Silver King James Bible Proof £2 Coin

[ddave07]

I'm completely new to coin collecting and stacking and am still very much learning from the posts that come up on the forum.

I have recently been given a Silver KJ Bible Proof £2 coin. However when I was given it, I saw that there are marks on the coin (see photo), is this the result of it being handled previously (I've not removed it from its capsule) or is this natural tarnishing of silver?

Any insights would be really welcome

Cheers! DD 

[Arganto]

If it's definitely on the coin and not the plastic of the capsule it's not tarnishing. It looks like it's been dragged across a surface or something similar, i.e. damage.

Tarnish on proof sterling commemoratives (especially £1 & £2 coins in my experience for whatever reason) is the dreaded black stuff, although they do sometimes tone nicely.

 

[TeaTime]

In contrast to the last opinion i think that it is natural toning. I have a few RM silver proof coins that exhibit the same toning - all of them have never been handled.

[HelpingHands]

I think it's probably poor quality during production.

Many of the circulating £2 coins have the same circular marks.

I've stole this image from the first ebay listing I saw

[Arganto]

3 hours ago, TeaTime said:

natural toning

It's an odd tone if it is, the proof frosting looks whitened on the high points, hence why I thought it was contact marks. Anything is possible with RM products though 👀

[dicker]

I have few of these and one has very similar circular markings.  I think this toning that happened post production at the RM.  Root cause probably quality issue.

 

best

Dicker

[GoldDiggerDave]

typical toning and fogging.  I have a number of silver poor £2 coins like this I'll attach a few photos later on, I'm not doing much today so will pick some of the worst out, and will conserve them to show you the before and after.

I've even got a SYO VIP silver proof £2 that I can guarantee thats never been out of the capsule but sadly  it has similar toning.

[TeaTime]

Simplest answer - dip it in something like Goddards Silver Dip. If it disappears then it's toning - if it doesn't then it's damage.

Admittedly it could be both knowing RM quality control.

I've often wondered why a lot of silver proof coins will tone in such a way. Logically you'd expect it to be more evenly distributed. Dicker could be on to something - perhaps the tone first appears on areas that have micro abrasions or defects introduced as part of the minting process..  

[dicker]

@TeaTime I think this is the case based on the coins I have seen.  

I bought a large number of Silver proof sets from an auction house after they did not sell. One of the £2 I have looks like it has not been out of the capsule but has similar markings.  You see the same sort of marks in circulation £2’s as highlighted by @HelpingHands so I suspect a “feature” of the minting process.  

[Shinus73]

Foolishly, I collect the £2 silver proofs and many have this ‘feature’. I think it happens naturally over time and appears unique to the £2 denomination.

[GoldDiggerDave]

This is my SYO silver proof £2.  Slight signs of semi circular toning on the obverse at 2 and 8 o’clock. The reverse is showing more of the RM toning.  I’ll will remove this later on today. 
 

[dicker]

@GoldDiggerDave

Nice photos - pretty much the same as mine. Poor quality from the RM I strongly  believe is the root cause.  

[GoldDiggerDave]

@dicker totally agree, even the base metal 50ps I stuck at the same time are all tarnishing, luckily the Sovereign still looks good. 

[GoldDiggerDave]

@dicker actually I returned the 2020 SYO sovereign, the blank had a smudge on it, and it transposed into the strike (still got pictures somewhere) I’ve still got the first SYO sovereign from 2019.

[GoldDiggerDave]

The toning can almost all be made better, the reverse still has the slightest hint of the semi circular toning but can be made to look far better