Need some Help relating to tarnishing

[MrZun]

Hello! So, i dont really mind tarnishing and i know that silver Will become darker, but i have some Denarius in my collecting sitting in a leuchtturm coin tray. But for some reason, 3 of them are tarnishing and becoming darker really fast, specially the reverse where i can see some light Brown colour. I was shocked since they where Just a week Ago completely in a bright silver colour and i leave them protected from the Sun. What could be causing this?

[MrZun]

Could It bê my closet, which is where i leave the tray? They are also closed, i dont leave It open. Can something on It cause It even If its not really touching It? I Also remenber this week. I took my tray for a trip to my friends house, could have the Sun made It? Its something that makes me Wonder If It is that, but the trip wasnt long since he lives close by. My girlfriend Also uses my closet and my part of the closet is open to her side, and she atores some make up there and perfume, but they are all closed aswell

[MrZun]

Could It be the tray itself? Its from the leuchtturm, and i would be really surprised It that IS the culprit, since a lot of people use the same ones. I also leave my Coins inside the tray there without any holders

[Roman Collector]

Tarnish on pure silver is the compound silver sulfide (Ag2S, mineral acanthite), which forms when the silver reacts with sulfur-containing gases in the air. Sulfur compounds are widely used in papermaking. Often paper is a source of sulfur-containing gases in the air, which may be playing a role here. 

 

[MrZun]

5 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

Tarnish on pure silver is the compound silver sulfide (Ag2S, mineral acanthite), which forms when the silver reacts with sulfur-containing gases in the air. Sulfur compounds are widely used in papermaking. Often paper is a source of sulfur-containing gases in the air, which may be playing a role here. 

 

Well, they dont really have any paper close to them.

[Roman Collector]

2 minutes ago, MrZun said:

Well, they dont really have any paper close to them.

There is almost certainly some source of sulfur-containing gases in that closet. 

[expat]

Are the cosmetics on the other side of the closet packaged in paper/cardboard? These will off-gas and will contaminate the closet.

[John Conduitt]

Sulphur is in a lot of things. The air, especially near a busy road or source of smoke. Your fingers when you touch them. Being in a room with moisture and temperature fluctuations will speed it up.

[MrZun]

Yeah, i think it might be the cosmetics and temperature. Does not Help further by me living in a tropical country. 

[MrZun]

Also, shall i leave them there for them to tarnish even more? Since It adds to the flavor of the coin

[John Conduitt]

1 minute ago, MrZun said:

Also, shall i leave them there for them to tarnish even more? Since It adds to the flavor of the coin

You could put them in tarnish-resistant capsules (which try to remove chemicals from the air) to try to slow the process down. But you can't stop them tarnishing eventually. The worst case scenario is that the tarnish is uneven and unattractive, but you could then clean them again.

[Rand]

58 minutes ago, Roman Collector said:

Tarnish on pure silver is the compound silver sulfide (Ag2S, mineral acanthite)

It is helpful to know. What chemicals and environments can produce patina on gold coins? Gold coins generally have subtle patina, but I can see colour differences even in coins minted from the same dies from supposedly high-quality gold (for example, 5th-6th century Constantinople solidi and tremisses). The patina can be even or affect parts of the surface.

Patina on lesser quality gold is probably primarily determined by the alloy's silver and copper amount.

[Ed Snible]

I don't know the answer to this.

You have many coins being stored together.  Only three are changing color.  I would suspect something about those three coins, rather than the environment.  Those three coins aren't stable.  This could indicate they were improperly cleaned.  Perhaps some chemical from cleaning remains, and they need to be rinsed in distilled water?

[Prieure de Sion]

Pictures will be very helpful in this case...

[Rand]

I am still working on making good-quality pictures, I am afraid, and the coins are not at home at the moment. Frist pictures are three coins I showed before - auction photos, but the middle one looks greyish in hand. The bottom one was probably professionally cleaned, removing the patina - all coins from the dealer from the same hoard come spotless.

The next coin shows variations in colour on the surface. I am sure this is not dirt. I put another from the same die pair I bought from the same dealer, but it has an even colour.

