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 Replies: 15 / Views: 2,691 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5663 Posts |
This is a severely toned Franklin that was the top coin on a stack of uncirculated Franklins. It was in a plastic tube with a styrofoam peanut on top to keep the coins from shifting. They were stored that way for about 30 years, and I just opened the tube to look at the coins. The obverse (touching the styrofoam) is badly toned and lost most of its luster. The next coin down was mildly toned, and the other 8 coins below were untoned with original mint luster. I thought styrofoam was supposed to be inert, but perhaps there was some moisture trapped in the tube. There are some other tubes in this collection I inherited that are similarly packed, and none of the other top coins appear to have been affected by the styrofoam filler. This is the heaviest toning I've seen in an uncirculated coin that was supposedly stored properly.   |
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Valued Member
United States
398 Posts |
Interesting the reverse is toned even darker than observe and a more even tone .... Maybe the styrofoam retarded toning where it was touching the coin, and gave the kinda of blotchy effect it seems to have in the obverse .... What else was different about that roll? Where was it stored? Any defects?
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
This coin had some big environmental issues. I don't think it had anything to do with the Styrofoam .But what I don't understand is all the hits and scratches on reverse of this Franklin if it's supposed to be uncirculated. Also the right lower wing on Eagle looks messed up.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1788 Posts |
Looks cool regardless I like it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
650 Posts |
Styrofoam is not inert. Styrofoam is a trade name for polystyrene which is made from petroleum and plastics. Styrene, the main building block of polystyrene is toxic to humans and animals. When heated, Styrofoam emits chemicals and gases. That's why you are not suppose to microwave anything in Styrofoam. It's nasty stuff.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5663 Posts |
The plastic tube looked intact, but stored in a cardboard box. Even though the reverse is pretty dark, I think the obverse is toned more because much of the luster is gone, while the reverse retained quite a bit of luster. The reverse has a lot of tiny milk spots, but they're barely visible when viewing the actual coin. I had a tough time lighting this to get the toning accurate, and it really accentuated the spots. I think it has an acceptable number of dings on the bell for an unc coin, and the right eagle wing feathers look normal on the actual coin. I'm leaning toward this being due to a bad peanut...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1653 Posts |
Too tarnished and dinged up for my taste. ymmv
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
To me ... I would wonder what it looked like when it was placed in the tube.
Just because some of the other coins are not toned, does
not mean all the coins in the tube were the same condition.
Unless the OP is the one that placed them in the tube, and
remembers.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5663 Posts |
I agree that it's much too toned for my liking, as well.
GR58, that's a good point about whether it was badly toned before it was stored. I hadn't thought about that, and no way to know now.
batboy, aren't clear plastic coin tubes made out of polystyrene? I suppose it might be less stable when it's puffed up like styrofoam. But there were two other tubes of Franklins also packed with a styrofoam peanut that had absolutely no toning on the top coin.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
946 Posts |
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Yeah , if it was mine I guess I would dip it also. what does OP have to loose ? It's not that it's a gem unc. with those reverse issues. The way it sits now IMHO is it's Not Sellable or collectable . |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
650 Posts |
Yes, you're right, coin tubes are made from polystyrene. Since I'm an environmental geologist I knew Styrofoam is bad environmentally because it's a carcinogen and it's slow to biodegrade. But, I'm not a chemist, so I did a bit more research. Styrofoam is a trademark of Dow Chemical for extruded polystyrene. Packing peanuts and disposable coffee cups are incorrectly called Styrofoam. They are made from expanded (not extruded) polystyrene foam. I'm not sure why the hard plastic form of polystyrene is stable. but the expanded foam form is not. Maybe someone else can chime in and school us.
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Valued Member
United States
245 Posts |
The toning is very heavy and it's hard to tell from a photo what it looks like exactly. I've seen a lot of certified Franklin half dollars on ebay lately with this type of toning grading as high as MS66 so I would assume it has occurred naturally or the grading services wouldn't have assigned a grade to them. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5663 Posts |
It's certainly not a high grade MS with all the marks on the bell. But the reverse is actually pretty attractive--the tiny milk spots are barely visible. The obverse looks really dull, and I doubt a dip will improve it. I think the tarnish has just eaten away most of the luster. I appreciate everyone's thoughts!
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Pillar of the Community
1153 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
79 Posts |
I like it! I can appreciate any and all toning!
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Replies: 15 / Views: 2,691 |
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Posted 01/03/2016 6:49 pm
