Some advice needed on received purchases

[Dawnbreaker]

I have bought a number of coins online. Although I am currently waiting on some coins to arrive (for a while now) I am not as negative (yet) as some on this forum as most transactions go fairly smoothly and the coins in most cases seem to be genuine (as far as I can tell). Two of the packages that did arrive had the coins as described in them but in a different condition than I would expect. With condition I am not talking about the quality of the coin but the way I found them in the package.

For one of the 3 golden coins I found the coin had come "loose" but is still in the capsule and seems stuck in that position. Should I open the capsule (risking potentially damaging the coin)  and put in the right way or just leave it like that?
 

Secondly some silver coins I received were wrapped in "soft paper" INSIDE the capsule. Something I have never seen before. Is that for safe travel or can they be stored this way?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Scootermuppet]

Is the gold coin a Proof one? 🤔 if it's just a bullion coin, you can put it back without fear of harming it, although I always treat even my bullion coins with respect, either gloves or handling by the edges (my bullion coins are all in good condition though, don't really have any 'true' bullion older coins with wear etc)

Even if it is a Proof, it can be re-homed in the capsule, you just have to be careful not to mark it, so gloves would be a necessity IMHO.

As for the silver coins with paper, it was probably added to stop the coins rattling during postage 🤔, so if someone shook the package, they would not know it contained coins. Personally I would remove it once i received the coins - for one thing you can't admire the coins through the paper! and there's always the risk of tarnishing the silver if it's not an acid-free paper - no point in risking it if you're not sure .

Hope that helps

Bob

Edited July 3, 2022 by Scootermuppet
spellings

[LawrenceChard]

1 hour ago, Dawnbreaker said:

I have bought a number of coins online. Although I am currently waiting on some coins to arrive (for a while now) I am not as negative (yet) as some on this forum as most transactions go fairly smoothly and the coins in most cases seem to be genuine (as far as I can tell). Two of the packages that did arrive had the coins as described in them but in a different condition than I would expect. With condition I am not talking about the quality of the coin but the way I found them in the package.

For one of the 3 golden coins I found the coin had come "loose" but is still in the capsule and seems stuck in that position. Should I open the capsule (risking potentially damaging the coin)  and put in the right way or just leave it like that?
 

Secondly some silver coins I received were wrapped in "soft paper" INSIDE the capsule. Something I have never seen before. Is that for safe travel or can they be stored this way?

Thanks in advance for the help.

I sometimes add a small quiz to some of my posts, typically about what percentage of gold or silver in coins, or the number of serrations, but I do this deliberately for some fun, interraction, and education.

The big mystery in your post is WTF* are the coins?

1)

It looks like a gold proof, is small, has somebody's head on it, but apart from that, it is almost impossible to work out what it is. Seeing the other side might have helped, although not much without a macro lens or better photos. Cropping your photos would also help, and there are lots of free apps for this.

Why don't you tell us what the coin is?

2)

Yes, I think you should put some gloves on, latex are good, and remove the paper, then you can see and appreciate them, and we can tell what they are.

... but see above, why don't you tell us?

3)

That's a better photo, but what about the other side?

... and a brief description (what is it?).

* Explanation of this acronym available on request, or simply Google it, but most Dutch people speak better English than the natives.

Is there much point buying coins, or owning them, if you can't see them?

It might be worth watching a @BackyardBullion YouTube video, where he lovingly fondles some of his coins. Some of it does make me cringe ever so slightly, but it's far better to enjoy them than place them on an altar and worship them from afar. He has an admirable and positive approach to coins, precious metals, and life.

😎

[BackyardBullion]

12 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

 

Is there much point buying coins, or owning them, if you can't see them?

It might be worth watching a @BackyardBullion YouTube video, where he lovingly fondles some of his coins. Some of it does make me cringe ever so slightly, but it's far better to enjoy them than place them on an altar and worship them from afar. He has an admirable and positive approach to coins, precious metals, and life.

😎

I handle coins in a unique way so that others don't have to 🙂 

[LawrenceChard]

2 minutes ago, BackyardBullion said:

I handle coins in a unique way so that others don't have to 🙂 

That's a great service to us all!

😎

[Dakaras]

The gold looks to be a one of the pope's 1/25? It is probably proof  but a lot of us would see that as a bullion coin, I would pop the cap and reposition, latex gloves is fine. I will pack out coins to stop rattles if they are job lots eg my 1 kilo deals I put up occasionally, same with bullion silver, of a coin is BU or proof then more care is taken. Silver looks to be bullion so that wouldn't be an issue for me. That said lot of my collection is bullion but try to keep it shiny:)

[blackadder]

37 minutes ago, BackyardBullion said:

I handle coins in a unique way

oh kinky 😂

[Orpster]

3 hours ago, Dawnbreaker said:

Is that for safe travel or can they be stored this way?

