Does everyone who sells coins and currency smoke? Seems like at least half the time when an order comes through the mail, the contents reek of cigarette smoke. Think I’m going to start asking mailorder dealers (mainly eBay guys) if their home/business is smoke-free before placing orders. Hey dealers – stop smoking! It stinks and devalues your service/products tremendously, at least in my view. Rant over...
I've noticed this too. You can tell right away when you open that package that the person who shipped it smokes. It goes away eventually but it is unpleasant for those of us who are nonsmokers.
I guess I am immune since my exwife was a smoker, and growing up everyone smoked. I can tell now when I am around smokers in their house, but haven't reached the stage where I can tell from packages. I bet this could really affect paper money.
How many of us go around smelling coins? I've heard of a mental/medical disorder where people swallow coins, etc. I'd rather look at them. All joking aside now. Even though I am a smoker, I don't smoke in my house and when I receive an item from a smoker, even I am somewhat dismayed by the odor.
I have. Coins that have been artificially toned or altered may give off an odor. (Sulphur is often used to artificially tone coins. If your rainbow-toned coin has a sulphur smell you should be concerned.) The coin sniffer being implemented by PCGS will be sniffing for chemicals on the surface of coins. Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals. Coins exposed to cigarette smoke will probably have some of these chemicals on their surfaces. That's bad for your coins. (And worse for your lungs.)
Another thing to consider if your coins smell like smoke is that they have had smoke blown on them to haze over hairlines. An acetone bath should remove the haze and uncover the blemishes.
Generally speaking, as an ex smoker, smokers don't know they stink and do not understand the smell that gets imparted to their clothing AND coins. However, some do and take extra precautions to avoid that smell on their coins. I've received some stuff from smokers and just let it air out for a few days and the stink goes away. As for blowing smoke on coins to cover blemishes, IMO, it would take a LOT of smoke.
I finally got in to check out the local coin shop near my parents' house. It looked like they might have some pretty nice inventory. I'll never really know, though, because of the dense fog of smoke that hit me as soon as they buzzed me in. I haven't been in a place that smoky since my visits to the biker bar back in college (when you could still get smokes from a vending machine down the hall from the computer lab). And I won't be back to this one.
A couple of years ago I was buying some coins off Ebay from a guy who was a major smoker. He had some really nice coins. He had an auction for a really nice raw early 50's cameo Franklin proof. You could tell that the smoke had an affect on the coin. I did start a thread wondering what could be done to the coin to get the adverse affects of the smoke off. I didn't win the auction. Wondered what became of that coin. Sure looked like a candidate for NCS.
Are you sure it's just cigarette smoke?:bart: I always wonder about the people that buy colorized coins.
I've never opened a smoky package and I find this thread hilarious I quit smoking about three months ago, but being a family man, I was still an out doors smoker even back than. So my coins are safe and customers have never complained.
Back in 1973, when I was a young numismatist, I tried to join my local coin club. The first meeting was held in a rather small room and was filled to capacity. There were only 3 kids there-- myself included-- and everyone else was smoking like a forest fire. When I got home, I smelled so bad my mom thought I had been smoking.
again it is not a problem over here in the UK as it is illegal to smoke in confined public areas such as shops and bars, i am a reformed smoker and i now can't stand the smell.
