I purchased a few Andean Cats online just before Christmas for gifts. There seemed to be some "whiteness to two of them. I thought it might just be something with the capsuls so set them aside to look at later and only used one as a gift. I popped the capsuls yesterday and had a squiz with my optivisor. There where white-ish areas with discernable fingerprint lines. I have some milk spotted RCM bullion coins (sigh...) so I have an idea of what they look like and pictures of fingerprints on silver coins always looked to be dark lines. Can fingerprints also be white splotches? Perhaps due to a finger sliding across the coin?
Yes someone handled them without gloves, I'm sure. The thing was the fingerprints were inside the whites splotches and in any image I've seen of fingerprints on coins the "staining" looked solely like fingerprints. @Stark, why send them for grading, I'll contact the mob that sold them to me when they reopen next week and ask for a refund or replacements that are not stained, spotted or scratched. I'd think that would be a reasonable expectation.
Fingerprints can ruin much of the collector premium on most modern collector coins. I find it amazing that there are still people careless enough to handle such coins without gloves. And just for the record, cotton or material gloves can leave residue because materials like that can readily absorb and transfer sweat from one's hand. I only use disposable powderless, gloves and I've never had a problem with sweat transfer even though I shoot videos of my coins using hot lights in the hot summer and my hands do sweat considerably. The one's I currently use are from this company: http://www.mapa-pro.com/our-gloves.html .
And of course, if your expensive proof collector coin does have light fingerprints, don't forget to use this to get it off: :lol: .
The mob I purchased the andean cats from is open this week. I called about the fingerprints on the coins and scratches on one of them. I was told they were sold as bullion coins and as such I should not have expected them to have been in the same condition as new Perth Mint coins. I told them at 46 dollars a pop they were expensive bullion coins and I would have expected something better than what I got. I was told they were somewhat rare bullion coins.... and also they do not accept returns on coins with fingerprints and scratches.
Sorry to hear mate, Do you mind sharing where you purchased them from ? So myself and other members don't end up in the same situation. Hope you can resolve the issue...
Nothing to resolve as far as the person I talked to. It was case closed. I actually asked the person I spoke to if she minded that I put their name up on this thread and she seemed rather indifferent as if it would not make a difference. It was Goldstackers
OK things have changed since yesterday. I was contacted by email and cell phone by someone a little more further up the food chain at Goldstackers and according to him, if I pay "$25.00 " over spot for a coin I should get more than fingerprints and scratches. So remedy is pay silver spot for two andean cats (sans postage) and I can keep the bad boys and will receive two "cherry picked" andean cats. This has worked out OK for me and I thought it was important to note that after review Goldstackers sorted out the problem.
Goes to show how a little bad publicity can do. Time for RCM and PM to get some "reviews" on their milkspot problems