Lustre / Luster - Does is fade naturally.

[The Coinery 32]

Does anyone know if lustre / luster will fade on its own after time.

I know that other items, like curtains or paintings, if left in sunlight will fade.

I make mattresses and I know for a fact that foam goes a darker brown due to the warehouse lights exactly like a sun tan and you can see the "Strap Lines" on the foam where the foam above it has been like a very pronounced shadow.

Coins change due to oil from our fingers so if a coin is untouched and in a cabinet or box which is dark will the lustre fade over time ?

Advise Please !

[IanB 175]

I am going to take a guess and say that it will. It's just the length of time is unknown and down to loads of factors such as

handling, storage and the environment. 

I imagine if it was stored in a vacuum and kept in the dark it would stay lustrous but what's the fun in that.

Edited February 13, 2017 by IanB

[Nordle11 564]

It really depends on the metal.

Have a look here, it's quite informative.

[The Coinery 32]

Thanks for that Mat - Appreciated !!!

The coin in question is a Quarter Farthing and I was asked the question which you have answered.

To give some thing back in return for your advice it is cold, grey and wet here in "Sunny Yorkshire"

 

[Nordle11 564]

Actually, it is here too! So nostalgic  

[The Coinery 32]

Just now, Nordle11 said:

Actually, it is here too! So nostalgic  

Maybe you will get some snow.

Well I must drag my weary bones out of the Man Cave and struggle to work to sit there and look at more coins - Its a hard life

[Bernie 214]

11 hours ago, The Coinery said:

Does anyone know if lustre / luster will fade on its own after time.

I know that other items, like curtains or paintings, if left in sunlight will fade.

I make mattresses and I know for a fact that foam goes a darker brown due to the warehouse lights exactly like a sun tan and you can see the "Strap Lines" on the foam where the foam above it has been like a very pronounced shadow.

Coins change due to oil from our fingers so if a coin is untouched and in a cabinet or box which is dark will the lustre fade over time ?

Advise Please !

Bronze coins can retain their lustre, as proven by some surviving examples found dating back to 1860. It is generally the environment that affects the lustre.

I was a smoker when I first started collecting. If the coins are stored in the same house where somebody smokes, the bronze coins will lose their lustre. High humidity is also a killer. Very dry low humidity conditions are favourable.

[Sword 1,518]

11 hours ago, IanB said:

I am going to take a guess and say that it will. It's just the length of time is unknown and down to loads of factors such as

handling, storage and the environment. 

I imagine if it was stored in a vacuum and kept in the dark it would stay lustrous but what's the fun in that.

 

9 minutes ago, Bernie said:

Bronze coins can retain their lustre, as proven by some surviving examples found dating back to 1860. It is generally the environment that affects the lustre.

I was a smoker when I first started collecting. If the coins are stored in the same house where somebody smokes, the bronze coins will lose their lustre. High humidity is also a killer. Very dry low humidity conditions are favourable.

The metal needs to react with substance(s) for toning to form. I don't believe light on its own can cause the loss of lustre but it can accelerate the reactions of metals with substances in the air. Alternatively the lustre will  be hidden if something  like particles in cigarette smoke are deposited on the surface. 

I remember Rob mentioning that a coin of his remained lustrous for hundreds of years as it were trapped in the bottom of a glass tumbler. If I have a valuable lustrous bronze coin, I would probably want to slab it just to reduce the chances of it tarnishing. 

[Rob 3,221]

That was a 1731 shilling. You can see it in the unconfirmed varieties section.

[1949threepence 3,368]

It's a fascinating subject, and because the environmental atmosphere in which they are kept can vary so much, it often appears that no two coins are alike. Coins "age" in often very different ways - consider for example "streaky" lustre, even toning or patchy toning. Not to mention coins worn down to VF, but still retaining lustre, or uncirculated coins with lustre so subdued, it's practically undetectable. Also, as Bernie quite rightly says, bronze coins do readily retain their lustre.  

 

[Peter 615]

All hail to central heating.I don't even have a chimney at Chez Pierre . I bought a lot of BU bronze from Cubishly back in the 70's from the adverts in CM.They are holding up well. I actually love quality light chocolate brown coins with no carbon spots.

[Colin G. 147]

It is surprising how quick a coin tones down in natural sunlight, although I assume this is still a chemical reaction.

 

Take a new sparkly modern penny or two pence and leave it on a window cill for a few weeks it will soon take on a dull toned appearance. Works quite well on harshly cleaned bronze if you want to get some form of tone back over a coin, although the effects can vary.

Edited February 14, 2017 by Colin G.

[copper123 1,557]

I strongly suspect that the type of light has an effect as well - you often see tapesties that have been damaged by sunlight but under artifical light they are fine

[DaveG38 420]

13 minutes ago, copper123 said:

I strongly suspect that the type of light has an effect as well - you often see tapesties that have been damaged by sunlight but under artifical light they are fine

Ultra-violet in sunlight does it, by providing energy at the correct freqency to cause a reaction in the dyes used. Hence the fading.