Toned Franklins...

[CoinCurious]

I just purchased this toned Franklin. I thought it looked nice and I only payed $7 so I thought what the heck.

 

 

 

 

 

But Unfortunately I dont understand how to tell the difference between AT/NT. I was wondering if by looking at this coin if you might be able to point out what things are consistant with either AT/NT. I will add a pic of another slightly toned Franklin I have. Any input is always appreciated.

 

 

[SkyMan]

CC, that's a pretty coin for $7. Good going! My gut feel is that that is AT, but as I said, for $7, who cares.

 

As to how to tell one way or another, it is kind of a two-fold process. First, the toning on Ben's head about 11 o'clock to his ear looks off to me. Second, a lot of it has to do with knowing what coins of a given date/mm look like. That is not a common look for a '51 to put it mildly. Most '51's tend to have a gray tone to them. Here is my '51, which has more color than most '51's you'll find out there (the reverse is essentially white):

 

 

On the other hand, if I saw the sort of toning that is on your coin on a 1958-P mint Frankie I'd be much more willing to give it the benefit of the doubt as blue toning is very common for that date/mm. In any case, for $7 your coin looks great to me.

[kryptonitecomics]

I'll be a little more blunt with my opinion then Sy....that coin is AT of that I have no doubt......the color progression, the pattern.....the fact that it has matching colors and patterns on both obverse and reverse.......all together paint a picture that this coin has had heat or chemicals applied to it. I do however agree with Sy in reference to the fact that for $7 bucks....who cares!

 

If you like the coin and like the colors then it's worth the $7 bucks becuase it is Silver so what's a Silver half worth in melt these days....at least $5? Tips for detecting AT VS NT include: Studing how particular series of coins naturally tone, routine storage methods for different years and mints and then finally, plenty of practice looking at legitimate NT coins all help to make you more of a subject matter expert. With all that said even the expects can be folled from time to time but your chance to detect the junk vs the quality pieces goes up exponentially when you have done some research.

 

p.s. One more tip.......if you want real NT colorful coins....I would suggest not purchasing raw coins off Ebay as probably 85% to 90% of all of the raw toners on Ebay are AT.

[physics-fan3.14]

Well, after Sy and Shane discuss a toner there is not much left to say. Yeah, its AT. But for $7, you really can't loose. It looks alright, for the most part. I will direct your attention to the area below "America," which is shouting "heat source" to me. This type of appearance, especially with the blue, really looks like some kind of heat source was applied there, probably with the intent of giving it a crescent toned sort of look.

[CoinCurious]

Thx guys for your input. More opinions and thoughts are appreciated.

 

To learn more about NT (Franklin Halves and Peace Dollars mainly) are there any good books out there that would help me out?

[physics-fan3.14]

To learn about the chemistry of coins in general, i would recommend Weimar White's "Coin Chemistry." Alot of people don't like the book, and he does advocate intercept shields as almost foolproof, but I like it. The book is technically minded, with plenty of chemical formulas and scientific results. If this is not your thing, stay away from it. It doesn't discuss the appearances of toning as much as the causes and science of it, though.

 

As for a guide to tell the difference between AT and NT, I keep hoping a few of the guys on here will write a guide on it, but they haven't yet. It would be great to get a collaboration of guys who have wildly differing viewpoints on it, such as Greg and Sy and a few others. (That is, if it could be done without some of them killing the others) Something that covers causes of toning (both NT, and various methods of AT) and how to recognize them. Something more exhaustive than just a WYNTK.

[bsshog40]

I agree the coin is AT also. But I still think $7 is ok for a nice old frankie!

[TomB]

It looks AT, though I will add that Philadelphia coins from 1951 US Mint Sets tend to be less colorful than many other issues.