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    StratStrat Posts: 612 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Is that a synonym for fugly? >>



    Sounds like it to me! Actually, a Heritage lot description using fugly would be refreshing in a lot of ways. From Poorguy's list above, I also like toast, puce and drab, though I can't imagine a cataloger using one of those words.

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    MyqqyMyqqy Posts: 9,777 ✭
    unattractive streak of uneven urine-colored toning

    That's priceless!!!!!! image
    My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable !
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    TheLiberatorTheLiberator Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Paul,

    It's often hard to try to describe something in a positive light, so you often run out of adjectives. I mean, how many people would put in a strong bid with an honest description of a coin that follows:

    "1883 No Cents Nickel, MS 64 (name of company that holdered it). Typical dead looking mid-grade Unc. Liberty Nickel with a large unattractive streak of uneven urine-colored toning across the obverse devices. Average strike and amount of contact marks for the grade. Worth a strong bid by someone who likes ugly coins and doesn't want to spend the time looking for a nice one.

    "This coin has no reserve, because the seller always kicks himself for buying it in the first place." >>



    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    That was GREAT!! image
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    LakesammmanLakesammman Posts: 17,705 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It's the sort of coin that makes you wonder, "What were they smoking"?? imageimage Thanks for the laugh - will be reading the catalog with interest.
    Gone but not forgotten: IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal, CoinsAreFun.
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    MICHAELDIXONMICHAELDIXON Posts: 6,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The description of Tobacco-Brown is not a new one. It's been around, I know, since the 1960s. Heritage has probably hired an old timer to write their descriptions. Coins toned in that tobacco spit brown color when they were kept in leather pouches or coin purses that weren't tanned properly. In fact, several years ago, I sold a board member an ANACS certified Stone Mountain that I described as "Tobacco Spit Brown." A link to the "Tobacco Spit Brown" commem
    Thanksgiving 2026 National Battlefield Coin Show November 27 & 28, 2026 at the Eisenhower Hotel Ballroom, Gettysburg, PA. No Early Bird passes for this show. WWW.AmericasCoinShows.com
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    PlacidPlacid Posts: 11,299 ✭✭✭
    When they describe a fingerprint as a handling mark that always makes me chuckle.
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    BearBear Posts: 18,953 ✭✭✭
    How about Bile Green, Barf toned, Puce, Mango/pinapple/bannana, Hmmmm, sounds like a fruit drink.

    Solid Black on both sides with deep luster.........if it could only get thru the heavy tar.........toning.

    How about colors of the rainbow, black, blue, brown, gray and dark saphire highlights.
    There once was a place called
    Camelotimage
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    ElcontadorElcontador Posts: 7,743 ✭✭✭✭✭
    In the interest of candor, I'd like to see some descriptions like these:

    1) "An original, irridescent, toilet toned coin."
    2) "Streaky puke-green toning with orange and rust colored highlights."
    3) "Outrageously toned 1889 CC raw Morgan Dollar. Someone probably left this one in the
    oven for too long."
    4) "MS 65 1871 Seated Dollar slabbed by (fill in the blank). It must have been dipped every year since
    it was minted to looked at dead as it is; only a numismatic version of a necrophiliac could find this
    coin attractive. The seller must have prayed to St. Jude, taken it on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and also
    taken it to the sight of the appearance of Our Lady of Fátima in 1917 to get it in its current holder.

    "The coin, while a technical MS 65 for reasons of strike and lack of contact marks, has been stripped
    of all original cartwheel luster. Its surfaces appear to have an interesting sandblasted look about
    them. A computerized image cannot possibly do this coin justice; it must be seen to believed.

    "Counsel has reminded us to inform potential bidders that the Company allows no returns on any
    slabbed lots which are being sold in this auction."
    "Vou invadir o Nordeste,
    "Seu cabra da peste,
    "Sou Mangueira......."
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    ElcontadorElcontador Posts: 7,743 ✭✭✭✭✭
    TTT
    "Vou invadir o Nordeste,
    "Seu cabra da peste,
    "Sou Mangueira......."
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    NicNic Posts: 3,438 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Welcome back Shylock.... please see the "met some friends" thread. K
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    << <i>"1883 No Cents Nickel, MS 64 (name of company that holdered it). Typical dead looking mid-grade Unc. Liberty Nickel with a large unattractive streak of uneven urine-colored toning across the obverse devices. Average strike and amount of contact marks for the grade. Worth a strong bid by someone who likes ugly coins and doesn't want to spend the time looking for a nice one. This coin has no reserve, because the seller always kicks himself for buying it in the first place. >>



    That was funny.
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    lkeigwinlkeigwin Posts: 16,895 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Tobacco brown can be beautiful!
    Lance.

    imageimage
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    keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,650 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Paul,

    It's often hard to try to describe something in a positive light, so you often run out of adjectives. I mean, how many people would put in a strong bid with an honest description of a coin that follows:

    "1883 No Cents Nickel, MS 64 (name of company that holdered it). Typical dead looking mid-grade Unc. Liberty Nickel with a large unattractive streak of uneven urine-colored toning across the obverse devices. Average strike and amount of contact marks for the grade. Worth a strong bid by someone who likes ugly coins and doesn't want to spend the time looking for a nice one.

    "This coin has no reserve, because the seller always kicks himself for buying it in the first place." >>



    I am declaring this the Post of the Day (POTD)!

    Greg
    "If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
    Not really looking for much these days but if I were, it might be a toner. :smile:
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    CoinJunkieCoinJunkie Posts: 8,772 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>
    I am declaring this the Post of the Day (POTD)!

    Greg >>



    Did you go back and read all of the other posts from Thursday June 17, 2004?

    image
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    ambro51ambro51 Posts: 14,545 ✭✭✭✭✭
    image

    LOT 183


    Stunning Lincoln Cent, A tobacco brown example of this most Popular Collector Coin, Exquisite detail has been replaced by smooth even surfaces without a trace of any discoloration or unsightly carbon spotting. Sure to grace the finest collection.

    Opportunity is the Key Word here in that long after the price has been paid to acquire such an legendary piece, the quality and magnificence of it will warm the Collector in the knowledge that He is now the proud owner of such a World Class Specimen.
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    Wait just saw the date, does this mean shylock isn't back image
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    << <i>Wait just saw the date, does this mean shylock isn't back image >>




    Not back.....the minute I saw the thread starter I knew it had to be an old thread image

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