I bought a really nice coin at a show and put it in my pocket for safe keeping. Later I bought something in a 2X2 and without thinking I stuck it in the same pocket. When I got back to the hotel that evening, I learned a great lesson. Most of it polished out but I really messed up. It still need a new holder.
Awesome proof ldhair. That is too bad. What is the re slabbing fee? PS I liked the coin not the scratches.
Been there, but worse. I purchased this coin several years ago: Threw in a bag with some other coins. When I went to get it out of the bag later the first thing I saw was the torn plastic on the front of the 2x2. I couldn't even bring myself to look at it for over a month. When I did, I found this. A staple scratch right in the middle of the open field.
Staples are dangerous in many ways. Most of my coins are in stapled 2x2's. For safety I flatten the staples with a pair of pliers and then put an empty 2x2 envelope between each coin. When removing coins from the 2x2's I totally remove the staples and check that there is no raised sharp edge around the staple holes which could scratch the coin on it's way out of the holder.
When I first got my father's coin collection, I wanted to protect them, so I bought some "cardboard" 2x2's to protect them. Shortly, after I had put them in their 2x2's and stapled them, I saw someone hear talk about the damage that staples could do to that coin or to other coins. I was interested and I read about the damage staples could do to coins. I went directly to Lowe's and bought a needle nose pair of plyers and pressed all the staples smooth. Luckily, none of the coins had been damaged.
You can also buy a "flat clinch" stapler that reduces risk. I bought one early on, but I've ended up not using 2x2s in general -- I use plastic flips, or capsules, or rolls, or (ahem) gravity and tabletops.
@ldhair , sad but true regarding the staples, sorry you had to endure it. I have a question though: how did the coin receive a PR66 with such significant rim damage at the top of the reverse?
For that very reason I stopped using them. I started using self stick 2x2's and have had no issues, so far. Good luck.
When I go to shows, one of the items in my walking around bag is a small roll of Scotch tape. If I get a coin in a stapled holder, I immediately put a patch of tape on all exposed metal. Protects fingers as well as coins. I always put a patch of tape on exposed staples of documents that I copy or scan … especially binding staples that have little daggers sticking out between the middle pages … I’ve been bled by those! If I get a coin in flip, a patch of tape keeps it folded … keeps coins from wandering from their lairs and getting into trouble. Exception is flips that go immediately into a box. Tape has lots of other uses too. Cal