I thought about using gloves way back when, but I bought a pair and theyve just collected dust. I feel like I know enough about how to handle a coin at this point.
For those of you who are worried about protecting your bullion: There was a guy in Canada who smuggled out Gold Maple Leafs [edited]. Then he bought a house in Jamaica for it. So we don't have to be too careful with how or where we store or how we handle it. It will still be very valuable. If it is close to spot, that is. Please read Rule #1. Warning only, this time- no points. ~Mod
They don't show any protection that might be used by employees for restoring coins. Used my bare hands to maneuver this Kangaroo Dollar that had an unsightly black dot on the obverse side of the rim to hide a very minor gouge. Then, poured isopropyl alcohol to remove the ink: I dropped the coin onto my linoleum "wood" floor, only to graze the kangaroo with my thumb as it fell. I hurriedly put on my Butyl II gloves and rinsed the coin with acetone to remove to skin oils. While the butyl gloves are safe to use for a time with acetone for the skin, the gloves impart a milky residue on the coin surface still wet with acetone. A few more washes with isopropyl and then distilled water in an ultrasonic cleaner visibly removed the residue, however, after grading, my new DSLR camera notices the blue residue. This would be same blue patina left by exposure to the elements, for example, except that the blue patina surrounding HRM's chin coincides exactly with original butyl glove/acetone residue. Now, I take high-res pictures before sending coins to be graded, and frequently replace the distilled water in the ultrasonic cleaner to remove dust, dirt, and water-soluble chemical impurities that will quickly fall from the coin in seconds.