Burgundy Toning On Mercury Dime

I really like the toning on the reverse of the '45. Very dramatic.

May I say this - this is why in the future I will collect Mercury dimes. The toning that comes no these things, well it comes in so many different types. That 1945 you posted is my absolute favorite type on these coins. It's like someone is saying "check out the reverse on this coin"

The original coin, in my opinion (which isn't a great one) is natural. My father has some Roosies in an album that have toned really dark over time. His are gritty and unattractive unfortunately. I think yours is pretty cool and worth throwing in a 2x2 to hold onto.

I'm far from a toned coin fan but I like just the opposite of the above. As already noted teh 45 is already graded but I still like the uniqueness of the 36 much more. Again, not fan of toning but if a coin is toned, I would prefer it to be different.

lukky - Yes, the 45-S is one of the more common at high grades. I paid $315 for mine. When I was buying mine, I saw another, also NGC MS-68 with a less attractive obverse (a bit splotchy) but similar reverse for $275 that sold fast. I've also seen them listed on ebay at that grade for $450+ with comparable toning.

Both those coins are tarnished. All tarnish is natural. The only remaining question is, do you like them? Don't fall into the popular trap of trying to determine the mode of onset, that's a sucker's game. Nobody can do that. Rather, keep your eye on the coin, and determine whether or not you like it. That's all there is to it.

PS: FWIW, how I feel about both those coins: .

I do definitely like the coin, especially because I have not seen that sort of toning before. I just don't want to feel like an amateur if it turns out I've fallen for some 'it cooked for an hour on 350 degrees' sort of trick.

SeatedNut - You bring up the point of a good point with the $ given what the market will/won't accept. Given the low cost, I didn't hesitate to pick it up given that it had some colors I haven't seen on a coin before. However if it was $50, I would have definitely thought twice about it, unless I was familiar with the sort of toning and new it was market-acceptable. While I'm buying coins I like, I also want to be buying at market-reasonable prices.

I hear what you're saying. I mean it. I think that "market's" off their nut, though.

I use a metal detector and have found this kind of toning on coins (silver) in playground tan bark around the monkey bars.
The coin can't be in the bark for long or it will turn much darker.
Most of the ones that I have found were not in such good shape though.
I have seen nickels turn just plain red in a couple of weeks, I have a XF 1926-s Buffalo that is red from finding it in the bark.

I do like the looks of both coins, they would be keepers