I bought it from a 96 year-old widow who said her 5th husband gave her a roll of these in 1957 as his first gift. She said she has kept the roll in a box in her bedroom along with flower petals from the bouquets he sent her when he was courting her. The dear sweet old lady told me she also kept some perfume bottles (she said they weren't air tight) and some pretty pink wrapping paper that were gifts from her long departed father. There was also a bottle of "spirits of ammonia" in case she fainted from delight when viewing her wonderful gifts. The sweet old dear sold a bunch of these to a dealer who has been selling them on eBay. I'm sure glad I got an original First Gift and I hope when I submit it for grading they the service complies with my request to put "First Gift" on the slab.
>>
I must have met the same old lady on ebay. I bought one just like this (but a bit more purple) for fun. Paid $2 plus $2 for shipping. It looks like a van gogh with all those pastels...
Five years ago, if the same coin was posted it would have gotten rave reviews. Now, if a coin has really nice toning everyone looks at it as suspect.
I think that collectors have learned a lot in the last five years, and this allows them to look at coins with a more critical and disciplined eye. I think it's worth noting when expert collectors (or dealers) of a certain series inform us that they have never seen the particular date/mm discussed with the type of wild toning that is being proclaimed NT- there's a reason why it's never been seen before on a certain issue, and it provides us ample reason to examine why a particular (and expensive) coin is bucking the trend.
My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable !
I think it's worth noting when expert collectors (or dealers) of a certain series inform us that they have never seen the particular date/mm discussed with the type of wild toning that is being proclaimed NT- there's a reason why it's never been seen before on a certain issue, and it provides us ample reason to examine why a particular (and expensive) coin is bucking the trend.
sadly, this is an accurate statement and seems to pertain to Franklin Half-Dollars with this type of tone. certainly they come with a variety of colors and color combinations, but the overwhelming majority of toned Franklins come from Mint Sets. that packaging had a specific type of tone which generally appears kind of splotchy and quite often can be seen as brown or brown/gold. as others have said before, Franklins don't tone like Morgans so seeing one with color washed across like this is out of the ordinary.
It looks like the 55 in my profile. It seems all my Franklins that toned since I've had them(30 yrs) all look the same.Olive brownish on the obverse and blue magenta on the reverse.
oldcameoproofsguy, speaking of AT, I'm worried about your icon coin.......any history on that one? Please note I'm not trying to be difficult (it just comes naturally!), but you mentioned earlier in the thread that you thought the 55 Franklin looked okay to you.....so I was thinking you might not understand AT vs. NT (I know, there's no way for that NOT to come across as uppity...sorry!). I agree with Russ that the 55 looks like tonedcoin2003's work....when I opened the link, I instantly thought AT. NGC should be ashamed on that one.
<< <i>Finally got a nice image of the aforementioned 1955 toner I got from Manofcoins some years ago. Thanks Craig! >>
sorry to buck the trend - but this coin is N.T -right out of a mint set ....... a person who has viewed thousands of mint sets over decades would be able to see this right from the git-go - I'm sorry , but their are qualities and characteristics of orig. toned mint set Franklins that simply can not be denied .
one reason so many coins get dished as A.T is because they are ! the coin world is flooded with them
The quip I made about this coin earlier on in this thread was just a wee joke at MOC's expense. But I have NO complaints about MOC. He goofed up once, but he is OK in my book!
"Wars are really ugly! They're dirty and they're cold. I don't want nobody to shoot me in the foxhole." Mary
Are 55's really hard to find? Or just nicely toned 55's.
I've got a whole role of 55's I was looking at last night... didn't know I had em. They are not toned however. They've been kept in a plastic roll. There were three BB's in it though. Unsure if they are FBL's.
BN
--------------------------------------------- Web Application Architect - ColdFusion, AJAX, CSS, XHTML, JavaScript, Oracle, MySQL
The original coin in this thread IMO is unquestionably AT.
