This seems like an appropriate time to ask this with the release of the 2005 Silver Eagles by the Mint very soon. I've heard that if you try to get Silver Eagles out of the tube that you can ruin them by causing rim knocks. Is that true? How can you safely get them out of the tube without causing damage to the coins and still be able to re-use the tube for storage, in other words not ruin the tube? Do rim knocks lower the coin's grade? If I just "bang" them out of the tube into my hand carefully, it doesn't seem like I would nick the field of the coins since they're all stacked on top of each other so the only thing I can think of is the rim being damaged somehow. I'd like to hear from the people that do this sort of thing regularly and learn what can and cannot be done.
rim knocks reduce the grade i dont take mines out of the tubes at all, still all sealed as they come from the mint.your probably best buying one for a folder or to look at.If your buying a tube best left sealed in the tube you will get more for them when you resale.
I'm with highlander on this one. I would keep them in the tube, and buy a piece to look at seperately. I saw this guy on a TV shop at home coin show, and he talked about how you have to smack them on your hand - and he did it intentionally ten times harder than you have to. I'd say leave them in the tube. I don't know if it would be worth it to pull them out and have them graded at this point, anyway.
If you do choose to do that, please wear cotton gloves. Palmprints can be just as bad as fingerprints, as the oils in your skin can do permanent damage to the coin surface no matter which part of your hand contacts the metal. Also, if two or more happen to spring free at the same time, you run the risk of the same kind of contact that causes bag marks when loose coins are shipped in canvas bags.
yeah the natural oil from your skin realy ruins the luster, just need to try it on a nice shiny pocket change to see it.And once its touched there is no way to get it off.
I turn the whole tube upside down on a velvet material, I try to untube the whole batch by lifting the tube off the coins ,sometimes the tube must be manipulated carefully to get it to slide up, once removed I do not put them back in, it is very difficult to restack them in the tube without damage. Gloves are a must as is as much as possible a dust free environment. New flips or airtites !!!! to be sure most will already have some type of contact directly from the mint after all they got in that tube somehow.
Tanner520, To get back to your original question. I have dealt with hundreds of these rolls and have NEVER had a problem getting them in and out of the mint tubes. There was never any banging needed. I usually buy a roll every year and use them for trading or buying other items I need. I never leave them sealed since I don't buy or sell for investment purposes. I have found that they are GREAT for making trades in the foreign market. People overseas love to trade for them for the most part. catman
