First time poster, here. I recently bought about 100 silver eagles for an investment when the price crashed this spring. I've kept most of them in the original cases of 20 that they come in. However, I've also have taken a few of the coins out of the containers. I know that you aren't supposed to touch the 99% silver for it will tarnish. I've put two of the eagles into sleeves and unfortunately, I've touched the top of the coins, and they have tarnished a little bit black. Now my question..... I've payed barely over spot for these silver eagles....$18 at the time of purchase. As I see silver is now about $17.60 an ounce, I was wondering about the sale "value" of my silver eagles. A tarnished silver eagle is still an ounce of silver, so I wouldn't accept anything less than 95% below spot. My question is, what value do the other silver eagles that are not tarnished go for? Does a person who bought these for a small premium get any of that premium back when they sell the coins if they are kept in good condition and not molested or tarnished. And if not, what incentive does that give collectors to not handle the coins?
LOL. I'll gladly pay you 95% below spot. (Of course, you meant 95% of spot, or 5% below spot). First off, welcome to the forum. Secondly, if you sell the tarished silver eagle to an investor, the tarnish shouldn't make a difference...it is an ounce of silver and you should AT LEAST get spot (which is $18.39, by the way). Most silver eagles sell for a little over spot, a few dates for quite a bit more. Yes, you should try to keep the tarnish off of it, but no, your coin is not ruined. It obviously isn't as pleasing to the eye as the others, so some will pass on it, but it is bullion and will hold it's value.
I guess I should reword my question. If a tarnished ASE is worth about spot, what is a non-tarnished ASE worth. If they are both worth about spot....what incentive does that give a ASE investor to keep from fingering every single coin?
Collector value depends on the grade...which is why you don't want to handle them. Another word for tarnish is "toning" and depending on the patterns and colors of the toning...the coin could actually be worth a premium over a non-toned coin to the right collector. The coins will always be worth their melt value no matter how bad they look...but they may be worth more to collectors.
I see, so if I want a better value when I sell them, what you are saying is, "don't sell them to a dealer.....sell them to a collector instead." Possibly I'll sell them on fleabay when the time is right. Or I'll advertise them some place where people, instead of dealers, will be interested.
I think you should explore all routes when it comes time to sell. Look and see how much dealers are paying and look and see what they are selling for online and elsewhere. Also, for the tarnished coins. If you can post pictures, we will be able to tell you if the toning patterns would be considered desirable.
I know the toning patterns aren't desirable. They are a faint blackish/brown tinge up near the top of the coin only. The toning doesn't cover the whole coin and is an ugly color to boot.
There is many types of toning...and I have seen some coins that IMHO were very ugly that people liked, so you never know what's going to be popular. But, for toning like you describe...it is harder to find a buyer willing to pay a premium for it.
On the same topic......what are the proper gloves to wear to prevent this type of toning? I'm guessing latex.
It's not what you wear when you handle the coins, it's how they are stored. Coins tone when they are in an environment that allows the coins to oxidize. I personally don't wear gloves when I handle coins and I wouldn't recommend latex, I would be afraid the chemicals in them would react with the coin. There is lots of information here at CT on the topic of preventing toning. If you do a search on the subject, you will find all the information you need.
You are right.....I thought the toning was due to my touching it. But, now I see that, sure, I touched the tops of the silver eagle when I put them into a mylar flip, so that I may look at the coin. I noticed the top was toned and the rest wasn't. I thought it was due to my touching it there to push it into the flip. Now I agree that the top of the coin wasn't as air proof as the rest of the coin, being up against the mylar flip. I'm thinking of taking this coin out of the mylar and just allowing it to finish toning by leaving it on it's edge. Comments? Ideas?
It sounds as if you bought them for bullion value and use. I would just keep them in the tube. If they get badly toned and you think it is worth dipping them to remove the tone before selling as bullion, then you can do that. Don't waste a lot of time and air tites or such to try and protect bullion. If you are a collector of such and have hand picked samples, sure, protect well, but the rest, don't worry about until time to sell. I have several tubes, and I occasionally rotate the coins so they all have a nice tone to them. I don't know why the tubes seem to tone quicker than 2x2 for me. Jim
Next question......if toned silver eagles are still good as bullion, why haven't I seen any toned ASE in coin shops for sale? Is it just my area or coin shops I've been frequenting. I'm wondering, because if ASE are good for the bullion value, how come I never see any toned eagles for sale?
