How can one artificially tone coins?

thedrunkendaisy · May 1, 2006 3:31PM

Not to make a profit, but for a form of experiment. I know high sulpher paper will do the trick, but where can I find high sulpher paper and so on?

Coxe · May 1, 2006 3:38PM

Just google for ideas. Here is a LINK for you.

thedrunkendaisy · May 1, 2006 3:55PM

Thank you

Eggs, vinegar, onions. Sounds like a casserole or somethign

Boom · May 1, 2006 4:21PM

That's one way. There are a multitude of other ways .... or so I've been told. The best way takes the longest amount of time and actually isn't considered to be artificial at all.

Place the coin in the small manilla-like envelopes or in an album whose pages are notoriously high in sulphur content and just forget about them.

Some of the most beautifully toned coins are those that simply were kept in albums for a long time.

Some methods are really out there and how they make it past professional graders beats the devil outta me. When a coin is just barely a year old and isn't even silver yet turns vivid Blues and Maroons, something is definitely up.

Note that the REAL experts aren't volunteering any info.

clackamas · May 1, 2006 5:07PM

Clorox will turn Silver blue.

majorbigtime · May 1, 2006 6:56PM

Ahah! So that's how booooner toners are born.

Frankcoins · May 1, 2006 7:58PM

<< Clorox will turn Silver blue. >>

Forming silver chloride, a salt, on the surface of a coin is not a good idea....

carl · May 1, 2006 10:01PM

I've tried numerous methods and find some work and some don't. If you have an experimental nature try a bunch of ideas with normal household items with not so rare coins. Some of the things I've tried is putting the coins in dish soap and letting dry in the sun. Place a coin in a flower pot's dirt and keep wet. Light dabs with a cotton ball full of gun bluing solution. Spit on a coin after eating onions or chives. Mixing anything you can find in a kitchen such as extracts, salts, peppers all in a vinegar solution and placing a coin in that. Boiling a coin in a small amount of chicken noodle soup. Lite dabs with battery acid. Placing a coin under my armpit when sweating a lot. Put a coin in my shoe for the day but really starts to hurt after a while. Diped coins in gasoline, mineral spirits, fuel oil, 3 in 1 oil, laquer thinner and lots more.
My most sucess has been with bun bluing and dish soap.
Just try everything.

TheRaven · May 1, 2006 11:09PM

I stuck a SAE in a brown restaurant napkin yesterday, since I heard that does some cool stuff.....

Worth a try so.....

Jcarney · May 1, 2006 11:17PM

<< Spit on a coin after eating onions or chives. >>

I will NEVER buy a toned coin from you.

drwstr123 · May 1, 2006 11:18PM

Bought these from someone who knew what he was doing. Called himself, "Articents".

pharmer · May 1, 2006 11:56PM

A Canadian friend of mine bought one of those bottles of instant toning stuff on ebay. When I asked why, he said it's cheap, I'm curious, and I want to know what it is. He says the liquid stuff is ammonium sulfide solution. Stink bomb stuff. He's a pharmacist, so I believe him. He put it on copper cents, and got the effect you have on those cents.

I don't think they look good at all. And knowing what he's doing apparently is just a matter of putting some ammonium sulfide solution on them. Just a small time crook.

Burks · May 2, 2006 12:09AM

A frying pan works well. I turned a Mercury dime some cool shades of orange, blue, and red.

I tried the eggs, vinegar, and onion technique. Really didn't work too well. May have been due to the Mercs being circulated.

TwoSides2aCoin · May 2, 2006 12:30AM

Just because I hate toning and all that comes with it, I'll be a smart alec and tell you the easiest is :

Rustoleum™ paint

However, as Boom alluded to, in this thread , if you want it to be "NATURAL" (here's the oxymoron)...
Put it in an envelope that is high in "SULPHUR" content and let time along with CHEMICALS do it for you.

can someone tell me why toners even make it into slabs ? I guess I am just a purist with coins.

~dipping is just as bad~

FLAME ON......

oh yeah, let's not forget FLAME ............ Heat transfer also does a number. DUH.....

