If you want to learn about how silver tones naturally then take a peek inside

[kryptonitecomics]

It's no secret that my collecting focus lies squarely in the realm of all things toned...the more colorful and eye appealing the better. In have been a staunch defender of naturally toned coins for many years and I feel these coins get a bad wrap across the internet simply due to a lack of knowledge/education. I guess I shouldn't expect any less as those with no interest in toned coins aren't going to spend time educating themselves on the good, the bad and the ugly anymore than I would spend time learning about Modern proofs. They just don't appeal to me so I focus my learning and collecting chops on areas that I find interesting and I should expect no less from others right? aaaahhhhhhh but here's the rub.....I don't know anything about modern proofs so I don't spend my time in coin forums spreading rumors and mistruths or better yet bashing and labeling collectors as stupid for wasting their money buying high mintage modern coins...but hey that's just me

 

 

So I am not going to present myself as a collector with a master degree in metallurgy, I haven't been collecting since 1910, I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn express last night......I am a simple collector who has honed my skills of detecting AT vs. NT coins but immersing myself in toned coins over the past 5+ years, learning about toning agents, historical storage methods and oh ya I have looked at thousands upon thousands of toned coins both raw and certified. I have a pretty good grasp of what's legit and what isn't but conveying those thoughts into a definition for others is frankly quite a challenge for a lot of us becuase the simple answer is ...we just know what we are looking at becuase we have seen so much of it and we understand the types of storage methods that produce certain types of toning patterns and we understand color progression in toning. A very easy thing for me to say but it really doesn't help those collectors who are uninitiated in all things toned now does it?

 

What this thread is about is challenging what you think you know about toning on silver and keeping an open mind when it comes to colorful toning, not becuase you have to collect it but becuase it's a part of a hobby you love and it's here to stay....just like Modern proofs

 

I recently drove up to Atlanta to assist my dad with clearing out a storage unit that had possessions of my late mother and also my dads parents. It was a difficult but necessary step that one must go through as part of the healing process. Others have gone through it and they know of what I speak but in a twist of fate if you will...I got a bit more than a bargained for....

 

Among the last of the boxes we removed from the storage shed I found some old pictures of my dad when he was a kid and my Grandparents when they were my age...certainly a wonderful find as I had never seen any of these pictures before. In the same box I found 3 silver spoons and a silver candle snuffer that my father did not know my grandparents had. All were heavily toned from decades upon decades of time spent in this box and I can only surmise that they most likely had not seen the light of day for at least 20+ years due to the time that had passed since their passing. Although heavily toned...the toning is 100% natural...it's what happens to Silverware etc that is not cleaned and polished...but rather left alone exposed to the elements.

 

Here is where the learning comes in for most of us including myself....some of the colors on these pieces is exactly the type of colors and color sequences that folks on these and other forums swear is AT....wild rainbow circus colors that just aren't natural according to them. Please look at the following photos, try to keep an open mind, accept at face value that I speak the truth when I said these pieces of silver have in no way been exposed to heat and chemicals as a means to tone them...they are what they are and I think there is a lot to be learned simply by taking in all of the elements visable in the images. Ultimately each of us can choose to believe what we want to believe but if after viewing these silver pieces you still believe that rainbow crazy color toning is not and can not be natural on coins...well then me, Santa, and the tooth fairy will come knocking at your door by Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking oh and I was born in 1972 so the date on the candle snuffer is pretty sweet

[bsshog40]

Nice post there Shane. A lot of beauty at the end of the post that started with sadness in the beginning. Nice Silver and their colors my friend! (thumbs u

[kryptonitecomics]

Just so we are clear before this thread goes off track like across the street....everyone can see these pieces are deeply toned which attests to the fact that they have not been cleaned over the past 20+ years like I stated. There is no way that I can state that they have never been cleaned or polised 20+ years ago...I simply contend that regardless of any possible cleaning in the past that these pieces are NT. Please continue with your regularily scheduled program...

[WoodenJefferson]

True in the fact that the spoons/candle snuffer was probably polished at the manufacturer or by the silver smith, so comparison to coins is only the aspect that silver tones (oxidizes) under the same conditions.

 

I've seen way worse on coins than what you call "circus colors" on those pieces of silverware. The correlation is still there, one can readily tell that these items have toned naturally over time.

[cpm9ball]

Thanks for posting this, Shane. Just out of curiosity, are the sppons or the snuffer sterling silver or silverplate? I couldn't tell from the hallmarks.

 

Chris

[kryptonitecomics]

Thanks for posting this, Shane. Just out of curiosity, are the sppons or the snuffer sterling silver or silverplate? I couldn't tell from the hallmarks.

 

Chris

 

 

I couldn't either as I don't know anything about the pieces or where they were manufactured but that question was raised ATS and I admit that they certainly could be Silver plate even though they feel heavy like silver would...silver plate might look and feel exactly the same?

 

Hopefully whether they are silver or silver plate the original point of my post still has some merit which is wild colors forming on silver happening during an NT process

[HiHoAudio]

Nice spoon.

 

No other metal tones like silver. From jet black to colorful rainbow patterns the possibilities are endless.