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Toned silver eagle proof sold tonight on Heritage for $1k

Started by coinsarefun,

42 posts in this topic

Red Llama

Red Llama

Posted
Posted

When I say this my first thought was "That is ridiculous" BUT you know it is a fair market. It is already graded and people bid on it they way they wanted to bid on it AND it is some darn pretty toning.

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Coinbuf

Coinbuf

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Buried... (shrug)

 

I would have personally guessed $300-$400 max, and that's more that I would have personally paid for something that is relatively easy to reproduce.

 

Well I'm not sure just how easy it would be to reproduce that coin, but I do agree that it went for way more(like $900 more) than I would be willing to pay.

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brg5658

brg5658

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I don't see that coin as "market acceptable". It seems the definition of MA keeps sliding more and more toward the "shake and bake" side. Yes, it's "pretty". Doesn't mean it's worth $1000. JMO.

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Coindude

Coindude

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The colors are stunning but 1k? Me thinks not. I do not believe that our hosts here in this side of the street would have slabbed that coin. She is pretty though.

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coinsarefun

coinsarefun

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Beautiful proof, I'm a buyer at $250/$300, guess that leaves me out. Steph are you relieved you didn't win it at 1k?

 

 

At first I thought it was way to high so I stopped at $900

But now I wish I would have went for it, I probably would have still lost

as I still can't see spending over $1.200

 

 

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FishyOne

FishyOne

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I don't see that coin as "market acceptable". It seems the definition of MA keeps sliding more and more toward the "shake and bake" side. Yes, it's "pretty". Doesn't mean it's worth $1000. JMO.

 

Mirrors my thoughts. I guess I don't understand how a 25 year old coin can naturally incur that type of toning.

 

Don't get me wrong, I find it to be an attractive coin and am not too surprised it brought 4 figures. Just curious about monster toned moderns and what that will lead to... If someone can explain it to me I'd be enlightened.

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coinsarefun

coinsarefun

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I don't see that coin as "market acceptable". It seems the definition of MA keeps sliding more and more toward the "shake and bake" side. Yes, it's "pretty". Doesn't mean it's worth $1000. JMO.

 

Mirrors my thoughts. I guess I don't understand how a 25 year old coin can naturally incur that type of toning.

 

Don't get me wrong, I find it to be an attractive coin and am not too surprised it brought 4 figures. Just curious about monster toned moderns and what that will lead to... If someone can explain it to me I'd be enlightened.

 

 

 

 

 

Because these are .999 silver.

It can be as simple as that.

 

 

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MarkFeld

MarkFeld

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I don't see that coin as "market acceptable". It seems the definition of MA keeps sliding more and more toward the "shake and bake" side. Yes, it's "pretty". Doesn't mean it's worth $1000. JMO.

 

Mirrors my thoughts. I guess I don't understand how a 25 year old coin can naturally incur that type of toning.

 

Don't get me wrong, I find it to be an attractive coin and am not too surprised it brought 4 figures. Just curious about monster toned moderns and what that will lead to... If someone can explain it to me I'd be enlightened.

 

Many coins which aren't nearly as old as that one have toned (beautifully) in their albums and holders. And without being subjected to any processes which a majority of people would deem unnatural or artificial.

 

It could easily be the result of the coin and holder being subjected to a "natural" combination of heat and/or humidity and/or gasses, and the coin reacting in a favorable way.

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coinsarefun

coinsarefun

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Below are examples that are toning in an old ANAC'S slabs

The pics are a few years old as they have toned even more so.

 

Now. Imagine if they are out of the mint capsule and in an album

 

 

 

1987ASEProof_zpsf5fdf58e.jpg

 

1993ASEProof_zps17f73f32.jpg

 

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

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Mirrors my thoughts. I guess I don't understand how a 25 year old coin can naturally incur that type of toning.

 

Don't get me wrong, I find it to be an attractive coin and am not too surprised it brought 4 figures. Just curious about monster toned moderns and what that will lead to... If someone can explain it to me I'd be enlightened.

 

The silver alloy has a fineness of .9993, which tones much more rapidly than traditional 0.900 coin silver. Mishandling, contact with general numismatic supplies (e.g. albums), etc. can all result in toning. If you're interested in experimenting, try placing a 2013 Silver Eagle in a coin envelope, album, or in the general environment and examine how quickly it tones.

