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Posted 03/07/2018 01:02 am
The coin looks legit to me, and quite lovely at that.
Most of the controversy surrounding blue toned copper seems to stem from the perceived effects of MS70 on copper. To some, any blue toned copper must have been created by this method, and thus is not natural.....and will fade over time. From what I understand, this is not true.
Let me quote from Rick Snow, who has forgotten more than I will ever know........
I know this doesn't give you a concrete answer, only opinions. You could always ask the dealer to send it to JA for his opinion, a sticker would certainly help confirm it's originality, although it could be denied simply from a grading perspective and nothing at all to do with the color.
Sooo....bottom line really is how you feel about this piece. To me, it is certainly in the preferred plastic, and I find her quite beautiful.
Most of the controversy surrounding blue toned copper seems to stem from the perceived effects of MS70 on copper. To some, any blue toned copper must have been created by this method, and thus is not natural.....and will fade over time. From what I understand, this is not true.
Let me quote from Rick Snow, who has forgotten more than I will ever know........
Quote:
The answer to the question "Does MS70 turn copper blue" is therefore no.
When we ask "Under what conditions do copper coins turn blue with MS70" then we get to the truth. The only group of coins that turn blue are coins with some kind of coating on them prior to the treatment. This is a subset of all coins with coatings. Coating are dirt, debris, lacquer, shellac, etc.
Next question is "why do they turn blue". Here there is no straighforward answer because there are a multitude of coins with vastly different histories. I know that there were hoards of Proof Indian and Lincoln cents from 1878-1916 that are blue-toned. They came on the market in the late 1930's. These got blue toned by sitting in envelopes for over 50 years. Eliasberg had some in his collection.
The simple answer is that the toning was always there, but hidden by surface coatings.
In the OP's example only the dark coin turned color. It had finger oil on it from circulation, as most copper does. We are not used to seeing the copper stripped of its naturally accrued oils. Bright red coins don't have debris on them, so there is no toning being covered up on them. Only the dark coin turned color. Is that toning artificial or natural? I would say it is unusual.
The answer to the question "Does MS70 turn copper blue" is therefore no.
When we ask "Under what conditions do copper coins turn blue with MS70" then we get to the truth. The only group of coins that turn blue are coins with some kind of coating on them prior to the treatment. This is a subset of all coins with coatings. Coating are dirt, debris, lacquer, shellac, etc.
Next question is "why do they turn blue". Here there is no straighforward answer because there are a multitude of coins with vastly different histories. I know that there were hoards of Proof Indian and Lincoln cents from 1878-1916 that are blue-toned. They came on the market in the late 1930's. These got blue toned by sitting in envelopes for over 50 years. Eliasberg had some in his collection.
The simple answer is that the toning was always there, but hidden by surface coatings.
In the OP's example only the dark coin turned color. It had finger oil on it from circulation, as most copper does. We are not used to seeing the copper stripped of its naturally accrued oils. Bright red coins don't have debris on them, so there is no toning being covered up on them. Only the dark coin turned color. Is that toning artificial or natural? I would say it is unusual.
I know this doesn't give you a concrete answer, only opinions. You could always ask the dealer to send it to JA for his opinion, a sticker would certainly help confirm it's originality, although it could be denied simply from a grading perspective and nothing at all to do with the color.
Sooo....bottom line really is how you feel about this piece. To me, it is certainly in the preferred plastic, and I find her quite beautiful.
Edited by hadleydog
03/07/2018 01:12 am
03/07/2018 01:12 am
