No paraffin required

[Colin G. 147]

Just thought I would share an image of this 2p coin from a 1973 proof set, which has toned rather brightly!!

The coin is still sealed in the set so has not been tampered with, if anyone wants the set for £100 I am willing to sell and they can get the 2p slabbed, it must be worth £1,000 to a toning collector!!

[Peckris 579]

Just thought I would share an image of this 2p coin from a 1973 proof set, which has toned rather brightly!!

The coin is still sealed in the set so has not been tampered with, if anyone wants the set for £100 I am willing to sell and they can get the 2p slabbed, it must be worth £1,000 to a toning collector!!

Haha - the awful 1973 sets! The £100 price would be for an UNtoned set, of course. That really is a notorious year for the proof set - it may be due to something in the red dye used for the foam insert. The weird thing is that some sets have survived with no toning at all, and I'm hanging on to mine!

[1949threepence 3,367]

Just thought I would share an image of this 2p coin from a 1973 proof set, which has toned rather brightly!!

The coin is still sealed in the set so has not been tampered with, if anyone wants the set for £100 I am willing to sell and they can get the 2p slabbed, it must be worth £1,000 to a toning collector!!

Haha - the awful 1973 sets! The £100 price would be for an UNtoned set, of course. That really is a notorious year for the proof set - it may be due to something in the red dye used for the foam insert. The weird thing is that some sets have survived with no toning at all, and I'm hanging on to mine!

Or with some still seemingly untarnished, could it be an issue with the cases used in 1973 ~ maybe non airtight ?

[Peckris 579]

Just thought I would share an image of this 2p coin from a 1973 proof set, which has toned rather brightly!!

The coin is still sealed in the set so has not been tampered with, if anyone wants the set for £100 I am willing to sell and they can get the 2p slabbed, it must be worth £1,000 to a toning collector!!

Haha - the awful 1973 sets! The £100 price would be for an UNtoned set, of course. That really is a notorious year for the proof set - it may be due to something in the red dye used for the foam insert. The weird thing is that some sets have survived with no toning at all, and I'm hanging on to mine!

Or with some still seemingly untarnished, could it be an issue with the cases used in 1973 ~ maybe non airtight ?

That's a thought. Though quite why some exposure to air would cause such ugly toning is a mystery - many proofs live out of sealed cases and never get toned.

[SEnumis 0]

The same has happened to my 1973 proof set (only 9 hands 50p). I don't know why it should be. There was an oil crisis at that time and I wonder if the smelting process for the bronze was skimped somehow (does anyone know if the Royal Mint's furnaces were oil fired?). I think it is a fault of the metal rather than the air because the cupro nickel coins don't have the same problem.

[Peckris 579]

The same has happened to my 1973 proof set (only 9 hands 50p). I don't know why it should be. There was an oil crisis at that time and I wonder if the smelting process for the bronze was skimped somehow (does anyone know if the Royal Mint's furnaces were oil fired?). I think it is a fault of the metal rather than the air because the cupro nickel coins don't have the same problem.

Oh believe me, they do! You should have seen the 10p and 5p I took from a 1973 set I'd bought in an auction lot - I only got rid them by selling them at face value to buyers of other proofs. They were absolutely hideous.

[Colin G. 147]

The same has happened to my 1973 proof set (only 9 hands 50p). I don't know why it should be. There was an oil crisis at that time and I wonder if the smelting process for the bronze was skimped somehow (does anyone know if the Royal Mint's furnaces were oil fired?). I think it is a fault of the metal rather than the air because the cupro nickel coins don't have the same problem.

Oh believe me, they do! You should have seen the 10p and 5p I took from a 1973 set I'd bought in an auction lot - I only got rid them by selling them at face value to buyers of other proofs. They were absolutely hideous.

Yup this whole set has vile collectable toning......okay special offer one day only £50

[Peckris 579]

The same has happened to my 1973 proof set (only 9 hands 50p). I don't know why it should be. There was an oil crisis at that time and I wonder if the smelting process for the bronze was skimped somehow (does anyone know if the Royal Mint's furnaces were oil fired?). I think it is a fault of the metal rather than the air because the cupro nickel coins don't have the same problem.

Oh believe me, they do! You should have seen the 10p and 5p I took from a 1973 set I'd bought in an auction lot - I only got rid them by selling them at face value to buyers of other proofs. They were absolutely hideous.

Yup this whole set has vile collectable toning......okay special offer one day only £50

scurries off to find Monopoly set...

[1949threepence 3,367]

Just thought I would share an image of this 2p coin from a 1973 proof set, which has toned rather brightly!!

The coin is still sealed in the set so has not been tampered with, if anyone wants the set for £100 I am willing to sell and they can get the 2p slabbed, it must be worth £1,000 to a toning collector!!

