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 Replies: 12 / Views: 702 |
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Valued Member
United States
98 Posts |
Got this in my change one day, thought it looked pretty cool so I 2x2ed it. What could cause toning like this? Obverse as you can see is tiny bit of gold tone mixed with a heft amount of blue/purple/green. The reverse is a solid gold tone. The colores do extend to the right of the bust and around the date, couldn't seem to get a good pic showing alot of the color all around. If it was heat that toned it wouldn't both side ls be of a similar color pattern? ?   |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
18582 Posts |
Appears to be heat or chemical exposure. Here's some I heated with a mini-torch so I could understand what happens.    Lincoln Cent Lover!
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Valued Member
United States
98 Posts |
Did the reverse on yours turn the same color? I've tried some before with a couple diff heat sources and they always came out same coloring on both sides
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Valued Member
United States
215 Posts |
Hi @MrJ, Since you found this one in change, I have no idea where it came from, but I have coins like that - toned on one side and not the other. Most of the ones I have came from an old album the coin had been sitting in for years/decades and generally the exposed (obverse typically) side is toned whereas the reverse is not. I have also seen the opposite of this where the reverse is more toned, but that seems rarer.
My guess is that something similar happened with this coin meaning it sat somewhere for a long time where one side was exposed to a very different environment from the other. This also makes me think it is natural toning since it would be hard to do that with direct heat (although I am sure it could be done) and because the toning is more subtle and natural looking on your coin (at least to me) than on the artificially toned ones.
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Valued Member
United States
98 Posts |
@cointree, I do kind of agree that this could have sat in a old cardboard coin book and that might have helped the result. In my experience buying old books and picking thru the coins, when it's toned from the book only the one side would have tone and the other would he normal copper coin color.
This one however has a brighter gold toning on the reverse, it's not typical 81 copper kind of look. Would there have been anything in those old books that would cause the reverse to tone gold while obverse looks like This?
I agree the toning is much more subtle than a heated coin. All the ways I have toyed around with heat induced artificial toning they come out very vibrant and precise on the coloring. real crisp lines from one color to another, where as this one looks more blended and fades from one color to the next. The only toned coins that I have that I know for sure got their tone from sitting in a older book for some years all came out with both sides toned but of same color toning and usually both sides were golden toned going into like a first time in Miami lighting bronzing.
I have a gold toned proof nickel only on the obverse tho, the reverse is standard color just with a heck of a shine. That one I pulled from a uncircumcised roll that by my guess was sealed in 71 I think the coin is and not opened till I opened it and it was the dead center coin of the roll.
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Valued Member
United States
98 Posts |
Here is a comparison, left is the 81 D I posted right is a 72 D somewhat ok condition. Shows the difference in a standard copper au coloring vs the "gold" tone reverse.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
76558 Posts |
Agree the toning looks artificial.
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Valued Member
United States
98 Posts |
If you can tell me how to tone both sides of the coin diff tones please do share, garuntee it would help me in the future. I haven't tried that many ways of doing it, however I have tries a good but of quick process artifical toning and closest I've gotten was super toned on one side and no toning on the other...and that wasn't that quick of a process. Deff not worth the time unless your trying to learn how to identify natural vs artifical.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
27103 Posts |
I'm not convinced this is artificial. Only toned on the obverse so could have been in a wood drawer or something other contacting only the obverse.
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Valued Member
United States
189 Posts |
Doesn't strike me as artificial. Mainly because I've seen ones just like it come out of albums or the bottom of someone's old dresser drawers. You can definitely achieve this look artificially, but I don't feel someone toned this coin with the purpose of making it colorful.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14092 Posts |
 plus this is what you might see if the coin was obv up for a long period. the reverse would probably not show any toning. the colors are correct for natural toning as well as the smooth transitions. also what would be the reason to AT a common everyday coin
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Valued Member
United States
215 Posts |
Quote:
That one I pulled from a uncircumcised roll @MrJ I don't think I've ever searched one of those!  All I can say at this point is that I have definitely seen cents with one side toned and one side not, and I have definitely also seen them with that different gold color. However you are right in that if it is that color on one side then it usually is the same on both. I looked for some examples tonight (I know I have one or two somewhere) but only found one like that on both sides. If I find one I will post it
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Pillar of the Community
United States
789 Posts |
When only one side is toned that can indicate legit toning (IMO it can also indicate that some savvy person covered one side before putting it in the container with whatever agent they used to tone the coin). I collect toners, and on two of the three pennies shown, the colors look like naturally toned pennies I've seen, so definitely could be legit. The bright colors and the combination of colors on that green one look dodgy to me. Not saying it can't be legit but I'd only buy that one if it was graded.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 702 |
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Posted 02/01/2023 11:37 pm
