where can you find true-mint-condition AGEs? i know they sell AGEs everywhere, but i have yet to find a place where the AGEs are guaranteed mint-condition (never touched by ungloved human hands). where can i go (a reputable place) to get one in mint condition? i'm looking for 1oz year 2000 AGEs, but more interested in 1988 1oz, but realistically, it won't be easy finding them (the 1988s) in true-mint-condition (that is raw).
The hard part is gonna be your qualifier - "never touched by ungloved human hands". To be quite honest most dealers conssider these coins as nothing but lumps of gold and because of that they recieve no special treatment or handling. If the coins were new, 2006, it would be easy. Since they are not it is going to be tough. So your best bet may be to buy them slabbed and then crack them out.
I agree with G. This is not the textbook definition of Mint Cond - it is your own definition. I do understand your point, though. I woul dbe more inclined to buy some small gold if they were trated like collector coins. There might be places that do this.
And you never will. What makes you think the workers at the mint are wearing gloves? The coins the dealers get from the mint could very welll have been handled with ungloved hands (and since it is possible to find them with fingerprints you know that such a guarantee is impossible. Sometimes even proofs stilll in their capsules and direct from the mint can be found with fingerprints.) Mint condition or Mint State has nothing to do with whether or not the coins have been touched. It has to do with whether or not the coins show wear. I can put on gloves and then slide one around for awhile on the countertop. It would show wear and scratches but would still be "untouched by ungloved human hands", but I doubt you would still call it mint condition.
