How Important Is the Tactile Feel of Your Coins To You?

Yeah I thought some of the ancients guys might show up.
Obviously some coins have much more delicate surfaces. The last couple of years I've bought some bust halves, mostly in VG+ to VF grades. As long as my hands are clean, I don't think I'm going to hurt them any by holding them, though I see the old teaching of "only touch the edge" still is pretty ingrained in me.

 

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Most of my collection is pre-fondled, and I like to get in a touch or two before filling that hole. I rarely buy an MS coin.

I guess I could have worded that better, but you guys need to get your mind out of the gutter.

 

Break them out. Trust me, you'll feel better!

 

Hi, I understand perfectly slab for modern coins and some older too.

My antics have a patina ans are no in a slab even XF ones some nearly FDC.

I don’t use glove and all famous antics collector’s and dealers like to feel antic coins that survive for so many centuries, my oldest is dated from around 600 BC... they are in safe preservation in a good coin quality wood cabinet. Of course you need to know how to handle them.

Everybody do how he want and slabs and grading can add pleasure as soon you are still true collectors not only investor or speculator without numismatic education.

Just think that the most famous US coin collectors in 1950 or 1960 didn’t slab them and that in auction now some of their coins are slated with highest grade and sold for incredible amount of money.

Slab is not a guarantee of pedigree and authenticity, you got more forgeries in slab with great grading that you can imagine.

And if you don’t know the feeling of touching different coins you will never be able to detect a forgery. Ask about famous experts and knowledgeable dealers about that how they learned and opinion it can be very instructive.

 

Wow. Do you sleep with them?

 

I intend to purchase, when fund$$ allow, a nice raw Morgan and a Saint-Gaudens to feel and hold for myself and others.

 

For some reason your question reminded me of the scene in pulp fiction when Christopher Walken's character is telling Bruce Willis's 10 year old character about his father's watch.

 

If you haven't ever held a Pillar Dollar in your hand and looked closely at the edge, you are missing out. Or know what a Morgan Dollar's reeding is supposed to fill like. The raised letters on a $10 or $20 St Gaudens. Nothing like it.

 

No but we do get pretty corny. Heres a pic from the field last harvest.

 

For high-grade coins sure. They get the best holder I can get for them.

For circulated raw coins, they get a 2x2 PVC-free flip or paper envelope.

For Chinese coins, they get either a paper envelope (round coins) or a padded hard box (spade/knife coins). Most have not been cleaned after 2000+ years in the ground, so nothing on my hands would harm them. My only concern in breakage.

 

Wow! nice find!

 

Nothing like a big ol' sestertius in the palm of your hand! They are about the size of a half dollar but twice as thick.