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What are the best gloves to handle raw silver coins?
Early_Milled_Latin_America
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I was thinking 100% cotton or nitrile (not powdered).
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Cotton
I will buy a box of these.
Can you reuse them often cotton gloves I mean? I would think that is OK and not just a one time use thing. They are not cheap.
None....clean hands and handle by the edges. If anything, non powdered tight fitting nitrile gloves. I've always been taught that cotton gloves can reduce dexterity causing you to drop a coin, and can retain dirt/particles that can hairline a coin. Of course, there's a big difference between handling a high grade proof vs a circulated Morgan, but typically there are no gloves to be found in the grading room.
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I’m also in the “no gloves” group, never used any for just straight looking and handling.
I wash my hands using Dawn or similar degreasing detergent and then I dry my hand thoroughly. I then handle the coins by their edges over a soft surface. I never had a problem this way.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
My coins are not expensive just thought maybe I should use gloves and debating between nitrile or 100% cotton.
Nitrile does not affect silver correct?
So you wash your hands but you dry your hand (thoroughly). Which hand do you leave wet? 😈
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
No gloves is an option, but you gotta be careful.
Also, I assume we're talking about uncirculated coins. I wouldn't worry about a circulated coin.
No gloves group.
What if its a circulated 1933 double eagle? Ya never know.
God comes first in everything I do. I’m dedicated to serving Him with my whole life. Coin collecting is just a hobby—but even in that, I seek to honor Him. ✝️
There are countless circulated coins worth worrying about.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
I've held two uncirculated 1933 double eagles without gloves...
I never wear gloves unless I'm forced to*, in which case tight nitrile gloves have the best grip and are as close to your normal tactile sensations because they're so thin, so however it feels when you hold a coin raw, it will feel almost the same with nitrile gloves. I really don't like the reduced grip of cotton gloves.
*The Smithsonian has made me wear them before. Their coins, their rules, my very sweaty hand after a few hours of it sitting in a sauna.
Clearly the consensus is that you don't need to worry about handling ANY coin without gloves, so I doubt most people here are worried about "countless" circulated coins.
Those who are worried about the countless circulated coins are careful about the way they hold them, just as they are when holding uncirculated coins. Just because a coin’s circulated, doesn’t mean it’s of low value and not worthy of careful preservation.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
That’s the cool thing about junk silver, you can play with it.
I use these
Mr_Spud
Madge would be proud🤣🤣🤣
You're conflating not worrying about wearing gloves with not worrying about mishandling, which caused you to misunderstand my original comment.
Am I the only one who handles pocket change coins by their rims out of habit?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Yes, Perry, you are the only one.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
It's the same thing. If you are not worrying about wearing gloves, it is because you are not worrying about mishandling a coin. The only reason people wear gloves is because they think it prevents mishandling.
But, if you are drawing an ultra fine line here, why would you wear gloves with an uncirculated coin and not a circulated one?
The only time I wear gloves is never. They make your hands hot and sweaty and give you a false sense of security. Take off the training wheels!
Glad you're back Lanza. Up thread, it was pointed out that there are no gloves in the grading room. I doubt you (and Mark) are saying that TPG's don't care about mishandling coins because they don't wear gloves. Not wearing gloves and caring about handling coins can both be true at the same time.
Hi.
But why uncirculated and not circulated??
My comments in this thread are specific to the OP. He collects 18th century Spanish milled. I assumed he must have been asking because he had a high grade coin he was worried about, so yeah, go ahead and wear gloves if you want. But he probably doesn't need to worry about wearing gloves to handle his circulated coins below. Then for some reason, that got conflated by you and Mark to: "Why don't you care about mishandling circulated coins". Sheesh.......
The extra concern about uncirculated or proof coins might be fear of fingerprints. A casual brush of a finger against the face of the coin could have disastrous results that would not occur with a circulated coin.
I was taught to handle with kid gloves but I could only afford mittens.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
As my wife often says, there is more to handling coins than just physical touch. A cough or sneeze can cause bigger issues than an ungloved hand if you're not careful. It also helps to tell them you love them occasionally.
I think that last part was a subtle hint.
It helps to tell your wife or your coins that you love them occasionally?
If you were talking about your wife, it would probably be much better to occasionally tell her that you love her instead of telling her that you love her occasionally.
😉
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Interesting comments... i dont typically wear them but I guess if you have to wear gloves I'd opt for purple Nitriles. I've worn gloves for work (Microbiology labs) for over 4 decades and these have been the best for me. Just find ones that fit your hand the best... aren't too loose, or aren't so tight as to cause hand fatigue. Nitrile gloves give the best grip and "feel". I always felt as though the coin was going to slip right through my fingers with cotton gloves. Just no tactile feel for the coin, and in my mind, dropping the coin is avoidable if I just don't wear cotton gloves...