As to Bushies recent pic that coin certainly looks NT to me. When I think of '55's (once you get past the generic ugly toned coins, e.g. the vast majority) the common color is dark blue and gold. Here's mine, PCGS MS66FBL... with your typical dark blue/gold colors. The first image is by Pinnacle Rarities, the second by LucyBop. Lucy's picture on the left side of the reverse is more accurate as to the color of the dark blue that is on both sides of the coin than the Pinnacle's image:
Are 55's really hard to find? Or just nicely toned 55's
White '55s in MS65FBL and up are difficult to find. Truly attractive (not too dark) '55s are also difficult to find,and if MS65FBL or higher very, very difficult to find.
Here's one from my album. It's got a few hits on it so I think it's only an ms64 and I believe the BL are too faint to be graded FBL. Oh well, its toning is nice anyway.
"Gold is money, and nothing else" (JP Morgan, 1912)
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
I quit collecting red/blue Franklins after I was shown how they can be artificially created. I poohed poohed it as you hear lots of stories like this, but being curious I pulled a 62 proof out of an original set (had a nasty dark spot on it) and started my own experiment. Well it sat in a box for more than a year and low and behold the guy was right. I'll post pictures of it later.
Wow! Lots of nice 55's showing up here. Coinsarefun, you captured the luster nicely. Looks 65 and would be FBL if not for the one hit across the lines.
DoubleEagle59 yours looks 65FBL to me.
IrishMike's looks like a FBL GEM as well.
Of course it's not really realistic to grade from pics, but those are the impressions I get.
edit to add: Coinconut, I don't think that is a mint set toner. It is very attractive though! I have never seen or heard of a Bugsbunny in a Treasury Mint Set.
"Wars are really ugly! They're dirty and they're cold. I don't want nobody to shoot me in the foxhole." Mary
I think a lot of people depend on the TPG's to protect them from buying A.T coins ; an occasional mistake is tolerated as no service is perfect . But if the masses perceive that due to supposed "market acceptance" , they are purchasing A.T. coins, they will become scared . Nobody wants a doctored coin , no matter how well done . It is extremely hard for the average collector to spot with authority an A.T. coin , and if their fears are proven to be realistic , and they loose their faith in the TPG's then yes .........very few will be buying the wildly toned coins
Comments
<< <i>Hey Baley, wanna sell it?
Sorry, NFS. However, would consider an even trade for an 1803 $10 in SEGS MS62. Know of any?
Maybe. How about a wildly toned Ike dollar? I mean they have to be worth a few grand if they have the "right" color eh?
Who is NFS?
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
<< <i>Isn't this Franklin supurb!!!
I bought it from a 96 year-old widow who said her 5th husband gave her a roll of these in 1957 as his first gift. She said she has kept the roll in a box in her bedroom along with flower petals from the bouquets he sent her when he was courting her. The dear sweet old lady told me she also kept some perfume bottles (she said they weren't air tight) and some pretty pink wrapping paper that were gifts from her long departed father. There was also a bottle of "spirits of ammonia" in case she fainted from delight when viewing her wonderful gifts. The sweet old dear sold a bunch of these to a dealer who has been selling them on eBay. I'm sure glad I got an original First Gift and I hope when I submit it for grading they the service complies with my request to put "First Gift" on the slab.
I must have met the same old lady on ebay. I bought one just like this (but a bit more purple) for fun. Paid $2 plus $2 for shipping. It looks like a van gogh with all those pastels...
I think that collectors have learned a lot in the last five years, and this allows them to look at coins with a more critical and disciplined eye. I think it's worth noting when expert collectors (or dealers) of a certain series inform us that they have never seen the particular date/mm discussed with the type of wild toning that is being proclaimed NT- there's a reason why it's never been seen before on a certain issue, and it provides us ample reason to examine why a particular (and expensive) coin is bucking the trend.
<< <i>are you implying that toning is bogus? >>
Bogus? Isn't there a separate thread about that guy?
