My cotton gloves are leaving condensation on my coins

No advanced collectors or professionals wear gloves for handling coins. This is just something people wrongly think they should be doing. Toss all your cotton gloves in the bin.

Wash your hands with soap to remove dirt and oils before handling coins. Acetone can work as well. It is safer to handle coins without gloves, as the gloves reduce your dexterity and grip on the coins. This leads to more dropping of coins or your gloved fingers sliding across the coin while seeking a grip. Also, cotton fibers can and do harbor small particles that can easily scratch coins, whereas freshly washed fingers are soft and safe for the coin.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Fair enough!

I was just saying I was told so that people didn’t just assume I did it on my own and that I did try to learn proper handling even if it’s outdated now.

 

Got it. Thanks!

No more cotton gloves for me!

Not gonna throw them out though since I have other uses for them. xD

 

Well, I guess that clears that up. Health advice, coin advice and hand apparel advice.

 

The ONLY time I wear cotton gloves is when I am taking a photo of a coin and my cuticles look gross and frayed.

I think it would be easy for the gloves to catch little floaties in the air, dust, sand, or if your hands were sweaty the last time, I'm sure the oils stick around a bit. I really worried about the sand and stuff that you can't see on the gloves, but know its there. I'd rather leave a small fingerprint than add a scratch.... especially on a proof finish.

 

So holding a coin by the edges like this is OK then right?

 

That's the way!

 

Awesome thanks!

I’ll do that in the future for sure.

 

I try to handle them as little as possible, but when I do the photo shows a good way to do it.

 

Hey Blake . 61 days off the cigs. . Use the gloves as rags.

 

Congrats! Keep it up!

 

Give it a try. More Coins !!

 

immaculate emaculating coinception, then.

 

i do not agree with the position of not using gloves.

the type of gloves is the issue. there are specific museum quality non-shedding gloves that are kept in a protected environment to prevent moisture from wicking into the material, until use. these gloves are not the 10 pair for $10 stuff sold all over the place.

the op issue is probably one of wicking....leaving the gloves in an exposed environment that caused moisture penetration into the fabric. it happens a lot, and is a mistake that stamp collectors constantly experienced due to the wrong type of glove being used.
that will cause condensation.

different people/collectors use different methods, i guess

 

If you are going to open the capsule to remove a coin, be sure to let the temperature and humidity adjust or condensation may form on the coin if there is a significant difference from when sealed/stored. Storing in a colder temperature and opening in a warmer temperature without stabilization time may produce condensate. IMO, Jim

 

Yeah, I'm with desertgem. I don't think it has to do with the gloves per say, I think it has to do with it being end of January, the coin being colder, and your hands being warmer causing the coin to fog up. even a little hand sweat suggests your hands were pretty warm in January. ideally your hands, the room, and the coin are all the same temps, or close to it to avoid it.

i think this occurred due to the right set of conditions, only you really know how you stored it, what the room temp was, and if your hands were that warm and whether the coin was chilled, maybe from being in a drawer or safe, tucked in a closet where the heat doesn't reach so good. No idea where you are though, weather will also play a factor, rainy or snowy, indoor humidity will go up considerably also along with it.

washing your hands are fine enough to handle coins, clean cotton gloves are fine also. I use them for proof coins and I don't want to hear from the naysayers about it. Clean hands absolutely are fine. I still like gloves in certain situations.

I also wipe off my coin roll finds with my T shirt if they are less than uncirculated, so sue me! LOL my shirt couldn't be much worse than other people's hands or pockets.

 

Never had this happen to me......but first thing I thought of was air in a can.