I'm glad your story ended well. I recently ordered some gold coins from Apmex, and we'll see how they arrive. I certainly don't want scratches when I am buying newly minted BU coins, and I don't like that the representative tried to tell you that it didn't affect the value: I would expect that it does affect the value, otherwise they would not be charging more for new or BU coins. After paying a premium for new bullion, I don't want to be selling it back for melt value.