 

Second pair

[MrZun]

5 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Pictures will be very helpful in this case...

Here we go 

[MrZun]

5 hours ago, Ed Snible said:

I don't know the answer to this.

You have many coins being stored together.  Only three are changing color.  I would suspect something about those three coins, rather than the environment.  Those three coins aren't stable.  This could indicate they were improperly cleaned.  Perhaps some chemical from cleaning remains, and they need to be rinsed in distilled water?

I have distilled Walter, is that a good Idea? I fear damaging them using it

[MrZun]

Also, did It reduced the numismatic value of the coins by having such tooning?

[lordmarcovan]

24 minutes ago, MrZun said:

Also, did It reduced the numismatic value of the coins by having such tooning?

In this case, I say no.

To the contrary, I think they’re attractive.  Unless they go really dark grey or black, I wouldn’t be concerned.  

In those pictures, I see what looks like the initial stages of “cabinet toning”, which I consider a good thing most of the time.

Here is a coin of mine with cabinet toning.  I like it better this way than I would if the coin was bright white.

Edited December 31, 2023 by lordmarcovan

[Xeno]

15 minutes ago, MrZun said:

Here we go 

 

IMO this toning is an improvement especially on the Vespasian. Often when you buy a silver ancient coin it has been scrubbed bright white, most coins I have purchased that came this way have toned a bit and I consider it an improvement. As others have said sulfur containing gases is the key agent in this equation. I had some of my coins for years in a wooden cabinet and some acquired super vibrant rainbow toning while a few others darkened in color. Both I consider improvements to the scrubbed bright white coins. I also store all my ancient coins with desiccant packs to keep them nice and dry. I don't know how important this is for silver but I do know its important for bronze.

[MrZun]

If you guys are curius, this is the closet where i keep the coins: you can see my tray in the First image

Edited December 31, 2023 by MrZun

[lordmarcovan]

8 minutes ago, Xeno said:

 

IMO this toning is an improvement especially on the Vespasian. Often when you buy a silver ancient coin it has been scrubbed bright white, most coins I have purchased that came this way have toned a bit and I consider it an improvement. As others have said sulfur containing gases is the key agent in this equation. I had some of my coins for years in a wooden cabinet and some acquired super vibrant rainbow toning while a few others darkened in color. Both I consider improvements to the scrubbed bright white coins. I also store all my ancient coins with desiccant packs to keep them nice and dry. I don't know how important this is for silver but I do know its important for bronze.

See?  Cheer up!  It’s a good thing in this particular case!

Unless they keep going and become charcoal grey or black, I think you’ve got nothing to worry about.

[Dafydd]

Here is a coin I bought at FUN in July 2022.

Didius Julianus AR Denarius. Rome, AD 193. [IMP C]AES M DID [IVLIAN AVG], laureate head to right / CONCO[RD MILIT], Concordia standing facing, head to left, holding aquila and vexillum. RIC IV 1; BMCRE 2; RSC 2. 3.24g, 17mm.

It has been artificially toned and shows a similar blue hue to yours.

You can't really see this from my poor photographs which were taken "on the road" but this is the original coin sold in a UK auction some weeks previously. (Roma Auction
Auction 97 Lot 1208)

 

It was bought as "possibly"  artificially toned and I bought it to fill a gap but it would appear that someone tried to remove the dark stain chemically to improve the coin.

I only found the original auction listing after I bought the coin and after a little rumination decided that the toning was more attractive than the dark spot although the spot would not have put me off had I seen the coin with it because I was quite pleased to find an affordable rarity on the day.

I suspect your coins may have been similarly treated but they look attractive. I have some Republican Denarii with same blue toning and find it attractive. I think you have some nice coins but it may be an idea to take the advice of @Ed Snible and put them in distilled water. I did this with my Didius Julianus.

 

 

 

 

 

[MrZun]

I Will prob leave them where they were and see what happens in a few months, might make a post after showing the results

[MrZun]

Here are the rest of my Coins. All seem to be reacting that way and i actually find It more pleasing... 😁