NEXT WEEKS LESSON :

how to make phoney social security cards

Cladiator · May 2, 2006 12:35AM

I've been told that if you put raw coins in my pants after I have a big BBQ meal they will probably tone to some crazy colors

holeinone1972 · May 2, 2006 1:00AM

<< 
NEXT WEEKS LESSON :

how to make phoney social security cards

>>

Your name is now: Donald R. DiCicco

TwoSides2aCoin · May 2, 2006 1:07AM

<< 

<< 
NEXT WEEKS LESSON :

how to make phoney social security cards

>>

Your name is now: Donald R. DiCicco

>>

well, hey.... It's not for PROFIT.... just an experiment

lol

Gemineye · May 2, 2006 1:14AM

This'll tone any thing you want...............
.................................

orie · May 2, 2006 2:00AM

Put a piece of glass in the oven, put some goobegone on the glass and lay the coin on top of the goobegone, bake on 300 for a couple of hours or longer.

MrSpud · May 2, 2006 2:06AM

I AT'd these experimentally for education purposes. I was trying to both get a better understanding of toning in general as well as to have examples to educate myself and others as to what actual AT'd coins look like. I don't think it is wise to give exact details because the next Wannabe Gototoning powerseller may be lurking, but I do encourage people to research these things on their own. If enough people are knowledgeable about these matters it will make it harder for the Docs to deceive people.

This next picture shows the progression of colors of an AT coin as it was being toned. The pictures are of the same coin taken every 10 seconds or so as it was being thermally oxidized.

And here is an educational AT vs. NT display I made a while back that was displayed by Jamie Franki at a coin design exhibition. The card reads as follows:

"The Progression of Colors on Artificially Toned Coins

The colors visible on these coins were produced by Thermal Oxidation, a process involving heat, atmospheric oxygen, atmospheric sulfur, copper and nickel. There are no pigments or dyes used. The colors are generated by a transparent oxide film grown on the surface of the coins. The thickness of the film dictates the color perceived as light passes through the film and is reflected of the surface of the coins. Similar coloration phenomena can be seen in naturewhen viewing a rainbow colored oil slick on a wet road or in the iridescent colors of some insects.

The coloration on these coins is called "artificial toning". When coins are artificially toned through Thermal Oxidation, the progression of colors goes from the untoned nickel to yellow, gold, orange, reddish-purple, bluish-purple on to blue and ultimately grey as the film grows thicker. Not all of the colors of the visible spectrum are produced by this method. True red and green are not produced.

Coins can also tone naturally over time from similar film formations involving sulfur, atmospheric gasses and moisture. Genuine toned coins have a more natural appearance and, when attractive, enhance the eye appeal and the value of collectable coins. Artificial toning, while sometimes attractive, often appears manufactured and does not add to the value of collectable coins except as a novelty. Often, artificial toning is done to deceive novice collectors by hiding signs of damage on the surface of the coin, and to add value. Therefore, coin collectors should learn to be able to recognize the appearance of artificial toning. One of the most effective means of learning to recognize artificial toning is to compare known naturally toned coins with known artificially toned coins as in this presentation. By handling a number of both over time you will be develop an "eye" for genuine color and the way it appears on the surfaces of coins. "

And here are a few others I artificially toned using different techniques

BlindedByEgo · May 2, 2006 2:10AM

<< bun bluing and dish soap.
Just try everything. >>

Bun bluing? I'll show you bun bluing

MrSpud · May 2, 2006 2:18AM

Boom · May 2, 2006 5:59AM

I've heard from a reputable source that ammonia mixed with water (1 part ammonia to 2 parts ammonia) applied liberally with a very soft Q-Tip works big time. Rinse thoroughly and expose to heat (Window sill). Sulphur from smoking cigarettes, especially around a coin that's been dipped, can bring about nice results as well.

I ask a lot of questions from those I perceive to be the best at what they do and must say that for the most part, these guys are good HOWEVER, when buying a toner one should always remember to look at the 3rd side of the coin (the reeded edge itself). If a coin has outstanding colors but is not toned on (or should I say IN) this 3rd side, it would indeed be a fair statement to say that the coin is AT.

JMHO, of course.

carl · May 2, 2006 6:37AM

I still like coins left in dish soap and then placed outside for a while. They usually tone blue.

How can one artificially tone coins?

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