Speaking of Fingerprints ...

A raw coin from my collection.
It's a 1937-D.
I am 90% confident that it's my fingerprint.
From the days before I knew better.
Fortunately it's not an expensive coin.
But no way I can do anything to help it.

 

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EEEK. Call AFIS, this guys got to be stopped.....

 

I got a proof cent in the other day that has a big ol' fingerprint on it. I'm soaking it in acetone right now to see if that helps. I didn't pay much for this one so I don't really care if I ruin it, I just know I don't like it the way it is.

JAC

 

Depending on how long that ole fingerprint has been there, the acetone may not be helpful. Fingerprints tend to be 'etched' into the coin......

 

I am not convinced that is a fingerprint at all. Get a modern worthless quarter that's shiny and try and replicate that print. The lines are entirely too straight to be a fingerprint, unless you're some kind of mutant, and your thumb would have to be monstrous.

 

Kind of my thoughts too. Can we get a photo zoomed in more on the area in question?

 

I'll have to re-image it.
This pic is a leftover from the days I'd resize the image and delete the original. So the close-up is gone.
If it is a fingerprint, it's been there long enough (20+ years) to do real damage.

 

Okay, here's the requested close-up.
I did this as a link rather than posting the actual image because it's so large.
It's about 450kb in size.

http://home.comcast.net/~dcderoo/Dsc_0002.jpg

 

.......perhaps it's a print from the heel of the hand. now THAT would make a big print....no?

 

O.K., we're going to need to see pictures of your hand now!!!

 

It is kind of hard to see all of the "finger print" due to the glare, but if I were to guess, I would say that is the result of a piece of cloth.

 

If anyone steals it, you can prove that it was yours.

 

Here ye be:

 

Sort of reminds me of those commercials with the little green guys camping out under your toenails!!! I would say it's your thumb print!?!?!?

 

......picture "hand slapping head" here.

 

A good reminder to wash your hands often when handling coins, especially with h1n1 roaming the land.

 

Pending on how long that was there and if it is indeed a finger print, it may be removable. I found a 1995 Lincoln Cent Double Die about MS-63 at a coin show for a really cheap price, can't remember exactly what. Since it was so cheap due to a real large finger print on the obverse, I figured I had nothing to loose by experimenting. I tried Acetone, Alcohol, Laquer Thinner, Mineral Spirits, etc and nothing worked at all. However, I did have some of Walmarts Jewlery cleaners handy. The one for Non Silver did nothing also. Then I tried the stuff for Silver cleaning and the fingerprint vanished completely.
I really don't suggest using those types of jewlery cleaners on coins but for a lesser valued or sort of ruined coin, might be worth a try.
The main thing to remember is such coins are now considered cleaned and that is for real a value dropper.

 

How do you get you finger imprinted into the coins surface?

 

The oils from your fingers react chemically with the metal surface of the coin and in time presto....it's etched in there.

 

I am convinced it is not skin caused damage. In the huge blowup, look at the tiny area beneath the "n" in "United", notice a spot inside that tiny angular space. No finger area or regular cloth could do that. A fiber piled surface cloth such as velvet could do it. Since the spots go over the devices, it is post striking, and since the mint doesn't process the coins after the strike, I don't know the cause, and since many banks rolled coins in that time, maybe some kind of roller, counter with a fiber surface that picked up some oil or fluid, or perhaps it was stored on a velvet covered surface.

Jim