Three Cent Silver (3CS) Prices And Questionable Color Schemes

to the CCF!

Here's a detail from a 1992 Silver Eagle error coin. The colors you see formed over the last 38 years with the coin in an ANACS slab. I have no idea what was on the coin or if it might have been something in the grease (the coin has a large strike through) that caused the error. It's the only toned ASE that I have.

Click on the photo for a larger image

If you search for toned American Silver Eagles on ebay (which obviously are .999 fine), there are numerous examples of straight graded blue and green toned coins. I don't know the chemistry behind it, but perhaps it's an environmental contaminant on the surface that allows the blue/green color to appear. Certainly classic US coins contain enough copper to explain the toning.

I had a look at the three different "types" of Three Cent Silvers and I believe I like the last type best. It seems to have the largest, clearest star of the three which is neat.
As the last poster mentioned, apparently not many made in type 3. I guess I just have to pony up the money.

Rainbow colors are possible with toned silver coins.
The reason why delicate blues and greens exist has to to with color layers being so extremely thin (at molecule size !)
that normally black sulfides and oxides set up color interference in the same way as an oil slick does on water.

As such, rainbow coloring is extremely delicate.
Thus being so, it is also unstable over time in terms of color permanency. For this reason, it is absolutely essential that coins with beautiful rainbow toning are stored in an airtight environment to maintain the beautiful appearance as long as possible.

After it is all said and done, toning and patination is just another form of surface corrosion that is expressed in a euphamistic way. Good deep and even patination can protect the meatal underneath to enhance appearance as well as value.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


As an aside, with a high MS silver coin, I prefer blast white, not due to appearance, but because that is closest to the condition when it first emerged from the coining press.

Depends on the series. If I wanted a mint state draped bust coin I'd go with the half, that runs around 8k or so, which given the rarity of bust coins overall, and the conditional rarity attached is quite affordable and reasonable. Especially when the other denominations in the same grade start at 30k. In the context of 3CS I have no issue spending a few hundred on a mint state example, given the low overall mintages and survival rates I actually think the 3CS is undervalued in MS by the current market.

It seems to me that ebay is slowly turning into Etsy because they no longer have a Community Standards watchdog group. Anything goes.

Yes, I am regularly checking GC as well. In fact I send them some random leftover coins that no longer fit in my collection objectives. I'm curious what they will go for.
The coin from your link I have seen before. Looks lightly cleaned to me (even though NGC doesn't mention it). At normal magnification it will probably be just a shiny mirror. Not really interested in that.