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
sadly, this is an accurate statement and seems to pertain to Franklin Half-Dollars with this type of tone. certainly they come with a variety of colors and color combinations, but the overwhelming majority of toned Franklins come from Mint Sets. that packaging had a specific type of tone which generally appears kind of splotchy and quite often can be seen as brown or brown/gold. as others have said before, Franklins don't tone like Morgans so seeing one with color washed across like this is out of the ordinary.
And what you doing with that old `55 of mine`s ??
<< <i>Monk you son of a gun -where you been ?
And what you doing with that old `55 of mine`s ?? >>
I've been Ill.
Nope, I slbbed that baby from a 55 Mint set. I bought a group of 55 mint sets years ago. This one hade the prettiest tone.
Must have been a mint set I sold somewhere .
Hope you are feeling better and are buying up all the rainbow Franklins !!
Thanks Craig!
and they're cold.
I don't want nobody to shoot me in the foxhole."
Mary
Best Franklin Website
speaking of AT, I'm worried about your icon coin.......any history on that one? Please note I'm not trying to be difficult (it just comes naturally!), but you mentioned earlier in the thread that you thought the 55 Franklin looked okay to you.....so I was thinking you might not understand AT vs. NT (I know, there's no way for that NOT to come across as uppity...sorry!). I agree with Russ that the 55 looks like tonedcoin2003's work....when I opened the link, I instantly thought AT. NGC should be ashamed on that one.
<< <i>Finally got a nice image of the aforementioned 1955 toner I got from Manofcoins some years ago.
Thanks Craig!
sorry to buck the trend - but this coin is N.T -right out of a mint set ....... a person who has viewed thousands of mint sets over decades would be able to see this right from the git-go - I'm sorry , but their are qualities and characteristics of orig. toned mint set Franklins that simply can not be denied .
one reason so many coins get dished as A.T is because they are ! the coin world is flooded with them
The quip I made about this coin earlier on in this thread was just a wee joke at MOC's expense. But I have NO complaints about MOC. He goofed up once, but he is OK in my book!
and they're cold.
I don't want nobody to shoot me in the foxhole."
Mary
Best Franklin Website
I've got a whole role of 55's I was looking at last night... didn't know I had em. They are not toned however. They've been kept in a plastic roll. There were three BB's in it though. Unsure if they are FBL's.
BN
Web Application Architect - ColdFusion, AJAX, CSS, XHTML, JavaScript, Oracle, MySQL
Pretty neat toning, I put it into my Dansco Album.
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
.
Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
.
More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
As to Bushies recent pic that coin certainly looks NT to me. When I think of '55's (once you get past the generic ugly toned coins, e.g. the vast majority) the common color is dark blue and gold. Here's mine, PCGS MS66FBL... with your typical dark blue/gold colors. The first image is by Pinnacle Rarities, the second by LucyBop. Lucy's picture on the left side of the reverse is more accurate as to the color of the dark blue that is on both sides of the coin than the Pinnacle's image:
U.S. Type Set
White '55s in MS65FBL and up are difficult to find. Truly attractive (not too dark
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
Jim
<< <i>I've seen a lot of fugly mint set toned Franklins, but I liked this one well enough to buy it.
Jim >>
............THATS a nice one too ! look at those fangs !
DoubleEagle59 yours looks 65FBL to me.
IrishMike's looks like a FBL GEM as well.
Of course it's not really realistic to grade from pics, but those are the impressions I get.
edit to add: Coinconut, I don't think that is a mint set toner. It is very attractive though! I have never seen or heard of a Bugsbunny in a Treasury Mint Set.
and they're cold.
I don't want nobody to shoot me in the foxhole."
Mary
Best Franklin Website
But if the masses perceive that due to supposed "market acceptance" , they are purchasing A.T. coins, they will become scared . Nobody wants a doctored coin , no matter how well done . It is extremely hard for the average collector to spot with authority an A.T. coin , and if their fears are proven to be realistic , and they loose their faith in the TPG's then yes .........very few will be buying the wildly toned coins