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 Replies: 25 / Views: 3,579 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
683 Posts |
Well I guess that sort of makes sense.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2843 Posts |
Very upsetting. There was a big discussion about a similar thing with PCGS.
TPGs readily admit that as a matter of policy they do not wear gloves. They claim that would increase the chance of dropping a coin.
How far away is an accidental fingerprint when you are handling proof gold with your bare fingers?
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Valued Member
 United States
379 Posts |
I am blaming nobody in particular. As far as I know, the coin shop employee did it, because I saw him do it to another coin I had handed over. All I am saying is better safe than sorry by sending it in yourself... that way you know the t.p.g. did it, but I am pretty sure still nothing can be proven. Sending it in yourself just reduces the chances of fingerprints is my point. At one point, I was getting coin after coin that was incompetently by a seller, which happens, in my experiences about 1 in 5 times. In one case, a 1 oz gold coin not only escaped its capsule, but managed to rub against a metal ring that was also in the box, completely ruining and scratching the coin. from then on, I write a note to the seller (if the coin is in a capsule) to please run some tape around the capsule. Happily, most sellers are competent and would be as horrified as I was, while just a few seem to have the attitude "heck, it ain't my coin anymore". the seller who had sent me the rubbed coin did reimburse me somewhat whithout me asking him to, so he was an honorable seller, but in the end it wrecked the integrity of the set to the tune of about a thousand dollars (this was a set of 5 1 oz gold coins in individual capsules, the ring that escaped and rubbed against the ring was a lord of the rings set that included "the one ring"), so it was a freak accident. the deal is this... if a seller sees that there is room inside the coin's holder or box, and there is enough room for the capsule to break loose from its indentation, the box should be packed tightly enough so that the capsule cannot escape. this is just common sense, but it has happened to me 3 times, the other two times there were still scratches but the one that had the ring in it almost looked like it had been put in a dryer for 30 seconds. live and learn. as I said tho, most sellers are very careful about it, so I am not painting them all with the same brush, as I sell coins from time to time myself. it is just frustrating that damage can be prevented by less than a penny's worth of crumpled paper or tape.
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New Member
United States
14 Posts |
Very unfortunate indeed. I find it shocking that professional coin graders don't ware gloves. The oils on the skin, along with trace amounts of salt in sweat, are both present on your hands, even if you wash them. My hands sweat a lot, so I use non-powdered nitrile gloves when handling most coins. Although I do not ever handle any coins that require the white glove treatment, I guess I could put the cotton gloves over the nitrile gloves if I was really worried about the coin. If the graders are worried about dropping a coin, then they could work over a padded surface.
Silver Ham
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
I find it shocking that professional coin graders don't ware gloves. Almost no one does. Graders don't, dealers don't, the overwhelming majority of collectors don't. They're simply unnecessary when you hold a coin by the rim. Not to mention with the exception of ultra moderns the vast majority of coins have been handled by bare human hands many times already. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
Quote:
Almost no one does. Graders don't, dealers don't, the overwhelming majority of collectors don't. They're simply unnecessary when you hold a coin by the rim. Not to mention with the exception of ultra moderns the vast majority of coins have been handled by bare human hands many times already.  . I've never used gloves when handling a coin. I just hold the coin by the rim. |
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Moderator
 United States
188648 Posts |
Quote:
Almost no one does. Graders don't, dealers don't, the overwhelming majority of collectors don't. They're simply unnecessary when you hold a coin by the rim. Not to mention with the exception of ultra moderns the vast majority of coins have been handled by bare human hands many times already. I agree. Gloves make me more likely to drop a coin. The only time I ever used them was when looking through rolled coins, but that was more for my benefit than that of the coins. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1963 Posts |
Yes, I hate dirty (and sore) fingers after going through a box of halves. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Kind of all forgetting that those TPG services are just people. And people are rather not perfect you know. I've seen so called experts at coin shows and in coin stores handle coins as if they were just coins, not a collectors item. Even that show on TV for coins there is this guy that claims to be an expert for many years handling coins with his bare hands. He clanks slabs together all the time too. At one coin store I've been to I actually walked out when the person waiting on me handled the coins I wanted with bare hands. People get hired in places that have no or little idea of what they are doing. Ever try calling the HP help line? |
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Valued Member
United States
379 Posts |
Thanks for the replies. I agree that a coin can be handled with bare, clean (washed and well rinsed and dried) hands as long as it is handled on the rim. This hazard can be avoided by a slab, and about half of mine are, but it kinda takes the fun out of holding the coin in your hands. but then again, better to be safe than sorry, so I guess the best way to avoid this is to send in the coins yourself for them to be slabbed/graded, to state the obvious. it is just irritating and sometimes an expensive, easily avoidable hazard. If everyone involved with your coin would pretend that it was THEIR coin, I would bet this would be somewhat of a less chance of happening, along with packing the coin. My golded rule on that is that if you can shake the package and hear anything rattling or moving around that it has been packaged poorly. And just because it does not rattle or move when you go to send it, the true test is at the receiving end... a few days in the keepin of the post office will test the most carefully packed coin. but thankfully as I said before, the vast majority of sellers are careful in this regard. thanks for the replies.
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Replies: 25 / Views: 3,579 |
First Page
Posted 03/06/2018 3:20 pm
