Is toning always more attractive than a shiny white coin?

[MrMonkeySwag96]

Back in 2020, I bought a denarius of Man. Acilius Glabrio from Lodge Antiquities on Vcoins. I paid around $150 for the coin. As you can see, my denarius is a shiny, white coin:

 

 

 

After randomly researching coins in CNG's archive of sold coins, I discovered that my denarius was originally sold in CNG e-auction 352, lot 392 on June 3rd, 2015. When CNG auctioned the coin, it was pictured with dark, spotty toning:

 

 

 

The denarius hammered for $65 on an estimate of $100.

 

 

 

Apparently, my denarius was cleaned of its dark toning by the coin's original owner or Lodge Antiquities before it was sold to me.
 

What do you guys think, was my denarius more attractive with the original spotty toning or does it look better as a shiny white coin?

 

 

Edited May 17 by MrMonkeySwag96

[sand]

For me, I usually like toned silver coins. However, it depends on the toning. If the toning is spotty/uneven, as you mentioned, then sometimes I prefer the shiny coin. For me, it also depends on the quality of the photography. For your particular coin, I prefer the shiny coin. For your coin, the toned coin has spotty/uneven toning, especially near the portrait's nose on the obverse. Therefore, for your coin, for the photographs of the shiny coin and the toned coin, I prefer the shiny coin.

Edited May 15 by sand

[CPK]

I almost always prefer toning on my silver - preferably, what is called 'old cabinet' toning. Iridescent toning can be really attractive too, but is easily overdone.

Here's a coin that would look worse (IMO) if it were shiny blast-white:

GREAT BRITAIN, King George II (1727-1760)
AR Shilling (26.08mm, 6.00g, 6h)
Dated 1745. Tower of London mint
Obverse: GEORGIUS · II · DEI · GRATIA ·, laureate, draped, and cuirassed old bust of King George II left; LIMA below
Reverse: ·M·B·F·ET H·REX· F·D·B ET·L·D·S·R·I A·T·ET·E· 17-45 (date), crowned cruciform coats-of-arms of England and France, Scotland, Ireland, and Hanover around rayed central Garter star
References: Numista 13121
Attractive old cabinet toning.
This coin was struck from silver captured from the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Cavadonga, off the coast of Peru in 1743. The British warship Centurion, commanded by Commodore George Anson, encountered the treasure ship as it left the port of Lima. After an intense, 90-minute battle, the Spanish vessel surrendered. In its hold were more than 1.3 million silver 8-reale coins, plus an additional 35,000 ounces of silver bullion. When Anson brought the plunder back to England, it was decided to use the captured silver for minting coins, each of which was stamped with the word "LIMA" on the obverse to commemorate the great victory.

[MrMonkeySwag96]

14 hours ago, CPK said:

I almost always prefer toning on my silver - preferably, what is called 'old cabinet' toning. Iridescent toning can be really attractive too, but is easily overdone.

Here's a coin that would look worse (IMO) if it were shiny blast-white:

GREAT BRITAIN, King George II (1727-1760)
AR Shilling (26.08mm, 6.00g, 6h)
Dated 1745. Tower of London mint
Obverse: GEORGIUS · II · DEI · GRATIA ·, laureate, draped, and cuirassed old bust of King George II left; LIMA below
Reverse: ·M·B·F·ET H·REX· F·D·B ET·L·D·S·R·I A·T·ET·E· 17-45 (date), crowned cruciform coats-of-arms of England and France, Scotland, Ireland, and Hanover around rayed central Garter star
References: Numista 13121
Attractive old cabinet toning.
This coin was struck from silver captured from the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Cavadonga, off the coast of Peru in 1743. The British warship Centurion, commanded by Commodore George Anson, encountered the treasure ship as it left the port of Lima. After an intense, 90-minute battle, the Spanish vessel surrendered. In its hold were more than 1.3 million silver 8-reale coins, plus an additional 35,000 ounces of silver bullion. When Anson brought the plunder back to England, it was decided to use the captured silver for minting coins, each of which was stamped with the word "LIMA" on the obverse to commemorate the great victory.

Here are some examples from my collection in which attractive toning enhances an ancient coin’s eye appeal:

 

 

Edited May 16 by MrMonkeySwag96

[Dafydd]

On 5/15/2024 at 8:10 AM, MrMonkeySwag96 said:

 

 

 

Here is a post I made last December .

In this instance the coin, within weeks of a sale, was artificially toned which is the reverse of your situation. I bought it anyway as it filled a gap for me but generally I would not buy an artificially toned coin. My preference is always to buy toned coins if I can and some "shiny" coins I bought have mellowed down over the years. A dealer once told me to put a shiny coin in a manilla envelope and it will tone down in about a year. It works! In respect of Lodge I don't think they were the "dipper" because I have bought several toned coins from them over the years and they have a decent reputation. 

 

Edited May 16 by Dafydd
typo

[expat]

I much prefer a toned look to coins. It somehow gives the impression of its true age, the details having more depth to their appearance. Here is an Antoninus Pius which was blast white when I purchased it because I liked the coin, now slightly toning and becoming even more attractive. And a Republican which was nicely toned already

 

 

 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I can't say that toning is 'always' more attractive than brightly cleaned, but I'd say that it is, 85% of the time.

[MrMonkeySwag96]

4 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

I can't say that toning is 'always' more attractive than brightly cleaned, but I'd say that it is, 85% of the time.

Not all toning is created equal. In the case of my denarius, would you say that the original spotty toning was less attractive than white shiny surfaces it has currently?

Edited May 17 by MrMonkeySwag96

[Rosa Potatos]

If it's too toned you can always rub it with your fingers to lighten the high points! Totally toned coins don't look so good to me it's the contrast which accentuates the design....Maybe this is why people clean them then let them retone.