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Why purple? Are the blue ones not the exact same material?
Different textures... at least from my vendor. There are black nitrile gloves too. Some work better when wet...
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It was mostly for handling coins after acetone baths I was asking once the coin dries off to put them into Mylar holders. Not to leave fingerprints and the like. I figured nitrile is OK since it will not affect coins (silver in my case) like some material do aka PVC.
Haha yes, very true. Thankfully most coins only require occasional love.
Two things to be aware of there:
First, if you're thinking of using them after an acetone bath, don't actually use the gloves to fish coins out of the acetone or otherwise get wet acetone directly onto the gloves. Acetone will depolymerise plastics, including nitrile, which will leave bits of depolymeried plastic floating around in the acetone and potentially land back on your coins. I can attest, from personal experience in the lab, that a nitrile glove dunked into acetone will quickly lose structural integrity.
Second, the reason many people including the TPGs say they don't use gloves when handling coins is the increased risk of dropping the coin, simply because they're not used to handling coins while wearing gloves and/or don't have a job where they need to wear such gloves while handling coin-like objects for many hours on end, so haven;t built up the necessary muscle memory to instinctively handle things properly. To handle coins with gloves, you ideally want to practice doing it for quite a while before handling coins you care about, so you can learn how to do it without dropping them. Cotton gloves are worse than nitrile gloves for this, because cotton gloves are thicker and also have next-to-no grip on a piece of metal like a coin.
Because a coin that's fragile enough to really benefit from the protection of being handling with gloves, is also fragile enough to get damaged by dropping it, even if dropped onto something soft and fluffy. Mis-handling a coin with your bare hands will result in a fingerprint, which is reversible simply by another quick swish in the acetone. Damage caused by dropping a coin is probably going to be irreversible.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded the DPOTD twice.
Thanks guys will just use my hands like I have been doing.
@Sapyx Good Catch! This is true... hadn't thought he's be using the gloves to fish out the coin from the acetone bath. I've always used a couple of que-tips and a cotton cloth to get the coin out of a glass Petri-dish... also, for the same reason, don't store acetone in anything other than approved containers. Plastics exposed to certain organic solvents typically don't fare well... in fact, we would use methyl ethyl ketone to "melt" plastic trays into the configurations we wanted. No doubt this would leave some sort of residue on a coin
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I was thinking boxing or hockey, but someone beat me to it.... J/K
Seriously, any color nitrile !!
What God gave us.
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And the GSA agrees with you...
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FYI ⇊
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@Rc5280 Good point, doesn't really matter how a coin is handled when carelessness is involved.
Hard to pick fly poop out of pepper when you're wearing boxing gloves. Agree with nitrile. Regardless one might want to have one of those microfibre towels in the event of dropsies.
For nearly all people today who handle rare coins, it was always terrible advice to use cotton gloves. CLEAN bare hands are best, over a protected area (i.e. a towel, or whatever) in case of an accidental drop.
Take this from someone who, early on as a dealer, dropped an expensive proof coin in the middle of the bourse floor and had to watch red-faced as it bounced two tables over.
On the web: http://www.earlyus.com
Nitrile.
no gloves is nice and all but a single fingerprint can make it a very regrettable decision.
The substantial truth doctrine is an important defense in defamation law that allows individuals to avoid liability if the gist of their statement was true.
AI answer for best gloves to handle silver coins:
For handling silver coins, powder-free nitrile gloves are often recommended. They offer a good balance of grip, protection, and are generally considered to be less likely to leave residue than cotton or latex gloves.
Here's why nitrile gloves are a good choice:
Grip:
Nitrile provides good grip, making it easier to handle coins without the risk of them slipping.
Protection:
They help prevent oils and fingerprints from your skin from transferring to the coin, which can negatively impact its value and appearance.
Reduced Residue:
Powder-free nitrile gloves are less likely to leave behind residue or dust on the coin's surface.
Cost-Effective:
Nitrile gloves are generally affordable and widely available.
Inspection Gloves Coin Silver Jewelry HEAVY DUTY White Cotton LARGE 3x Pair
While cotton gloves are sometimes used, they can sometimes retain oils and are not as effective as nitrile gloves at preventing fingerprints and residue. Latex gloves can also contain powder or lubricants that could potentially damage coins
There might be enough there for a positive ID @ricksnow