Hi: I am relatively new to coin collecting. I was just wondering about touching the surface of a coin with one's fingers. I did that with my first couple of coins (silver German medals from 18th century). I now know to use gloves, or at the very least touch only the rim of the coin with my bare fingers that have been washed before. Just wondering whether I should be worried about these coins I touched? I think it is the sweat or oils of the hand which are not healthy for coins. Will they start getting a tone on them, or worse? Perhaps I am being too obsessive. My storage method are safe flips. Not sure whether they "lock in" such residue? Thanks, -Charles
You probably didn't hurt them much, but a short soak in acetone would take care of any transferred oils and dirt. That's assuming they haven't been there for a long time. There is a thread in the archives that gives the proper procedure for using acetone. Hope this helps
You should also wash your hands thoroughly before handling coins. Wash the oils and dirt away. Just like washing before a meal. When my kids were younger I would tell them before they handled my coins.. "Go wash your hands first.. I saw you picking your noses!"
Thanks both! I would be reluctant to use the acetone, as I am generally clumsy about such things. Regarding washing your hands, I think it is a great idea and I do it, but I wonder whether it ultimately eliminates all the oils, etc that are excreted by the fingers. But it is certainly better than not washing one's hands.
Using your thumb and forefinger to hold a coin by the edge (not the rim) is the preferred method for handling a coin with your bare hands. I'm not so sure that washing your hands before handling coins will remove all traces of oil from your skin, but it is certain that, left untreated, the oil from your skin on a coin will become permanently etched into the surface. Chris
Chris, that's actually what i did with my first coin... held it by the edge. But wouldn't it make more sense to hold it by the rim so that less surface is exposed to oils?
The oils are not the primary problem, as the palms hands and fingers do not have oil glands. However they do have sweat ( salts and water) glands, and it is those salts that cause the etching if allowed to stay on the metal, not any human oil. Jim
No! It's better to expose the outer edge to a fingerprint than any part of the field. You can't hold a coin by the rim without touching some part of the field. Chris
It's always a good habit to hold coins by the edges. Of course, there is no telling how many times a coin has been held and/or grabbed any way possible during it's circulation. Lol
