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 Replies: 19 / Views: 2,914 |
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New Member
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Hello there!
I am new to this forum.
I have recently bought several tubes of silver Canadian Maple Leaf coins for investment.
Over the weekend, I found a great hiding place to store them. It is basically maybe a couple of inches away from the washing machine, in a compartment, on the floor. I thought that when I would wash clothes, I would take the tubes away from the hiding place so that vibrations would not scratch the coins.
Well, I programmed the washing machine to start at 2.00am and like an idiot I did not move the tubes of silver coins! Of course, by the time the washing machine started its cycle I was long asleep. Only in the morning did I realise what I had done and I could kick myself for being so stupid.
Now my question: do you think the silver coins are scratched?
they are stacked in tubes of 25 coins, nothing in between coins so with the vibrations do you think all my coins are now scratched and worth a lot less that I bought them for.
I am scared of opening the tubes as I understand that once they are open, the silver is exposed to air and air corrodes silver.
I feel sick with worry...
Thank you much in advance.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
830 Posts |
 They should be ok, probably wasn't any worse than shipping them in the tubes which is common practice. Edited by GoThunder
08/31/2011 4:07 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5862 Posts |
I can't help you with the scratching question, but if you investing in these as silver bullion (as opposed to numismatic coins) I don't think the silver value will be affected no matter how scratched or oxidized they become.
Oh -- and welcome to the forum!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
667 Posts |
They are bullion coins. Don't get attached to them. While it appears you may have paid a premium for them this might be the only thing you would loose which would be a dollar a coin.
People have done far worse such as taking a Brillo pad to shine silver coins.
Remember what you are buying - bullion over numismatic coins. They were minted as bullion and put into to tubes for easy marketing and sales. They were minted in large numbers so unless you were hoping to spend the money to have them graded and slabbed for the numismatic side don't worry about it.
Toning would not effect their price as bullion coins. I understand people like their silver shinny. But as speculation bullion this is not all that important.
It is certainly ok to open up the tubes and look at them and enjoy them. If your concerned about marks then wear some gloves or something like that.
Just keep the bullion in perspective as to what it really is and have fun.
Now if they are a certain year of Maples with a low mintage they might hold just a little more premium undamaged. But in general you will get the going rate for maples finger printed or never touched.
Edited by mkfarm
08/31/2011 4:37 pm
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New Member
 United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Thank you both for your replies and for welcoming me to this fabulous forum!
Yes, I thought about the shipment which must have had a few vibrations since I ordered these coins from Germany (Coin Invest Direct). In any case, I have now stored them somewhere else, away from the washing machine!
However, I was reading quite a bit on the internet and it seemed like if your silver coins are not in pristine condition, when you come to sell them, you will get less money for them. That's why I got so worried...
Thanks again!
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New Member
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Thank you very much mkfarm!
Much appreciated.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
Welcome Marielle. You'll be fine. I think I would find a place away from the wading machine. Possibly, since you have several thousand dollars worth of silver you could get a safe and have someone bolt it to the floor and wall in a closet underneath a pile of clothes or something. It would be money well spent. Otherwise, a safe deposit box would be OK, but I would probably not do that since you live in Great Britain. Your government has a way of confiscating safe deposit boxes.
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New Member
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Hi junior e,
Many thanks for welcoming me and for your reply.
I must say, that hiding place next to the washing machine was absolutely fabulous, had the washing machine not been next to it! I only discovered that small hiding place a couple of months ago and I have been in my flat for 15 years!
I will certainly review my hiding options. A safe would be great, I will have to do some thinking.
As per a bank safe deposit box, I was alerted to the fact (through Mike Maloney's book) that either the bank can go bust and seize your silver and gold or indeed, the government can have sticky hands!
Home is definitely the safer place.
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New Member
United States
46 Posts |
Yes. Your coins are essentially damaged in their core. Silver that is exposed to washing machines turns into Canadian steel, which already rusts in the brochure!
You should now send your coins to:
cfibaker
2876 Main Street
Sometown, Maine
USA
Of course I am just kidding, but I am surprised nobody has mentioned a cheap buyout yet, with all the investment and short term profit taking.
Welcome to this amazing forum.
;)
Edited by cfibaker
08/31/2011 5:41 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
Hello, Marielle, and welcome to the CCF forum!  If you want to keep your hiding place, consider damping the vibrations from the washer. This is easy to do by putting down 2 squares of plywood with a square of foam of some sort between them and putting the washer on top of this "sandwich". This will raise the washer slightly but most are adjustable enough that it won't cause any problems with the water and electrical connections. The foam will absorb most of the vibrations and might even make it more quiet as well. I agree with the suggestion of having a safe or perhaps a bank safety deposit box. Everything we do has limitations but most are a lot better than nothing. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
Marielle, to CCF, I believe the family covered your ?'s. On another note: You should not run a washer or dryer when you are asleep or not at home. The washer could over flow & the dryer could cause a fire. We use to run our washer when we went to bed. After an over flow which in turn flooded the downstairs. We run it while we are inattendance. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4008 Posts |
Quote:
We use to run our washer when we went to bed. After an over flow which in turn flooded the downstairs. We run it while we are in attendance. Yes, you just have to wonder about that. I mean, it would be SO simple when building a house to install a drain in a laundry room and slope the floor slightly towards the drain. It makes me wonder why this is not a standard feature.  We have a utility closet for our water heater with this feature. The house A/C system also dumps its condensate into this drain. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3670 Posts |
Welcome to the board, an I bet they are more than fine. I could be wrong, but seems like these modern day silver coin rolls are designed to stack on top of each other in a way, that will not scratch them....
One day just sell the un-open roll an when someone does open it, the odds of them saying they are scrtached due to the previous owners negligence is about zero IMO, good luck! Heck, I would buy them, not think twice about it if they were for sale an I had the funds to do so, lol...
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New Member
United Kingdom
5 Posts |
Waow, thank you so much for all your answers and your welcoming me!
Gosh, everyone is soooo nice on this forum I am blown away!
My washing machine is now famous and well, I use it at night when electricity is cheaper. It is easier in the winter because it starts at around midnight (more chances of me being awake!) or so but in the summer, with that extra hour, it starts after 01.00 (usually dead to the world by then) - you always have to add an extra 20 minutes to that to make sure it is at the lower rate (I've got a thingybob that lights when the rate is cheaper anyway).
Yes, I agree that I should always be in attendance as my godmother's washing machine's electric wire caught fire one day - luckily she was in attendance and stopped it...
Everything is sooo expensive in England that you have to try and save money (and buy more coins! :)
Thanks everyone!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
667 Posts |
American will get an awful wake-up with electric rates very soon. It is going to really hurt some family budgets.
The other thing is never tell anyone that you have any bullion in your house/flat.
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Valued Member
United States
426 Posts |
Lastly it takes a couple of weeks at least in a humid environment for your silver coins to start toning so nothing to worry about by opening the tubes for a few minutes to inspect them.
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Replies: 19 / Views: 2,914 |
Posted 08/31/2011 3:55 pm
