How Long Does Toning Take?

Toning is largely an environment relic ,,so times can vary ,,I have some very pretty toned ASE's that toned in about 4 or 5 years stored in a GrandFathers chest.

There are people who use methods of expediting the toning process ,such as placing a coin in an envelope with match heads and setting them on a window ledge,, some just claim that setting the coin on the window ledge expedite the process ,with the changes in Humidity and temperature, (I have never tried it ) but I can see how it would work.

the question is would these be considered natural processes ?

The morgan rainbows from the bags were stored from the time of minting and then released at various times well into the 1960's .

and were back to varing times and conditions .

Metalman

In chemistry my son was studying oxidation and the effects of chemicals on different metals. I took an AU Peace dollar and placed it in a zip lock bag with some onions that I chopped up and water. The onions/water were in a cup. I placed this on top of the furnace, it was winter so I figured this would be a good low source of heat. Well after about a week the white coin turned a very nice blue. I gave it to his science teacher to use as an example.

I don't think I saved pics.

Could take a year, could take 100 years. I've got 100+ year old blast white Morgan's, but the 2006 Jefferson's in my Dansco album are already toning.

I only have one coin that I know for sure how long it took to toned. It took about 43 years.

Something bad about silver and sulfur....that's why there's silver cream for cleaning silverware. It's amazing to me that any silver coin is blast white after 100 years. I've got a hammered sterling matchbox holder made during the early 1900's. Within a month or two of polishing it's black again, probably due to the matches it contains. Even worse, a single meal of lutefisk will tarnish the tines of a freshly polished sterling fork. Keeep that stuff away from your coins at all costs!

I like lutefisk to a degree....had a tasty batch last winter in Ham Lake MN. I'm not a fish chemist, but am suspicious that the silver-blackening powers of lutefisk have something to do with lye soaking of sulfur-containing proteins in the codfish. If lutefisk is done right, there isn't a lot of ammonia, but the silver gets black all the same.

In reality not to much difference in AT or NT. Only noticed when forced toning is done. For a real education on toning try
www.tonedcoins.org That is a web site sort of dedicated to toning coins or toned coins. As for a short explanation, all metals react with some other elements. Regarless of what people usually say, even Gold and Plantinum react with some elements or compounds. As to Silver it reacts with numerous other items such as Flourine, Chlorine, Oxigen, Nitrates, Sulfates and on and on. Leaving a coin on a window sill depends on the area you live, the weather, your neighbors and many other things. I say neighbors since by me leaving a coin on a window sill makes it vanish, not tone. Now a Silver coin near a pool that is saturated with Chlorine will eventually react to form some AgF2 as a coating, Near factories that use HNO3 in any processes may leak some into the air and react with Silver coins to form AgNO3. The most common reaction is in Sulfur burning areas such as Northern Indiana where there USED to be many steel making companies and many used open hearth furnaces. These bellowed Sulfur Oxides into the air and when mixed with the moisture, (H OH) produced H2SO3 or 4. Best known when it rains as acid rain. In such areas Copper coinage as well as copper piping, grounding systems eroded into CuSO4. On coins appears as a greenish toning. Always a lot of fun in chem labs with Sulfuric Acid and a penny. In some areas the combination of Nitrates, Sulfates, Florides, etc in the air will eventually tone coinage if left in open air. Obviously putting coins in bags, envelopes, ovens, with onions, turnips, spit, dirt, etc is not always necessary. In many areas, such as desert regions, very little toning of coins happens due to lack of that famous substance, humidity (H OH)other wise none as water. This is the reason for the preservation of so many things in Egypt such as the mummies. No humidity. Same with coins.

quote:

---

Now, if a coin "doctor" can achieve the same quality of toning then who is to say this toning is not natural? This person used the same conditions and substances that toned the so-called natural toned coins. So, it can't be different, unless the coin was previously cleaned or altered, then it is called re-toning.

---

This is exactly what I'm getting it, and why I wanted to learn about. I love beautifully toned coins, but I'm always reluctant to buy one. I want one that happened by chance (I don't know why, but this matters to me). Online I see certain dealers that have TONS of stunningly beautiful toned coins. Many of them are slabbed by PCGS, NGC, etc. I can't see how, logically, they would just HAPPEN to have that many beautifully toned coins.