1918 Gorgeous Toned French Franc - Is The Toning Authentic?

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Author	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,646
Paul Bulgerin Pillar of the Community United States 3098 Posts	Posted 04/08/2016 6:25 pm I received this lovely 1918 silver franc today. I bought it on ebay for less than $2.00 in an auction with a lousy photo. I didn't know the coin was even toned until I received it. The toning is breathtaking, but I've seen enough artificial toning, especially with purples and blues, to wonder if it is real or not. The obverse is deep blue around the rims, moving to purple and gold toward the center of the coin. The reverse is a deep gold, with deep blue around the rims and splotches of blue and purple on the leaves. The coin has intense luster. It's not the typical awful artificial toning you see so often on ebay, but it's almost in the "too good to be true" category. What do folks think? Real toning or artificial? * Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. * Paul Bulgerin Report this Post to the Staff

Jaobler Pillar of the Community United States 6396 Posts	Posted 04/08/2016 11:11 pm I'm not really familiar with these coins but AT seems likely. The coin shows lightly worn surfaces which I would not expect to have developed such bright colors. It is pretty though and you can't complain too much about the price! Report this Post to the Staff
chequer Pillar of the Community Canada 4227 Posts	Posted 04/08/2016 11:15 pm Very nice looking coin. I'm wavering back and forth, but I think it's natural (not done blatantly). Looks more like a week strike than wear, but tough to tell via photos. Report this Post to the Staff
Potsdam Valued Member Germany 303 Posts	Posted 04/09/2016 05:38 am In my opinion it is natural. I've also got one of these beautiful early 20th century toned 1 Franc coins (the purple shine is missing on mine though). I can post a picture of it later. Best regards from Berlin Report this Post to the Staff
oriole Pillar of the Community Canada 5255 Posts	Posted 04/09/2016 06:27 am I have a few of these ones as well, and they have a nice tone. I think that these were hoarded after and during WWI and the toning developed naturally during long storage. There are a lot of these old francs around in great condition. There was minimal circulation since the franc depreciated badly after WWI, and people would naturally save anything with precious metal. Report this Post to the Staff
Zurie Pillar of the Community United States 5686 Posts	Posted 04/09/2016 08:22 am Beautiful coin! Looks natural to me. What a deal! Report this Post to the Staff
thq Pillar of the Community United States 3343 Posts	Posted 04/09/2016 09:06 am It looks like heat toning to me, either from a torch or a frying pan. I've gotten that kind of toning on jewelry coins getting the old solder off. But they look cool. And they're not expensive. "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire Report this Post to the Staff
trout1105 Pillar of the Community Australia 7096 Posts	Posted 04/09/2016 09:43 am I am going with "AT" on this one, it just doesn't look right to me . Report this Post to the Staff
colonialjohn Pillar of the Community United States 1757 Posts	Posted 04/09/2016 11:10 am Cartwheel Effect? Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 8 / Views: 1,646

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