Definitions of Tarnish and Toning:
Tarnish is dull (lose) the luster or brightness. A discolored coating. It just sounds harsh or cheap to me when saying the word.
Toning is the quality given to one color by another. A shading of colors. It has a smooth soft harmonizing sound when you say the word.
This is why when I talk about a coin with varying degrees of colors I say that it is Toned or Toning not that it has a Tarnished look to it.
Have you ever really taken the time to looked at a toned Silver, Copper or Nickel coin (preferably Uncirculated), bar or round? Some people love the eye appeal of a toned coin and if the toning is natural and covers most of the obverse and/or reverse fields in a circular rainbow hue of colors it can add more beauty and value to the price of the coin.
Toning is an alteration of the chemical makeup and color of a coin's surface. It occurs naturally over time as the metal reacts with chemicals (mainly sulfur based compounds) in its environment and toning will take place faster in warmer and more humid conditions. Toning is a thin film of sulfide that is found on the surface of Silver and Copper coin metals. It is what can give a coin the beautiful hues of colors ranging from a bright blue, deep magenta, red, turquoise, bright orange and light gold in a rainbow look when the coin is tilted slightly in natural lighting. However, as time continues heavy toning can cause a coin to turn an ugly brown or even black in coloration. A nice natural toning (not man made induced articial toning) is what can give a coin a higher value or lower value in grading the condition.
Silver can also react with other substances such as chlorides found in water which creates Silver Chloride which can appear as an unattractive black, gray or dark brown stain on the surface of a coin and can sometimes have the appearance of a grease or even a greasy feel when holding a coin.
Pleasant discoveries sometimes are found when coins that were placed long ago in certain older type coin holders, paper rolls, envelopes, mint bags, albums, etc. where small amounts of sulfur were found caused the toning to take place.
United States .900 fine Silver coins tone differently than sterling .925 fine Silver or Bullion .999 fine Silver, due to the higher the content of Copper (the most chemically reactive numismatic metal used in the U.S.) resulting many times in a Verdigris color (green or bluish coating that forms on Copper when exposed to the air for long periods of time).
Another name for the toning on Copper coins and its alloys is often called Patina (a film or incrustation, usually green, formed by oxidation on the surface of old bronze or Copper). Did you know that a brown or black patina coloring is caused by Copper Oxide, Cupric Oxide, or Cuprous Oxide. A green coloring is caused by Copper Sulfate or Copper Sulfide and a blue coloring is caused by Copper Carbonate.
The other base metal used most often in coinage is Nickel, which generally tones only slightly, most often turning to a hazy gray though sometimes this metal will turn a light golden, pale champagne or pale blue color. If you see a Nickel coin with a wild rainbow toning it is most likely done artificially.
I like to use Air-tites (they keep finger prints, human skin oils and accidental droppings of coins from becoming damage), if a coin has been sealed in an airtite container the surfaces of a coin will deplete the sulfur and other chemicals around it and stop the toning process. This will stabilize the colors and if the coin is stored in a proper moisture free and temperature controlled environment keeping the beauty and eye appeal intact for that toned coin. This is very important if you have purchased expensive slabbed graded coins and you don't want the toning to change colors radically over time and lessen the value of your collectible or investment.
COPPER is Coming ???
I'm starting to get excited about COPPER all over again, maybe it's the hoarder in me for things that may hold real value, or the current price of Copper just makes sense to own in this crazy world of uncertainties.
It is classified as a base metal, but Copper has traded with Gold and Silver as mankind's money for centuries so it really should be classified as a Bullion Metal along with Gold, Silver and Platinum because of its monetary uses.
Copper is traded all over the world (24 hours a day) on the various commodity exchanges in Avoirdupois (AV) pounds, but like any of the other metals it can be poured into bars or rounds in various Troy weight sizes and stamped with the .999 purity. So it is important to know the differences in Avoirdupois and Troy weights.
Copper's symbol is CU and its name was derived from "Cuppum", the latin name for Cyprus. Its original coloring is a beautiful reddish-gold that is very malleable to work with and in fact is the oldest metal used by man dating back more than 10,000 years. Its atomic number is 29 on the periodic table, it melts at 1981° F or 1083° C and its boiling point is 4643° F or 2567° C.
Copper is the 3rd most widely used metal in the world behind Iron and Aluminum.
