Sold An Indian Head Cent & Buyer Altered The Color - Before & After Photos

Seriously? You equate a toned coin to a counterfeit coin? Wow.

In this case it is obviously purposeful toning. But had you not sold the coin to him, would you even know that? Unless you can do a chemical analysis and find remains of a substance, its really anyones guess. Including graders. My avatar is a toned IHC. I know for a fact it wasnt purposeful. The collection was owned by a HEAVY smoker. I had to remove all the coins from their albums and toss the albums they smelled so strong. 3/4 of the coins (all different types) were heavily toned.

I left a 67 Kennedy in the back window of my car all summer. At the end of the summer it was blue toned. Now, I did that on purpose, but to prove a point. Many collections sit in storage with no or shoddy climate control. That alone will tone coins.

As for dipping a coin. That can be done without anyone being able to tell. Now, if a coin is over dipped, or dipped many times, then it shows. But a single dip to remove stuff cant be told outside of chemical analysis. And then only if whoever did the dipping didnt rinse the coin very well.

Personally, I dont really care if the toning is purposeful or accidental. As long as the coin isn't harshly cleaned and then toned to cover it (THAT is fairly easy to tell) I am not going to sweat it a whole lot.

You CAN dip an AU coin , but it sure won't make it shiny and new again .
It will still show wear . It simply becomes a dipped AU coin .
Also you can use restorative measures on a mint state or even a
Circulated coin that will absolutely get straight graded.

The US Mint in the 19th Century did not produce rainbow colored coins. Therefore, by definition, Chinese rainbow colored coins are not counterfeits since they are not based on something that existed. They are pure fantasy coins. Of course, the Chinese should not pass these coins off as actual 19th century coins but accurately label them as "fantasy coins".
It is a bit like buying a reproduction of a van Gogh painting. You can buy them online or in any art shop. Nobody is whining about that. The real thing is still hanging in a museum and you know you bought a reproduction.

"I recently posted about my own distaste for dipped coins (E-Z-est coin cleaner, MS70 industrial strength coin brightener, etc), which in a way is somewhat analogous to this artificial toning."

E-Z-est will tone silver coins in ways you can only dream of, and they Look Good... I discovered this decades ago when some spilled on my desk (a Friday), which had on it a PL 1896-O M$D on a piece of paper, and this was not discovered until the next Monday. The paper acted as a blotter

Fascinating reading some of these posts.
I find it curious that some equate originality on 100+ year old copper or silver coins with how they appeared when minted. This very same philosophy sentenced millions of coins to being dipped in our lifetime......and wiped by the generation before.
All for the sake of making them appear as they were when they were minted.
The processes used to recreate the original appearance not only alter the surfaces, they often strip layers off of them.
Unless placed in a vacuum, all coins start deteriorating from the moment they are minted.

For what it's worth, the coin in question in this thread was treated with MS70.
Rick Snow talks a lot about this process for those that are curious and want to learn a little more.
While I don't necessarily agree with everything that Rick says (I would prefer that most coins be left alone) it is a fascinating read.

The bottom line is always collect what appeals to you.