Here’s a true Ike gem, an MS68 and a handsome toner to boot. I don’t have to hype this coin as the images speak for themselves.

I’ve never seen an Ike toned in quite this way. The entire rim and edge—both obverse and reverse—is a thin circle of yellow that seems to hold or “contain” the colors growing inward from the fields. On the obverse, rose tones dominate, blending with peachy orange and some lavender. On the reverse, lavenders blend with purple-blues. Underneath these tonings is a near fleur de coin, there being forty graded higher (PCGS MS69).

I had originally included this as a “raw” coin in a Dansco album of Ike toners listed on eBay, but—however fine those other toners were—this one kept calling out to me. So I sent it in for grading. And now I’m glad I did.