Brass is mainly made alloying pure Copper with Zinc. Bronze is mainly pure copper alloyed with other elements such as Tin, Aluminum, Silicon or Beryllium.
The U.S. Mint changed the composition of the United States One Cent piece (penny) in 1982 (28 years ago) from having 95% pure Copper to now 97.5% Zinc with a mere 2.5% Copper coating, and now there is some talk of changing the composition of the United States Five Cent piece (Nickel) from 75% Copper and 25% Nickel to some new alloy (maybe Tin or even Plastic). You can bet the majority of Copper and Nickel will be gone from the new coin. It's called "Debasing the money" and has happened to mankind through governments over and over throughout the history of man (will we ever learn?).
Did you know that in 1973 the U.S. Mint tested alternative metals including Aluminum and Bronze Clad Steel to make the One Cent coin? Aluminum was chosen and 1,579,324 such coins were struck (dated 1974) and ready for public release. About one dozen of these cents are believed to be in the hands of collectors, although they are considered illegal to own and are subject to seizure by the secret service.
There are 373.2417216 grams in One AV pound and 453.59237 grams in One Troy pound. Here's a factoid of Copper weight in U.S. Lincoln Cents dated 1909 - 1981 and part of 1982 (note: 1943 was zinc coated steel - no copper in the cent). In One pre 1982 cent you have 3.11 total weight per coin which breaks down to 2.9545 grams of pure Copper and 0.1555 grams of pure Zinc in an uncirculated coin.
In one roll of 50 cents you would have 5.41oz AV or 4.93oz TROY pure copper or put another way, it would take (depends on coinage circulation wear) ~154 cents to equal One AV pound (16oz) pure copper or ~126 cents to equal One TROY pound (12oz) pure copper.
Starting in mid 1982 with the change in composition you have only 2.5 grams total weight per coin with only (2.5%) .0625 grams of pure copper in one cent to date it takes ~5971 cents to equal One AV pound (16oz) and ~7257 cents to equal One TROY pound (12oz) pure Copper. Zinc with the balance of (97.5) 2.4375 grams of pure zinc in one cent to date it takes ~186 cents to equal One AV (16oz) pound of pure Zinc. I hope you see the point of how debasing robs the citizens of "Real Money".
A U.S. Nickel (excluding the 35% Silver War Nickels from 1942 -1945, 11 different mint marks in all) has 5.0 grams total weight per coin with only 3.75 grams of pure Copper or 150 grams in a roll of 40 Nickels. So if you have the mind to hoard U.S. Cents and Nickels you can accumulate more Copper weight with Nickels than Cents. To be more precise it takes ~99.5 nickels to equal One AV pound (16oz) pure Copper and if you're looking at actual Nickel weigh (1.25 grams of pure Nickel per coin), it takes ~298.6 nickels to equal One AV pound (16oz) pure Nickel.
Here's another interesting fact, it takes ~375 modern (1928 to date) U.S. Fiat Currency Notes (paper) and it does not matter what denomination is stamp on each note to equal One AV pound (16oz). The point is that paper (more precisely cotton-linen fiber) is much lighter and easier to produce in whatever stated nominal value on each note than the effort taken to produce money out of the Earth's metals. It seems the currency produced by the U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving for the Federal Reserve (private corporation) is merely legalized counterfeiting, I don't know?, you decide. ".
As inflation increases, mining costs could add to upward pressure on the copper price along with huge pent up demand for Copper in Asia, China and India. I see it as a potential low risk and high reward from an investment standpoint and may be needed for bartering in the future. Copper, like Gold and Silver, has a REAL feel to it (solid weight, limited production, won't go stale or expire, a perfect store of real value), mined raw out of the Earth's crust, refined for purity and brought to market for industry. It is not a piece of Fiat Paper created out of thin air from any government in the world.
In my opinion, it's all about Demand and Supply and most important to me is the potential Return on Investment (percentages) and Copper could be the sleeper in the mix with the Precious Metals. Copper may provide the best return (smartest investment) for a "poor man's" choice over gold or silver bullion in the future.
Remember Gresham's Law - "Bad Money (Debt - Based) drives out Good Money (Savings - Based)".
This is one of the reasons that I have started buying and selling copper bars and rounds at the shows - I believe in it.
My findings stated in this article come from a variety of sources deemed to be true and as always do your own homework (read as much as you can on the topic) to see if physical Copper investing is for you.
