Coins > Collection Showcase

After a long hiatus from coins, starting around 1970 and lasting nearly 4 decades, I became interested in coins once again soon after the Great Financial Crisis of 2008/2009 ended — and what really peaked my interest was the discovery of Naturally Toned (NT) coins, some of which had extremely vivid and striking color.  Since 2011, I have accumulated over 700 toned coins, all graded by PCGS.  Their unique beauty and relative scarcity helped rekindle my interest in this great hobby as an entirely new area of collecting opened up for me.  Some of these Naturally Toned Coins are just stunningly beautiful — displaying a full spectrum of rainbow color — each one a unique result of natures artistic hand. 

The coin displayed to the right is an 1882-O Morgan Silver Dollar, which is displaying a rare and prized toning pattern called “Elevation Chromatics”.  This toning pattern occurs in somewhat rare cases over very long periods of time and mostly in Morgan dollars that were stored in sulfur-laden canvas bags in bank vaults for decades.  The colors differentiate along different “elevations” of the design, and make the color look like it’s liquid pools of hot colored lava flowing between mountain ridges.  It’s quite a stunning effect!  I hope you enjoy the journey with me into this extraordinary aspect of numismatics.

PCGS Showcase Name: “Color of Money” Showcase
Number of Toned Coins: Over 700
PCGS Showcase Link: Link