Fingerprints on silver coins and other complaints

DeutscherGeist

I grab coins on the sides, never the face.


With that said, should I wear rubber gloves when handling silver coins or are cotton gloves advised? Why?


I buy those 10 Euro silver coins from banks in Germany. The teller grabs them with his fingers, places it in an envelope and then gives it to me. I thought this was OK years ago. I place these coins in plastic capsules all the time. I see fingerprints on some of these coins as my knowledge and scrutiny of coins increases. Is my collection doomed? Would an acetone dip be in order? Of course I don't want anything abrasive.

I once had a capsule crack and chip off (it was not in a safe place). A portion of the coin was then exposed to air. The exposed part tarnished. Is this coin worthless?

I have a lot of Nazi silver coins that are tarnished. I just left them alone. I am not going to do anything related to cleaning until I learn more.

wybrit

I can't stand watching people hold UNC coins. A lot of dealers don't even know how to hold them properly.

Don't use rubber gloves to hold coins. Rubber frequently contains sulfur, which will react with copper or silver. There was a thread on here a few months ago about rubber bands and coins. Keep rubber away from coins at all times!!

Acetone will not remove fingerprints unless they were just put on the coin seconds ago - a chemical reaction has already taken place. Dipping the coin may remove the fingerprint, but I am on record as advising against that (others will disagree with me on this).

Tarnished silver is not worthless. If attractively toned, silver coins may fetch a premium. Don't clean the coins (very smart of you not to do so yet!!).

Aethelred

<< <i>Acetone will not remove fingerprints unless they were just put on the coin seconds ago - a chemical reaction has already taken place. Dipping the coin may remove the fingerprint, but I am on record as advising against that (others will disagree with me on this). >>



In order to prove Wybrit correct, I am here to disagree with him. I believe that if a fingerprint can be removed by dipping, that would be a better option than leaving it in place and allowing the problem to grow worse with time. However, after a fingerprint has been in place for a long period the acid in the oil of human skin will have eaten into the metal and can not be removed.

Having said that you should NEVER dip a copper or bronze coin and you should not dip a silver coin just because you don't like the look of the toning. Reserve dip only for the removal of problems that will grow worse with time.

DeutscherGeist

I only want to bath silver in acetone to get rid of the PVC exposure