Toning up your Treasure

What makes the toning on a U.S. Morgan Dollar? Have you ever thought about this? Ideally, a Morgan Dollar that has been toned naturally for generations is the cat’s meow, as the saying goes. If one knows real toning from artificial toning, it can and will lead to many opportunities when it comes to profits. However, even the pros make mistakes when toning is involved. I had a case in point recently.

As many of us have done and will do in the future, I bought four common 1883-O Morgan Dollars, all individually housed in a cardboard holder via Tidy House Products Co. Three of the four were beautifully toned, and one was black. The four coins were submitted to a grading service, and three came back graded, while one was returned bagged and labeled artificially toned. This is WRONG. Below is an image of the cardboard holder I removed the silver dollars from.

Supplied photo.

So, what does make a Morgan tone? One reason is the length of time a coin is exposed to chemicals in paper, either the print itself or the actual material in the paper. As shown in the Tidy House holder. Another example is Morgan Dollars that have been held in canvas bags for long periods. Those dollars that were exposed to the air (the dollars near the top or those pressed up to the sides of the canvas bag tend to be toned). Coins stored in the drawers of oak tables will tone over time. There is a fine line between natural toning and better coins through methods of coin doctors and their various uses of chemicals. The two are not that far apart. If a coin is graded by NGC or PCGS and is toned, it’s most likely a better buy and is good policy to follow, but like I pointed out, the graders can be wrong.

As well, the coins were in the Tidy House holders since 1963, so they had a lengthy time to tone, which they did. Three of the four all had rainbow colors (gold, green, yellow, red, and blue), and all were wrapped in paper, which also aided in the toning process. The coins were sold off at a Central States show soon after they were displayed. Demand for toned coins is at an all-time high, especially if the toning on the coins can be considered to be of good eye appeal.

Jerry Binsfeld has been a coin enthusiast his entire life. When he retired from education in 2001, he realized his dream and opened a coin shop in Kenosha.

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