Hello all. First post, so hope this isn't a common knowledge question. I started this year, like alot of others, dabbling in buying some silver to diversify and protect my investments. Anyway, I have a few rolls of junk dimes and halves and have a very small assortment of ASE, Maples, and Phils. I was in the safe tonight to dig through them and noticed that most of my bullion coins (kept in the plastic covers) are marked up and getting a hazy look to them. What is this from and is it worth cleaning them off? I am trying to look at my silver as strictly investment stuff and not collectible, but will I get less when I go to sell if the coins are marked up as opposed to some of the nice, shiny ones I have also?
Are they in 2x2's cardboard slid in holders or just in the holders? I'm no expert but just curious myself. By the way good to see a neighbor that collects. Where are you located in PA?
They are mostly in the plastic sleeves that hold two coins then fold in half. Seems the ones in the mint tube are staying nicer. York county here, you?
I was going to say mint tubes work best for silver dollars and bullion (most preferred). Collectors might chime in and say a controlled enviroment? SW PA Fayette Co.
I had trouble with all of my Canadian issues that were .9999. They started to get little dots of haze on them, something totaly different than other coins that have started to tone. They were in air tight holders and purchased from various sources. All were stored in a normal environment. None of my other bullion that are .999 were affected by it at all. I even took a few of them out and decided to clean them with Zymol....a cleaner wax that is known to lack some of the harsher chemicals in other waxes. I put them under a Dremel with a cotton buff and went to town......It did not even dull the spot. (Contrary to popular belief, a cotton buff is very minutely abrasive when used on surface that`s not fed with water and will leave very fine lines on metals depending on the amount of pressure applied and rpm) So with my Canadian issues having some sort of impenetrable and unexplainable mold, I decided to trade them. A local dealer looked em over, saw that they were not too bad and still presented very well, and made a trade with me. A few days later somebody had purchased almost all of them from Him, so maybe they were not too bad, but nonetheless I was really ticked off by the "mystery mold" and did not care to keep them. Now I have the silica desiccant packets in with my bullion. I always check the silver on a regular basis and if I had not who knows how bad they could have ended up. I can`t explain why it only happened to the .9999s and not anything else.
I think if it's more of a silver value then collectors it's nothing to sweat. Silver wt. will not wear off in storage. Circulation will.
@williedikker....I would try to clean one of them using either Zymol or another good wax. Being that those pieces are considered bullion, it is somewhat safe to clean them within reason. (provided You`re not cleaning ASE proofs) The maples will sell for a tad more than others because they are "the purest of the pure," being .9999, but I can`t see any dealer scrutinizing over the condition of bullion issues unless they are noticeably bad. As for how You store them.....get them out of those "flips" and into something more secure. I use desiccant packets in the boxes that my bullion is in. Btw....Welcome to Coin Talk!
Many of the plastic flips contain pvc. it is better to take that silver out of that plastic than to leave it in. There are non pvc plastic flips, check with a knowledgable dealer.
If it's just for investment don't sweat it. Let 'em blacken, haze and tone. They'll still sell for bullion value....
I keep my stuff in my gunsafe and have one of those big, reusable disiccant boxes (that needs dried out again) with my silver in a smaller metal box. So I take it that PVC has a reaction with silver over time then? Wish the guy at the shop would have told me that. While I say I "want" to think of my silver as investment fodder, I like to keep things mint and am disappointed at the condition they're in. Not that they are even all that bad, but not as nice anymore. BTW, the Maple Leafs are still perfect. Thanks for the input. Guess I'll grab another ASE mint tube and just drop all the different kinds in there.
Get tubes for them. I never leave any of my coins in flips. Flips are for display really. Cardboard 2x2s are fine if you want to view them but tubes (square or round) are best for bulk bullion storage.
I've taken two ASE out of the tube and started banging the two coins together. Now that they are sufficiently "damaged", I took them to a dealer to see what I'd get for them. 98% of spot.....the dealer didn't even look at the coins surface. I take another coin out of my pocket in a protective sleeve that I've never touched before, just the rim. I ask, "what would I get for this"....98% of spot. I was like, "this coin is in mint condition, you didn't even look at the other coins' surfaces. Why would I give you this Mint state coin for the same price I gave you the other two that have been in my pocket for over a month banging on other coins? I was told I would have to talk to the owner to get a better deal, but mostly I'd just get 100% spot, which amounts to $.40 a coin. So, I say, "ok, I guess I'll go home and just treat my ASE any ol' way and bang the crap out of them, since you don't really seem to care how they look. It's not like I'd be losing anything by doing that." Of course this produced a frown, as I'm sure the dealer can sell a mint state coin much easier than a banged up on....and probably for a higher premium. I haven't asked this yet, but I'm going to soon....."if the spot price is for a 1000 ounce bar, and this is an individual coin it should be worth more, as it took work to produce it. Of course, a premium was attached to this coin when I bought it, why am I the one that has to eat that premium, can't it be passed onto the next buyer, especially if the coin has been kept in mint condition?" This is just one dealer...I'm testing this out on several dealers, as I feel I won't know the answer to this question until I test it out myself. As for the flips and the haziness.....the flips should be a brittle plastic. If the plastic is "soft" and flexible, then it more than likely contains some PVC, which will get on the coins. Non-PVC plastic sleeve is what you should be storing them in.
