Artificial Toning and hothouse tomato plants - a ridiculous idea?

[James_OldeTowne]

Artificial toning on coins can be applied using the same chemicals (ie. sulphur) that cause natural toning. Likewise, the process of growing tomatoes naturally in a dirt garden can be duplicated by growing tomato plants in an artificially controlled environment - a hothouse. Both kinds of tomatoes sell well, and both taste just fine on a cheeseburger to me.

 

Is this a fair analogy for the AT vs. NT debate?

 

Now that I've asked this question, I suddenly want pizza for lunch.....

 

James

[RGT]

I like for my tomatoes to ripen on the vine. Most are picked green and then subjected to a gas that causes them to turn red. The may look similar on the outside, but they don't always look the same inside and they never taste the same.

 

Coins need to "tone on the vine". A nice long process that doesn't bring them to market as fast but provides a deeper richer tone than you can typically get doing it the quick way. They may look the same to the casual observer, but cut one open and taste it and you will know which is which.

[Jazzy]

Speaking of which, a few years ago I took a dozen blazing Washingtons and wrapped them up in old US Mint envelopes - the ones they used to package Proof sets in back in the 50's and 60's.

 

The coins have already started to take on some nice gold toning.

 

Does that make me a coin doctor?

[truthteller]

Artificial toning on coins can be applied using the same chemicals (ie. sulphur) that cause natural toning. Likewise, the process of growing tomatoes naturally in a dirt garden can be duplicated by growing tomato plants in an artificially controlled environment - a hothouse. Both kinds of tomatoes sell well, and both taste just fine on a cheeseburger to me.

 

Is this a fair analogy for the AT vs. NT debate?

 

Now that I've asked this question, I suddenly want pizza for lunch.....

 

James

 

 

As long as the tomatoes don't burn a hole in your stomach, I guess hothouse tomatos are OK.

 

The major problem for AT coins is that many, many coins change after they are holdered, most become ugly and unsightly. This reason is why the TPG services need to be vigilant with suspected AT toning. For the most part, the grading services are good at spotting AT color. Once in a while, you get a whiney buyer cry on the forums about the color of his coin after he/she buys it.

 

 

 

TRUTH

[James_OldeTowne]

Jazzy, to me, you are a coin doctor. But I don't consider that a negative connotation. It's just a statement of fact.

 

There are good bone doctors, and bad ones. There are good eye doctors, and bad ones. And there are good coin doctors, and bad ones.

 

James

[IGWT]

Is this a fair analogy for the AT vs. NT debate?

 

You say tomATo, I say tomahto . . . I tried to make the same point in a less entertaining way some time ago in another thread:

 

Would someone please answer me this: Why does it matter whether toning occurred over a period of 80 years in a 2x2 envelope or overnight in a petri dish if the end results are indistinguishable?

[Timulty]

You know, I don't post over here but I collect coins some. I had heard this before. I always thought it was an "Urban Myth" sorts. Go, figure.

[cpm9ball]

Now that I've asked this question, I suddenly want pizza for lunch.....

 

James

 

What'll it be, James, pepperoni or AT Kennedys?

 

Chris

[Morgannut]

I've never understood all the fascination with AT coins on these boards. You'd think that experts who have been in the hobby for decades just bid $23,000 for a PCGS MS-68 rainbow Morgan at ANR (ex; Stacks, 1984, etc.) has a hundred other cousins "growing" in the hothouse!!

 

I like NT coins with a known provenance-- Just picked up several beauties under $200 using the Ebayauction feature at Superiors Battle Creek Toned Morgan Sale. Nice to know they came from old mint bags and that NGC carefully went over all the coins before the sale.

[Bruceswar]

People like pretty colors... what can be said...

[Gembeeyou]

A little heads-up before anyone shells out extra $ for "vine-ripened" 'maters in grocery stores. I believe they (legally, at least here in Calif.) only need to have a slight pink "blush" on the end of the tomato to be immediately picked and called "vine-ripened". Most tomatoes will then continue to ripen on the shelf, but won't have the same rich flavor as when they are allowed to completely ripen on the plant!

 

As kids, we used to pour tomato katsup on dark, dirty, Lincoln cents and let the tomato acid do its thing, resulting in giving us a shiny "penny" 60 seconds later (methinks I've seen a few of those in slabs marked "net so & so; cleaned & whizzed")!

[TwoKopeiki]

Speaking of which, a few years ago I took a dozen blazing Washingtons and wrapped them up in old US Mint envelopes - the ones they used to package Proof sets in back in the 50's and 60's.

 

The coins have already started to take on some nice gold toning.

 

Does that make me a coin doctor?

 

Not in a bad sense, you're just "growing your own tomatoes".