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Posted 12/09/2012 11:45 pm
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And quite frankly I find calling dipping doctoring to be a bit over stated to say the least. Unless the coin is radically dipped, there is NO way you can say a coin is dipped or not. I for one am quite glad that set of "rules" did not get agreed on. In my personal opinion it was way overboard. But that's just me.
Just because a coin is old and silver does NOT mean it has to be anything other than white. At least not uncirculated coins. Now, a CIRCULATED coin, yes, it will be tarnished and if not has been dipped.
And quite frankly I find calling dipping doctoring to be a bit over stated to say the least. Unless the coin is radically dipped, there is NO way you can say a coin is dipped or not. I for one am quite glad that set of "rules" did not get agreed on. In my personal opinion it was way overboard. But that's just me.
Just because a coin is old and silver does NOT mean it has to be anything other than white. At least not uncirculated coins. Now, a CIRCULATED coin, yes, it will be tarnished and if not has been dipped.
I understand completely if folks think it over the top to consider dipping to be doctoring and the committee understood that including dipping as doctoring would sink any definition submitted to the PNG. Also, some members of the committee might not think dipping is a form of doctoring. I will not attempt to debate the point in order to change one's view. However, I will explain my reasoning for my stance. In my opinion, any form of surface manipulation that intentionally changes the appearance of a coin and is also outside of normal intended usage of the coin is doctoring. Others need not agree and that is fine.
I write that the vast majority of silver coins from the 1800s shouldn't be blast white because these coins weren't stored the way they are today. There was no climate control and the method of storage was either fortuitous (forgotten change in a drawer, purse or clothing) or exposed the coinage metal to many toning agents such as the acids in woods or organics within glues or fabrics. All of these, in addition to the ambient humidity, tend to tone silver over time. Therefore, while there can be the oddball completely untoned silver coin from the 1800s, the great majority have been dipped. This would be even more true for an AU58 Trade dollar, which was the topic at hand. Of course, the previously mentioned Morgan dollars were stored in Mint bags for decades and quite a few are Mint fresh, blast white without having been dipped. They are the most glaring exception to the idea that 1800s silver should have toning.