Haha - the awful 1973 sets! The £100 price would be for an UNtoned set, of course. That really is a notorious year for the proof set - it may be due to something in the red dye used for the foam insert. The weird thing is that some sets have survived with no toning at all, and I'm hanging on to mine!

Or with some still seemingly untarnished, could it be an issue with the cases used in 1973 ~ maybe non airtight ?

That's a thought. Though quite why some exposure to air would cause such ugly toning is a mystery - many proofs live out of sealed cases and never get toned.

Well, here's a theory, which may well be wide of the mark, but here goes. Suppose it was a combination of the red dye, and not properly sealed cases. Where the cases are properly sealed, there is no reaction. Like your set.

Possible ?

[1949threepence 3,367]

Just as a matter of interest, how long did it take for the 1973 sets to get so badly toned ? I mean, they can't have been like that when they were first bought. I'm given to understand this was 1976, as opposed to 1973.

[Peckris 579]

Just thought I would share an image of this 2p coin from a 1973 proof set, which has toned rather brightly!!

The coin is still sealed in the set so has not been tampered with, if anyone wants the set for £100 I am willing to sell and they can get the 2p slabbed, it must be worth £1,000 to a toning collector!!

Haha - the awful 1973 sets! The £100 price would be for an UNtoned set, of course. That really is a notorious year for the proof set - it may be due to something in the red dye used for the foam insert. The weird thing is that some sets have survived with no toning at all, and I'm hanging on to mine!

Or with some still seemingly untarnished, could it be an issue with the cases used in 1973 ~ maybe non airtight ?

That's a thought. Though quite why some exposure to air would cause such ugly toning is a mystery - many proofs live out of sealed cases and never get toned.

Well, here's a theory, which may well be wide of the mark, but here goes. Suppose it was a combination of the red dye, and not properly sealed cases. Where the cases are properly sealed, there is no reaction. Like your set.

Possible ?

Just as a matter of interest, how long did it take for the 1973 sets to get so badly toned ? I mean, they can't have been like that when they were first bought. I'm given to understand this was 1976, as opposed to 1973.

I'm no chemist Mike, but I guess that's as good a theory as any. I never saw a '73 set until the 90s (only had the '70, '71, '72, and '77 sets before that), and that's when I picked up a horribly toned one from an auction lot. I then found out it wasn't rare by any means. But no, they wouldn't have been sold in that state - you're right, it was around 1976. The '73 sets may have been minted a bit before the '74/'75/'76 sets which were issued together. I'm thinking the '73 set may have been a bit earlier because of the commem 50p.

[Paulus 1,975]

Here's a high octane contender!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1893-Great-Britain-PCGS-PR64-Virtual-Gem-Colorful-Toned-Proof-Crown-/330751997066?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4d025af48a#ht_6380wt_1397

[Nick 329]

Here's a high octane contender!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1893-Great-Britain-PCGS-PR64-Virtual-Gem-Colorful-Toned-Proof-Crown-/330751997066?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4d025af48a#ht_6380wt_1397

A lot of the 1893 proof coins are toned that way, so it may not be artificially toned.

[Coinery 1,157]

Here's a high octane contender!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1893-Great-Britain-PCGS-PR64-Virtual-Gem-Colorful-Toned-Proof-Crown-/330751997066?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4d025af48a#ht_6380wt_1397

A lot of the 1893 proof coins are toned that way, so it may not be artificially toned.

Looks like it was photographed in an eighties nightclub!

[Peckris 579]

Here's a high octane contender!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1893-Great-Britain-PCGS-PR64-Virtual-Gem-Colorful-Toned-Proof-Crown-/330751997066?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4d025af48a#ht_6380wt_1397

When the artificial 'rainbow toning' bubble bursts, there's going to be a lot of unhappy owners left with negative equity. I won't mourn...

[Peter 615]

Here's a high octane contender!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1893-Great-Britain-PCGS-PR64-Virtual-Gem-Colorful-Toned-Proof-Crown-/330751997066?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4d025af48a#ht_6380wt_1397

When the artificial 'rainbow toning' bubble bursts, there's going to be a lot of unhappy owners left with negative equity. I won't mourn...

The toning scene is fully established in the US...can't see it bursting.

[Peckris 579]

Here's a high octane contender!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1893-Great-Britain-PCGS-PR64-Virtual-Gem-Colorful-Toned-Proof-Crown-/330751997066?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item4d025af48a#ht_6380wt_1397

When the artificial 'rainbow toning' bubble bursts, there's going to be a lot of unhappy owners left with negative equity. I won't mourn...

The toning scene is fully established in the US...can't see it bursting.

HA!!! That's what they said about the housing market...