Toning

[AEATON-migration]

Why are some coins toned on one side and not on the other - have their keepers been storing them in a certain way? I've read Tom's web-site, where else can I find info? Does Silver tone, or only when it's mixed with another metal? I got some really pretty silver coins, a wildlife collection. The designs are very intricate and artistic, I would love to encourage the coat-of-arms to tone, and have the animal side remain unaffected - is that possible?

 

Thanks

[Wihlborg]

Aeaton,

 

Silver is one of the most reactive metals used to make coins, and the purer the silver content of the coin, the faster and easier it can tone. This does not mean that they WILL tone, a lot has to do with how they are stored and what they may have come in contact with during that time. Most silver coins contain 90% silver or less. Some coins, such as Canadian Maple leafs contain up to .9999 pure silver.

 

As for why some coins can be found with toning on only one side, it has to do with what I said above about how they were stored. For instance, if the coin was stored in an old time coin cabinet on a velvet lined drawer with only one side coming into contact with the velvet, that side could react with chemicals in the velvet and tone, while the side that did not have contact will not. The same would be true for any other way a coin could be stored where only one side comes into contact with something that will react with silver.

 

John

[TomB]

John is correct in his observations. There is another point, however, that he didn't mention and that is that most coins that tone do so in an unattractive manner that actually makes them less sought after. It is only a tiny fraction of toned coins that make people "Ooooh" and "Aaaah" while the rest are eye-appeal neutral or eye-appeal negative. So, you might find something to put your coins in in order to accelerate toning only to find out that all, or nearly all, of your coins have toned in a very unattractive manner.

[Wihlborg]

most coins that tone do so in an unattractive manner that actually makes them less sought after. It is only a tiny fraction of toned coins that make people "Ooooh" and "Aaaah" while the rest are eye-appeal neutral or eye-appeal negative.

 

A very good point Tom. I failed to mention this because I was thinking in terms of answering the questions of 'Does silver tone?' and 'Why are some coins only toned on one side'.

 

The fact that most coins do not tone attractively is exactly why I would never purposely try to get a coin to tone by storing it in an environment that may cause or accelerate toning. IMO the chances that the coin would tone unattractively far outweigh the chance that it may tone nicely.

 

John

[Hoot]

I've pulled toned nickels from the old green coin folders and also blue Whitman albums where the obverse (which was facing out) had toned very nicely and the reverse (against the paper backing) was not toned at all. It obviously took the combination of constituents in the air (likely oxygen) and chemicals in the paper to react with the surfaces of the coins to create the effect. Where the coin was protected from air, no reaction occurred.

 

Hoot

[AEATON-migration]

The very fact that I've seen some coins tone in an unattractive way is the very reason I don't want the artistic side of the coin to be affected, it would be a pitty to detract from the engravings. Currently the coins are in capsules - I expect this to save them in the long run? (guys, tell me you're not serious about taking them out and storing them in a jam-jar!) I've heard a few times now that silver is very reactive, my set is .075 Cu. I still want to play with them to see what they do over the years, but only on the less interesting side of the coin Am I naughty to want to play, I'm curious, isn't that the best way to learn I've got the full collection, and purchased an additional set of the 10c - I'm thinking I can use that set to play with. I went to a show recently and took a close look at the toned coins, and I found that the collectors had them in their velvet boxes and the side in contact with the velvet was the side being unaffected.