please be patient and look at my AT NT question

[MikeKing]

Perhaps I should say, I think this is NT, I think it's mint set toning, and I bought it from this photograph. Maybe my question should be, have you seen this kind of toning before on Franklin halves. == ??

[MarkFeld]

Mike, I'm trying really hard to be patient with you, but....

 

The color is a bit unusual, but it looks NT to me.

[Wihlborg]

Mike,

 

In my opinion it's NT, and yes I have seen that type of toning on Franklins before.

 

John

[zrlevin]

Looks NT to me and a nice coin to boot!

[Stanley]

I have seen these colors before and have no reason to think anything but NT. A really nice looking attractive Half in my eyes.

[physics-fan3.14]

I also have seen those colors on a Franklin before, and it looks quite nice. I would buy it if I could afford it.

[Newmismatist]

I wouldn't be comfortable buying that Frankie based on the images - I have several original 48 Mint sets and the Frankies have a very different look than what you have shown. Perhaps It's envelope toning or maybe something else

[James_OldeTowne]

Franklins are one series that I personally prefer blast white, but your coin looks good to me. I'd vote for natural!

 

edited to say that by "looks good", I mean looks natural, not that I find it desirable .

[TomB]

I don't like it.

[Bruceswar]

The colors look MA to NT, but I agree with TomB. This is not a coin I would like to own.

[gmarguli]

I find the color very questionable. It's not a "color look" that I see frequently. It's too smoky looking for me to believe it is completely natural. I think it has been helped along.

 

I also think it is very slabable and it would not surprise me to learn it is in a major TPG holder.

[MikeKing]

Greg, It's PCGS slabbed for whatever that's worth.

 

I appreciate everyone's input. I would like to understand how it was stored for it to tone this way.

 

The thing I like about this coin is that it is so different from the typical 1948's I've seen. As a past Franklin collector, I remember having a 1948 that looked like someone threw a can of tar in it's direction, and a mega dealer advised me that that was about 'as good as they get'. And other than what I would see as an abnormal 'blast white' costing even more, I think, perhaps, that was 'as good as it gets' with the '48s. So I'm actually excited about this coin, but am also curious about how it became toned this way.

 

 

[James_OldeTowne]

The thing I like about this coin is that it is so different from the typical 1948's I've seen. As a past Franklin collector, I remember having a 1948 that looked like someone threw a can of tar in it's direction, and a mega dealer advised me that that was about 'as good as they get'. And other than what I would see as an abnormal 'blast white' costing even more, I think, perhaps, that was 'as good as it gets' with the '48s. So I'm actually excited about this coin, but am also curious about how it became toned this way.

Mike, I'm not sure I understand . Are you saying that for 1948, the norm is blast white? or toned? My understanding is that there were hundreds, if not thousands, of rolls of these saved, and that it is easy to find blast-white coins. Also, in my experience, it's one of the best-struck dates in the series.

 

As for how the coin got toned that way, I wish I knew . Personally, I don't think it was "helped" at all.

 

James

[coinman1794]

1948 halves can sometimes be found with that color. 1948 is known for that russet orange crimpson. In fact its not known for any other colors! It is not at all unusual and I think the coin is perfectly natural. As for blast white 1948's, they are not very common without haze and spots. Finding a truly brilliant, white, gem grade 1948 is a real challenge. There may be 64s out there in quantity, though.