Is Rainbow Toning Worth 10 Grand To You?

I have never been a big advocate of toning so perhaps I should remain silent on this one........it is my own personal preference and not a matter of economics.....which no one can disagree that the toned coins bring much higher prices.....NOW.....but it could also be just another fad or hype that may fade in time.......I am not at all sure how one can distinguish natural toning from artifiically applied techniques........and if it is done artificially then it is definitly just a ploy to make money out of a lesser priced coin .......what if we find out thirty years from now that all that artificial toning has some really bad and detrimental effects to the long term storage of the coin.........bet they will really go up in value then......

That's why if you have beautifully toned coins they are worth substantially more than UN toned coins. People like the color. That's why people try to artificially tone coins.

I have seen common every day Morgans that usually sell for around 60 bucks sell for 300+ with rainbow toning but although I think some of it is beautiful (some is not) I would never pay a premium for it. I think this is just a fad that's going on right now and I believe it will die down in time (maybe when some of the beautiful colored coins they bought turns black)I just don't know how much time but it seems if you have a true rainbow toned coin in just about any series you can just about set your own price for it and someone may just bite

No Way, I can think of a lot more coins that I would rather have.

What chance that maybe a "TYPO" has occured?

I believe part of it is the pedigree. While I never heard of JFS, I have heard of the Randolf collection and, apparently, JFS purchased quite a bit of it through Heritage.

I am not opposed to it either but , thats a considerable premium

Toning has its place within the many specialties of numismatics. Collectors who want something which is different badly enough will pay a premium over "normal" coins. Look at all those interested in errors, varieties (especially VAMs), Cuds, die breaks, offsets, double-dies, etc. Toned coins are just one more variety.

But, therein lies the problem. Fraudsters abound, take notice of the varieties which bring in more money, then proceed to fake them. Thus, we see the proliferation of artificially toned coins and toning fluids or other chemical concoctions to make a regular coin of no particular value into something special (at least, that it the intent).

While I personally like attractive naturally (i.e., over decades or centuries with no induced toning) toned coins, I'm not especially eager to pay much more than current market value. I'm sure not gonna shell out 10X market value just because a coin is toned.

Fred