Call me dumb...

[Cambridgeguy]

Why do we keep silver coins separately? I have 4 brits in a bag and they haven’t gone green or anything. Is it just an aesthetic thing? To be able to clearly see both sides of each coin or how many there are in a box etc? I have receieved them all in cases or pouches but just chucked them all in a bag as it’s easier to keep track of everything if it’s all together.

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

I think its mostly done for the sake of reselling. A coin in good condition is an easier sell than one in bad condition. Also there is the chance to recoup the premium paid if the coin is kept in good condition provided you are selling the coin on the secondary market yourself and not to a dealer.

[sixgun]

Well if they went green i'd be worried. i keep my coins in flips, capsules or tubes. i would ideally keep them all in capsules. i try not to handle them with bare fingers - even the bullion stuff unless it is pretty clear it is old handled silver or it is milk spotted to fuff. If you got say 4 coins in flips and in good condition and then had them loose in a bag together, with the best will in the world they will be knocking and scratching each other. Any premium over the value of the silver will be lost and i'd rather my coins keep as much value as possible.

[Bimetallic]

On 04/07/2019 at 14:27, Cambridgeguy said:

Why do we keep silver coins separately? I have 4 brits in a bag and they haven’t gone green or anything. Is it just an aesthetic thing? To be able to clearly see both sides of each coin or how many there are in a box etc? I have receieved them all in cases or pouches but just chucked them all in a bag as it’s easier to keep track of everything if it’s all together.

Silver tarnishes easily. I kept my Maples in a sock drawer and they tarnished after about four months. I was stunned, and disappointed. Now I keep them all in sealed Ziploc bags, the snack size ones.

[Cambridgeguy]

4 hours ago, Bimetallic said:

Silver tarnishes easily. I kept my Maples in a sock drawer and they tarnished after about four months. I was stunned, and disappointed. Now I keep them all in sealed Ziploc bags, the snack size ones.

Could you not just use a bit of brasso and take the tarnish off? Or is that bad etiquette?

[HighlandTiger]

2 hours ago, Cambridgeguy said:

Could you not just use a bit of brasso and take the tarnish off? Or is that bad etiquette?

Shhhh, no tricks of the trade.

Ps, Use Goddards Silver polish, but don't tell anyone, some of the "collectors" here come out in rash and have to lie down in a darkened room on hearing the words "Brasso" or "Goddards" 

[Cambridgeguy]

But it wouldn’t damage the coin at all?

[JunkBond]

Tarnish is easily removed with a bicarb dip, no rubbing required, this won't work for milk however.

[Serendipity]

Gold and silver bullion coins are generally struck out of 22k or 24k precious metals which are the softest metals and need to be alloyed or toughened with copper or other metals for use as jewellery. Silver has the additional problem of getting easily tarnished. Past stackers/collectors just chucked them into bags just like you. The major problem with that method, of course, is that it doesn’t take a detective to know which coins from their condition were once chucked higgledy-piggledy in bags or were once stored in capsules. No amount of Brasso can magically transform a damaged and tarnished coin that was once carelessly chucked into a bag.

[TonyS]

I would prefer to keep my coins in individual capsules but have recently put them all in tubes. My safe is small and I got fed up with a landside every time I moved anything.

10 oz bars are still in capsules, at least they don’t fall over.

[Bimetallic]

10 hours ago, Cambridgeguy said:

Could you not just use a bit of brasso and take the tarnish off? Or is that bad etiquette?

No, never, ever use brasso or dips on bullion. Silver tarnish is easy to clean with the aluminum foil and baking soda method (and a bit of salt). I detailed my refinements to the method in another thread.

It works very well, so there's no need to use brasso or dips. That stuff is better suited for silverware and miscellaneous silver household objects, not bullion.

[Midasfrog]

7 hours ago, HighlandTiger said:

Shhhh, no tricks of the trade.

Ps, Use Goddards Silver polish, but don't tell anyone, some of the "collectors" here come out in rash and have to lie down in a darkened room on hearing the words "Brasso" or "Goddards" 

A Brillo Pad and Brasso works on the hard tarnish then they are ready for grading 😮

[matrawr]

10 hours ago, Cambridgeguy said:

Could you not just use a bit of brasso and take the tarnish off? Or is that bad etiquette?

It depends if you have bog standard bullion I think you can get away with it.

But if you have more collectable stuff with higher premiums I would not advise cleaning them.

[matrawr]

1 minute ago, Midasfrog said:

A Brillo Pad and Brasso works on the hard tarnish then they are ready for grading 😮

Would it not get picked up by the grading company and be given a Details grade?

[Bimetallic]

I forgot to mention that you can also prevent tarnish with 3M anti-tarnish strips and tabs. They absorb the ambient sulfur that causes tarnish, and they work. They're cheap. This example costs less than 8 cents per tab: https://www.amazon.com/3M-XTL-VKIT-00-Square-Anti-Tarnish-Paper/dp/B00CH92AHI/

Amazon has lots of different 3M tabs, and coin supply outfits carry them too. The way you use them is to just put the tabs inside whatever bag or container your coin is in. Some people throw them in the mint tubes. They're used similarly to desiccants, but specifically for sulfur, not moisture.

There's also the Intercept Shield family of products. Wizard Coin Supply carries them, as do others. They're bags, coin holders, and albums, all with a material designed to soak up the sulfur in the air that causes tarnish. This is like having the 3M tabs built into various containers.