Is The Popularity Of Toned Coins Beginning To Fade?

There will always be those who see an easy way to enhance the eye appeal, and thus the saleability of a coin, then try to sell it on ebay.

It is for this reason that I ignore nice rainbow toning, when deciding to buy.

Horrible blotchy toning MAY effect a negative attitude in my decision to buy.

In general I wouldn't use Morgans as a bench mark for anything. Aside from the right color patterns that bring tremendous premiums pretty much everything about Morgans is common including ones with ho hum toning that a lot of sellers try and pass off as rainbow toned etc.

The right toning, especially on high grades are bringing record prices so I wouldn't say the demand or love of them is fading at all. This type of popularity had lead many dealers to ask for premiums that are beyond what their toned coins would likely sell for which causes them to sit.

You had also mentioned it was a major show and generally at those dealers bring some of their if not all of their better stuff. Those shows are expensive to set up at and they need some good sales to cover the costs much less make money. If nothing else they need some eye candy to get people to stop at their table as opposed to the other 100 plus tables in the room.

It's also possible that a number of those coins traded hands at the show. Every dealer has different type customer bases back home and not all of them really take advantage of the internet. Legend can sell 6 and 7 figure coins much easier than most others can, Rick Snow can sell Indian cents easier than many others can, not every dealer has a customer base for toned coins just as they don't necessarily have a customer base or reputation for certain other types. In those cases they generally either send them to auction, bring them to a show, and/or sell them to other dealers who do.

I would also say than aside from high end collectors and collectors of truly scare things dealer want lists are becoming a thing of the past. With the explosion of the internet and multiple auction companies most collectors aren't giving their local dealer a want list or working with just one dealer especially when it comes to coins of lower value.

If anything I would say the presence of color all over is just evidence that toned coins are just as popular if not more popular than ever. If they weren't many of those coins would get dipped out so they could be sold easier.

Don't know. I'm very particular with toning, either russet browns, reds, and golds, or a toner that covers the complete surfaces in a swirl of color. I do like blast white coins, but the color is just something extra to set your example from the rest.

I'd say I have a hard time believing a nearing 100 year old coin is "original" and still blast white. For me it's difficult to determine what's dipped and not dipped.

Like toning there's acceptable, and unacceptable I guess, even with blast whites. I'd guess it takes a real professional to know just how far to take it also either way, whether toned or dipped, so it doesn't get detailed.

My personal preference aside...

Empirical evidence based on a whole lot of sales on my ebay store of all types of coinage and almost 50% of sales are international show clearly that bright shiny coins (period) sell on average much faster and for a not insignificant premium.

There's a big difference between what people say and what people actually do in reality (especially with their own money). I have found this is the most true with the more "sophisticated", experienced, and affluent buyers as well.

The numbers don't lie.

P.S.- We DO NOT clean any item and if already cleaned we ALWAYS clearly state that fact in the listing. Same thing with any type of artificial toning etc.

Agreed. There's without question Morgans that have toned in rolls and other methods than just bags.