Let's Define Another Loosely Used Term Thrown Around Here - Terminal Toning

No, no, no Baseball. It's not like that. I just didn't want you to think that I believed a coin could evaporate.

Any who. So do you guys consider my 1862 Seated dollar to have terminal toning? Because in the Seated dollar world, advanced collectors pay premiums for coins with this look especially on rare issues.

My responses aren't always necessarily geared towards other posters. I know people that are very new read threads and may not get sarcasm or have the understanding to know what's going on. I do try and keep that in mind with some responses to blank threads like that which is why I will respond how I do with a little extra.



As far as the dollar technically yes it's ternimal from that picture. Is that necessarily a bad thing no it's not. As I mentioned seated and Morgan toning is very different and what the market likes is very different. It's hard to say from a pic, but if ithe toning is thick it's pretty nutrual at best. A lot of the heavy hitters don't like heavy dark toning.

It's interesting, I don't collect SL dollars, but I really like the dark look of those two dollars, while I think that kind of toning would look ugly on a Morgan. Maybe it's just that there are so many white BU Morgans that it's hard to imagine them in a high grade with terminal toning.

It really helps to actually read things since I did specifically say corrosion in my post.

It seems that your posts for a while now are just you trying to play gotcha games with me. I'm going to be ignoring your trolling from now on if you don't have anything of substance to add since I haven't seen any yet.

I certainly did not know that when I bought my 1869.
Toning is a chemical reaction between the raw silver surface of a coin and pollutants in the atmosphere. When there is no more silver surface available to be attacked, the coin will turn black.
Thus all three Seated dollars previously posted appear to be 'terminal'.

edit: Perhaps the term 'terminal' should be discarded in favor of 'end stage' as the former somehow implies that the coin has 'died', which, if MikeF's quote is reliable, is certainly the opposite of coin death.

Terminal, or end stage toning is when the toning process has progressed to the point that the toning no longer forms a protective layer on a coins surfaces and starts to actually eat into the surfaces.....environmental damage.
The color is not limited to black, it can be brown.
The tell is whether there's luster still present or not. If the coin exibits luster under the toning, it is not terminal.

They do, but it's original as in hasn't been cleaned/messed with or isn't still clearly recovering from an old cleaning. Really you can just simplify it to eye appeal is king and original isn't always a plus for that.




Not exactly. Some people have the belief that if it's old it had to have gotten a lot of dark toning yet hoards constistantly disprove that theory. Forwhater reason coins all tone and take on toning differently. Some tone quick others seem to never tone no matter what you do without applying chemicals or heating it severely. You can also find plenty of collectors with coins they've had for decades that haven't changed. While some of them certainly would have taken on dark crusty toning it's far from a given they would have to have the heavy dark look that many don't like.




Blast white is still a very popular look that many collectors including advanced ones like. Blast white vs toned preference isn't a debate that's likely to end anytime in any of our lives as it's really just a matter of personal taste. Color is clearly king in terms of premiums which is why those stopped getting dipped out but there really isn't a right or wrong answer to toned vs blast white overall lower grades excluded.

To me terminal is pretty good and accurate descriptor of the blackish toning. It's just describing the end of the toning cycle and fits well when you think about it just in regards to the color. And not the coin itself. It's really just saying the bright colorful toning is dead and not coming back as it reached the end of its cycle