Handling Coins Question

Did you ever notice sometimes when someone post a Coin and it has a fingerprint ? That's one of my worst fears in handling a coin . I always use white gloves with Silver and Gold Coins because I'm such a clutz . Anyways. how do you remove a fingerprint from the surface , the correct way ?

 

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If the fingerprint is relatively new, a rinse or soak in acetone will dissolve the oils and remove it. If it's old, and etched into the metal, there is no removing it.

 

That's what I figured . That's why I use gloves with Silver, especially Proof coins .

 

Nice thread!

 

Doug always says it's a bad idea to use gloves because they make it more likely that you'll drop a coin, and that's more dangerous than handling it with bare fingers (properly, by the edge). I've also seen videos indicating that TPG graders use bare hands.

I have cotton gloves, but I haven't used them yet. I don't have great dexterity to begin with, and I don't want to impair it further. (And I do have well-kept nails, which makes it easier to pick things up from a flat surface.)

 

I dislike fingerprints on coins and continue to be surprised that those with obvious fingerprints get high MS grades from the TPG's and even CAC stickers. Photo attached is one example...
Mint state?...really?

 

I don't doubt that it's MS65, but dang, that's an ugly coin.

 

@Two Dogs, weren't you aware that was President James Garfield's fingerprint, just before he died?



Steve

 

It's actually MORE important to keep your fingers off copper coins, as copper is far more reactive than silver or gold.

 

That was just one example I found after a one minute search at an auction site so I could grab a quick photo.
I take thing very literally and sometimes that gets me in trouble. Doesn't "Mint State" mean the condition it was in at the mint...okay, plus some oxidation, plus being in a bag that was thrown around on the stagecoach and from vault to vault? But unless that paw print was done by a mint employee, to me it is no longer mint state once it has a fingerprint, it's a "details" coin.

 

I often wondered about the practice of 'graders' handling coins without gloves. Would oils left on the edge of coins from touching them not migrate to the fields and devices over time? Just asking.

 

I look at finger prints as a form of damage. However, whether copper or silver it depends on size and location as to how much it affects the grade. On MS or PF coins 65 they should be extremely small and almost non-detectable. In lower MS and PF it depends on what your willing to live with. I try to avoid any coin with finger prints but, I do have some coins with them. Do finger print affect the value? Yes!!! They fall in the same category as do rim bumps or adjustment marks. I'm attaching a picture of a 1795 dollar with a finger print in my collection. I'm able to live with because of the type of coin it is but, the finger print did affect the value. You can see it below the bow.

 

Looks like it was cancelled by the Post Office.

 

I accept your reply as being accurate to the industry. As for what coins I choose to purchase, I'll go by my eye appeal in addition to the assigned grade and keep the fingerprinted coins out of my collection.

 

I know a fingerprint in a field is distracting, but...

Part of the fascination of old coins is thinking "who handled this, and what did they buy with it or sell for it?" If you're thinking in those terms, what could be more evocative than an actual fingerprint?

Yes, I know, we don't have records to map them to actual individuals. But as imaging and searching gets cheaper, I wonder if we could start to build up a set of historical fingerprints matched with their owners, from documents and artifacts? And if one of these big, ugly fingerprints on a coin should match a famous author or leader or inventor... well!

 

Not to split hairs, washing hands does eliminate oils from the skin, but not all. My understanding is the body steadily secretes substances to the surface of the skin, so does this mean the graders wash their hands after handling each coin? If not, the coin touched next may have oil residue which can be transmitted to others. It would also be logical to think that holding a coin by the edge would cause the skin of the fingers to wrap over onto the rim.