I have heard the adjective "Blast White" and "Frosty" used many times. As a matter of fact I just got a Franklin half that is described that way, and certainly is brilliant white with a somewhat frosty appearance. My questions are: Do coins like this come from the mint this way, or are they treated? If they come that way, why arent all mint set coins like this? Is there any value added to having a coin that is "Blast White" or "Frosty" or both?
Well if you're talking about silver coins - yeah they're all blast white when they are fresh from the mint. Frosty on the other hand usually refers to the quality of luster for a coin - and that can change from one coin to the next even fresh from the mint. That's because the quality of luster is dependent on several other things like die wear, striking pressure, the quality of the planchet etc etc. These things are due to the minting process. So yes - they come from the mint that way. When you ask why aren't all mint sets that way - well they are when they are brand new. But the degree of frostiness will vary greatly as I described above. But say you have an older mint set - and the coin are not blast white or frosty. Well that's because coins tone - the metal reacts with the air and other things it comes into contact with. But say somebody had an older mint set coin and it was toned a dull grey. They can dip the coin and make it blast white again. But dipping reduces luster - so any frostiness that may have been there will either be reduced or gone altogether as a result of dipping the coin. So in this case yes a coin can be treated to make it blast white. But you can't increase or make a coin frosty by treating it. But does it increase value ? Well that depends on who wants to buy the coin. Some folks like blast white and will pay more for it. Others are reluctant to buy a coin that has possibly been dipped and will not buy them. Still others like toned coins and won't buy blast white at all. But a toned coin can still be considered frosty as well. So as you can see - there are just too many variables to say there are any set rules. It all comes back to one thing - it always will. Buy and collect what YOU like - what appeals to YOU. And don't worry about what somebody else might like or whether it will make the coin worth more.
Many proofs, and occasional circulation strikes, have that frosty appearance on the high points, generally combined with a mirrored finish on the fields, all as a result of the striking process using polished dies and specially prepared planchets. The "blast white" color is the natural color of silver that hasn't started tarnishing. "Mint" sets are just business strikes that may have been treated more carefully than most. Since they are not struck by specially prepared dies, and are not on specially prepared planchets, they generally do not show "frost". That depends on whom you are talking to. The (misguided IMHO) tarnish lovers, who use the sobriquet "toned", don't give them any extra credit. Those of us who recognize that tarnish is environmental damage, do consider "blast white" coloring to be more valuable than gray, brown, or whatever.
Just a point to consider here after reading Roy's post. I had assumed that the original question was dealing with business strike coins - not Proofs. Business strikes can appear or accurately be described as frosty - but that does not necessarily mean they have the Cameo frost of a Proof coin. These are two different things - but the appearance is somewhat similar.
To add to the subject of Cameo... A coin is "cameo" when the device (lady liberty on a Morgan Dollar, Franklin on the half, etc.) has a frosty appearance while the field (or background of the coin) has a mirror like appearance. Cameo is most common with proof coins that have been struck with highly polished dies, but does also occur to a lesser extent with business strikes destined for circulation. The term "proof-like" often refers to business strike coins which exhibit both the mirror-like fields and frosty devices of a proof issue. When frosty is used to describe mint state business strike coins, you have to be careful. Depending upon the dealer, it may be referring to a coin that is proof-like in appearance or it may be referring to a coin which exhibits a frosty/satiny lustre across all surfaces of the coin. In the case of Morgan dollars, many of the dates came from the mint with a frosty appearance across the entire coin while others exhibit a more proof-like appearance. As for business strike Franklin halves, it is not the norm to have an intensely frosty coin.
