Hello all. I ordered about 20 silver coins from Kitco a couple years ago. I was a Noob, and I touched the silver with my bear hands. When I checked on them a month ago, they appeared to be dusty or dusty from putting my fingers on them. That made me nervous and I just stashed them away for 2 years and never cleaned them. Is there damage on them now that hurts their value? Can I still get full (or close to full) price on them? Should I clean them? What should I do if I want/need to handle them in the future? Thanks.
Well, seems like everything is a joke to some. LOL. I'll answer. You should never touch or clean a coin...especially or numismatic or semi-numismatic value. Those marks will not come off, and you should clean, and make matters worse. No matter how soft the material is you WILL scratch the surface...trust me, I learned the hard way!
ok ok i'l be serious dont ever touch your bar ...ive heard you will go blind @ silver pete ..I laughed out loud ok now i'l be serious dont touch your silver if it has a premium get yourself some generics to touch.
I wouldn't stress too much about it, if you bought 20 then I am guessing they weren't proof or anything like that! Proof coins should not be taken out of the capsules or breathed on or looked at too strongly. Bullion coins are sold on the amount of silver in them and a small percentage extra on top to pay for the pretty picture stamped on them. If you were to lose any of the value it would be from the small percentage. If it was American Silver Eagles or Canadian Maples which came in a tue without capsules you probably won't lose anything. If it was a Perth Mint Year of the Dragon then you might lose some money or find them harder to sell. They were in limited supply and not many people will have taken them out of the capsules so most will be in mint condition. I wouldn't bother cleaning them, if you are that concerned just offer them for sale at a price you would be happy to get for them. Mention that they have been handled and offer to put up any pictures. If the price is decent enough most people won't mind if the coins have got a few slight marks. Dusty is not the same as being run over by a lawnmower.
Don't clean collector coins with anything but Ajax and a lubricated steel wool pad. This will ensure that all fingerprints are removed. No, but seriously, we have all learned tough lessons....as another member stated, when you sell them, be honest and mention these were handled and expect a slightly less premium to be offered than were the coins untouched. I have a friend who loves to touch her coins...it doesn't make sense to me but I think she isn't thinking of them in terms of selling with a premium anyway...she stacks because she believes in the dollar collapse scenario taking place in the next 15 or so years. .
as for getting full value if they were just cheap standard coins or generic you will not lose much depending on where you sell it. If it was a semi numi like pandas or kooks or anything like that you will lose the premium most likely but still get spot price. Don't touch anything with real collector value and you will be ok. Buy a poured bar, you can do anything you want with that!
Assuming you bought regular bullion like a tube of ASEs then don't fear any reduction in price due to fingermarks and dust. Wash them in hot soapy water and add a little ammonia if you have it. Use cotton balls or a very soft fabric to wipe them gently then rinse in warm clean water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Good as new !
"Bear hands" is hilarious :lol: Silver was dusty after 2 years or, it was stained? It's not a terrible tragedy - I recommend cleaning them, but not with soap. Soap leaves marks and you keep cleaning them for ages to get the original shine back. Put on a rubber glove, clean the silver with warm water and dishwasher paste. When I say "dishwasher paste" I mean something like the "Axion" paste-detergent by Colgate-Palmolive. I don't know if you can get this in your area or something similar. Very important: don't use anything else that you don't know the contents of. Most importantly: exclude all acid-based chemical cleaners like the ones used for cleaning the bathroom. Those contain acids and will create a dark stain cover on your silver coins - and it will eventually be hard to get that off. Silver is quite sensitive to various substances. The mentioned dishwasher paste works well.
My (sterling) silver ring went almost black after swimming at the local swimming pool for 30 minutes.