Just how much original color still remains on a United States copper coin – specifically, half cents, large cents, small cents and 2-cent coins – plays an important part in a coin's grade and its ultimate value.
U.S. copper coins, regardless of whether they are graded and encapsulated by a third-party grading service or are "raw," often have a superlative after the grade that addresses the coin's color: "red," "red and brown" and "brown." Any one of these adjectival attributions reflects the general amount of the original Mint red color remaining on a coin and whether any brown toning is visible.
A coin classified as "red" has all or virtually all of the original red, meaning it features no toning; some red remains on a "red-brown" coin, meaning the coin has partially toned to brown; a coin classified as "brown" is one that has completely toned to a natural brown.
Collectors will often see the terms abbreviated in advertisements, price guides and other places where space is limited ("R" for red, "RB" for red-brown and "B" for brown). A copper coin with no color designation as part of the grade, especially in the lower Mint State range and all circulated grades, is probably fully brown.
Collectors will often see the designations primarily assigned to the half cent series (Liberty Cap, Draped Bust, Classic Head, and Coronet); large cents (Flowing Hair, Liberty Cap, Draped Bust, Classic Head and Coronet); Indian Head and Lincoln cents; and 2-cent coins.
The designations may also be seen used less frequently for copper patterns and tokens.
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FULL RED can be found on this 1877 Indian Head bronze cent graded Mint State 64 red by Professional Coin Grading Service. Images courtesy of HeritageAuctions.com.
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The designations are reserved for Mint State and Proof issues, and appear as, for example, MS-65 red or Proof 65 red.
Color affects value. A coin graded MS-65 red (or MS-65R) will be valued more than an MS-65RB piece of the same date and Mint.
A coin grading MS-63RB is worth more than a coin grading MS-63B. In many cases, a fully red coin in a lower grade is worth more than a coin that is one grade higher, but red-brown in color (for example, an MS-64R Lincoln cent is likely more expensive than an MS-65RB Lincoln cent of the same date and Mint).
The exact designation of color will differ from series to series, as the color of the copper used for coin blanks will be different depending on the source of the metal.
According to The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins, edited by Kenneth Bressett, "Copper is the among the most chemically reactive of all coinage metals. Half cents and large cents of 1793 to 1857 were made of nearly pure copper. Later 'copper' coins are actually bronze (copper combined with other elements, usually zinc and tin).
"When a copper coin is first struck, it emerges from the dies with a brilliant red-orange surface, similar to a newly minted modern Lincoln cent (copper-plated zinc).
"There are some exceptions in the early years among half cents and large cents. Copper was obtained from many different sources, traces of impurities varied from shipment to shipment, and some newly minted coins had a subdued brilliance (sometimes with a brownish or grayish cast).
"Once a freshly minted copper coin enters the atmosphere, it immediately begins to oxidize. Over a period of years, especially if exposed to actively circulating air or placed in contact with sulfur-content materials (such as most paper or cardboard), the coin will acquire a glossy brown surface. In between the brilliant and glossy brown stages it will be part red and part brown."
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ANACS GRADED this 1857 Coronet copper half cent as MS-63 red and brown because the color retains sufficient red surfaces to raise it out of the brown category, but enough brown to keep it out of the red category. Images courtesy of HeritageAuctions.com.
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Red
According to Professional Coin Grading Service's 2004 reference, The Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection, second edition, edited by Scott Travers, with John Dannreuther as text author, the color designation "red" is reserved for "copper coins that are still in full Mint bloom, with original color as struck and only slight diminishing of the luster or reflectivity is allowed."
Doug Winter, in an article on the HeritageCoins.com Web site, explains luster as "the sheen of a coin's surface that is caused by metal flowing toward the edge(s) as it is struck.
"Generally there are three types of luster: satiny, frosty, and prooflike. The various consistencies of luster are predicated on how the dies were polished before striking, the quality of the planchets used, and the overall methodology of strike."
Copper coins assigned as "red" must exhibit at least 95 percent of the original red color on both obverse and reverse, according to the PCGS guide.
Coins assigned the perfect grade of MS-70 or Proof 70 can only have the slightest interruption in the Mint color. As the percentage of original Mint color diminishes, so does the overall grade of the coin.
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THERE'S LITTLE DOUBT when viewing this Proof 1959 Lincoln bronze cent that the adjectival attribution is red. There is no evidence of brown color. Independent Coin Grading assigned the grade Proof 70 red. What appears to be a loss of rim detail is the result of the images taken with the coin in the plastic slab. Images courtesy of HeritageAuctions.com.
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Red and brown
The "red and brown" descriptor is used for those coins exhibiting from 5 to 95 percent of their original Mint red color.
"This is a very wide spectrum of colors," according to the PCGS guide.
"The coin's colors can range from nearly full Mint red to mostly brown or tan. Mint State coins tend to have more brown mixed with the red color and Proof coins seem to have more tan mixed with the red color, but there are exceptions."
Among the exceptions are Proof Indian Head bronze cents, which may exhibit a purple hue.
Copper coins bearing the description "red and brown" can range from those that have little or no brown, to those that are mostly brown.
Spotting is permitted in the middle Mint State grades, but on coins with higher grades, such detracting spots must be extremely minor in nature, according to the PCGS guide.
Minor spots may be permitted if offset by extraordinary luster or reflectivity or the intensity of the color, according to the PCGS guide.
"A coin with one side full original red and the other side fully brown, or with only traces of red, will be designated red and brown," according to the PCGS guide.
Brown
A copper coin that exhibits 5 percent or less of its original color is deemed "brown." Most examples will appear to have a smooth, even light to dark brown appearance, but sometimes may be streaky with some hint of red remaining.
Some examples that are classified as "brown" may have as much as 10 percent red left on one side of the coin, with little or no red on the other.
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MINT STATE 64 BROWN is what Numismatic Guaranty Corp. assigned the grade for this copper 1909-S Lincoln, v.d.b. cent. Images courtesy of HeritageAuctions.com.
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For coins with higher numerical grades, unevenness of color is allowable, but coins with the highest grades will only be able to carry such spotting as is detectable only under a microscope.
"Many brown coins will have diminished luster or reflectivity, with a few having lost almost all bloom," according to the PCGS guide.
"This, of course, will negatively affect the numerical grade. Some brown coins will still retain exceptional luster or reflectivity."
According to the ANA grading guide: "There is divided opinion as to whether a copper or bronze coin has to be red in order to merit the MS-65 grade.
"Most commercial grading services allow red and brown and brown coins to be classified as MS-65 if all other criteria are met, while some collectors and dealers suggest that an MS-65 copper or bronze coin must have full original red Mint color. … Brilliant Proof (with mirrorlike fields) copper and bronze coins are red-orange when first struck.
"Over a period of time they, like Uncirculated pieces of the same metal, tend to tone brown.
"Often attractive iridescent hues will develop in the intermediate stages."
Collectors should take the opportunity to visit a coin show and examine as many certified and uncertified half cents, large cents, small cents and 2-cent coins to see how each grading service, or in the case of uncertified coins, how each independent dealer determines what makes the coin red, red and brown or brown.
The differences may be obvious to some, but research can build the confidence to make the determination on your own.