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jom

jom

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I'm not a real fan of proof coins in general myself but it looks like a nice coin to me. Is $1000 too much? I don't know...how many people were bidding? I assume it was a fair auction so it seems this is the market for similar coins. Is the new owner buried? If he likes the coin I don't know why he'd care....I hope though for his/her sake they actually saw the coin in hand...

 

jom

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Crazy Mtn Coins

Crazy Mtn Coins

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Okay, I am going to throw out a question to some scientific mind out there. I see all sorts of comments about albums, humidity, heat etc. causing the coins to tone. What really reacts with the silver element to cause this coloring? If it is an album or cardboard, that has to be a chemical. Can humidity alone cause coloring? Or is it humidity and atmospheric pollution? The coins toning in holders, that has to be reacting wiith a chemical in the plastic. Also some tone different colors. So the different colors have to be from different environmental factors. Sorry, I am not a big fan of colorful toning, however, I am a retired atmospheric scientist and like to understand why something is happening the way it is. So any thoughts out there?

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physics-fan3.14

physics-fan3.14

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Just to add to my post, my thought on coloring is an acid. Chemicals, atmospheric pollution, etc. when combined with humidity form acid and acid on metals form various colors.

 

No, it is not an acid. It is the sulfur in these materials reacting with the silver to create silver sulfide. The process is well known, and is the same thing as tarnish on your silverware. The different colors come from different thicknesses of the layer, through a process known as thin film interference.

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Crazy Mtn Coins

Crazy Mtn Coins

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Thanks, so can you expand on that? Where does the sulfur come from? And what does humidity have to do with it? And if you live near a coal fired power plant emitting sulfur dioxide, are the coins likely to react quicker? I might have to drive to southeast Montana and hide some coins in the trees near the power plants. Just kidding, but seriously, higher concentrations of SO2 or H2S or H2SO4 might affect silver more rapidly. One of the reasons I do not like the really colorful coins that are highly sought after now is I can see them being somehow cooked in a way that grading companies cannot detect in the near future.

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

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Thanks, so can you expand on that? Where does the sulfur come from? And what does humidity have to do with it? And if you live near a coal fired power plant emitting sulfur dioxide, are the coins likely to react quicker? I might have to drive to southeast Montana and hide some coins in the trees near the power plants. Just kidding, but seriously, higher concentrations of SO2 or H2S or H2SO4 might affect silver more rapidly. One of the reasons I do not like the really colorful coins that are highly sought after now is I can see them being somehow cooked in a way that grading companies cannot detect in the near future.

 

The sulfur can come from several sources including original mint bags (such as with toned Morgan Dollars), albums, envelopes, and even the general environment including air pollution. Yes, areas which have pollutants rich in sulfur are likely to accelerate toning. Humidity will also accelerate the toning.

 

Insofar being concerned about receiving a coin that has been chemically manipulated, there is a chance that the toning is natural (and if you really know what you are doing, you can buy coins that are almost certainly naturally toned - some patterns such as textile toning are almost completely impossible to replicate in the lab), while I can almost guarantee that the vast majority of blast white coins that are 200+ years old have been chemically manipulated through dipping. I'm not quite sure why everyone is afraid to buy toned coins because of potential AT, but not blast white coins which may have been dipped. While AT can turn, so can an improper dip job with left over residue.

 

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Crazy Mtn Coins

Crazy Mtn Coins

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I am not saying I do not like nor collect toned coins. I do like some toning and collect a few. However coins like the ASE sold at the HA I am not attracted to that kind of toning. And maybe like you alluded to, ASEs have a higher silver content and tone more colorfully. I buy only graded coins by NGC or ATS, so even if I do not know what I am doing, I feel reasonably assured that they are not AT. But I appreciate the discussion.

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Crazy Mtn Coins

Crazy Mtn Coins

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Okay one last post on this. I did a very quick search of the silver reaction and mainly they were discussing H2S reaction with silver. Some of the items that reacted quickly are hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, and rubber bands. Also H2S in the air as a result of decomposition of dead plants and animals. So since I raise horses and collect a lot of horse manure, I have a toning experiment for someone. Send me your ASEs and I will bury them in a pile. Okay, enough. Have a good night.

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