I often do this when posting a coin if it moves slightly in the cap (especially RM caps which have dropped considerably in quality and accuracy of sizing in the last few years) as it stops it rattling in the post and potentially revealing the content and also removes the risks of getting rub marks from the capsule.

You 100% need to reposition the little gold coin, and as others have advised using you bare fingers is best avoided  

[Dawnbreaker]

2 hours ago, LawrenceChard said:

I sometimes add a small quiz to some of my posts, typically about what percentage of gold or silver in coins, or the number of serrations, but I do this deliberately for some fun, interraction, and education.

The big mystery in your post is WTF* are the coins?

1)

It looks like a gold proof, is small, has somebody's head on it, but apart from that, it is almost impossible to work out what it is. Seeing the other side might have helped, although not much without a macro lens or better photos. Cropping your photos would also help, and there are lots of free apps for this.

Why don't you tell us what the coin is?

2)

Yes, I think you should put some gloves on, latex are good, and remove the paper, then you can see and appreciate them, and we can tell what they are.

... but see above, why don't you tell us?

3)

That's a better photo, but what about the other side?

... and a brief description (what is it?).

* Explanation of this acronym available on request, or simply Google it, but most Dutch people speak better English than the natives.

Is there much point buying coins, or owning them, if you can't see them?

It might be worth watching a @BackyardBullion YouTube video, where he lovingly fondles some of his coins. Some of it does make me cringe ever so slightly, but it's far better to enjoy them than place them on an altar and worship them from afar. He has an admirable and positive approach to coins, precious metals, and life.

😎

The four silver ones are 5 euro coins from Italy.
- 5 euro 2012 monetary union unification is FDC or BU.
- 5 euro 2013:
obverse is the temple "E" of Selinunte, dedidated to Hera
reverse is a metope detail of temple "C" of Selinunte, representing the myth of Perseus and the Medusa
The coin is proof
- 5 euro 2015:
obverse is a view of Perugia from the fresco "First translation of the body of St. Ercolano from the place of first burial to the church of St. Peter" by Benedetto Bonfigli for the Chapel of the Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia
reverse is a detail of the fresco with the Sibyls of the Sala delle Udienze of the Collegio del Cambio in Perugia by Perugino
The coin is proof.
- 5 euro 2016: 
obverse is the courtyard of honour of the 16th century villa Cicogna Mozzoni at Bisuschio in the province of Varese
reserve are the double flight water stairs of 156 steps from the lion's fountain to the nymphaum standing on top of a hill maintained as a park. In the background are details from Renaissance frescoes featuring wild beasts.
This coin is also proof.

The golden coins are 1/100 oz from the pope series from Guinea and they are "really" small. So they don't photograph well and while I don't have any problems with touching and handling 1 kg bars (of silver) these small coins simply feel "fragile" to me and I try to avoid handling them as much as possible.

The point was that I have never seen "paper inside" the capsule but I understand how it can avoid "rubbing" the capsule during transport. But if it is practical during transport would it be harmful if I let stay in there now as some kind of "extra" protection?
Regarding the gold coin I have seen opened capsules and broken capsules after opening a package but never one where the capsule is still "intact" but where the coin has moved but is stuck in their current position. 

I am leaning towards leaving the gold coin where it is as it is not moving now. I know for the OCD people out there that that makes no sense but the main goal of the capsule for me is that it holds the coin (safely) and although out of place it is kind of doing that now. Regarding the paper I am still a bit on the fence but I think I will remove it permanently. 
   
  

[LawrenceChard]

4 hours ago, Dawnbreaker said:

The four silver ones are 5 euro coins from Italy.
- 5 euro 2012 monetary union unification is FDC or BU.
- 5 euro 2013:
obverse is the temple "E" of Selinunte, dedidated to Hera
reverse is a metope detail of temple "C" of Selinunte, representing the myth of Perseus and the Medusa
The coin is proof
- 5 euro 2015:
obverse is a view of Perugia from the fresco "First translation of the body of St. Ercolano from the place of first burial to the church of St. Peter" by Benedetto Bonfigli for the Chapel of the Palazzo dei Priori in Perugia
reverse is a detail of the fresco with the Sibyls of the Sala delle Udienze of the Collegio del Cambio in Perugia by Perugino
The coin is proof.
- 5 euro 2016: 
obverse is the courtyard of honour of the 16th century villa Cicogna Mozzoni at Bisuschio in the province of Varese
reserve are the double flight water stairs of 156 steps from the lion's fountain to the nymphaum standing on top of a hill maintained as a park. In the background are details from Renaissance frescoes featuring wild beasts.
This coin is also proof.

The golden coins are 1/100 oz from the pope series from Guinea and they are "really" small. So they don't photograph well and while I don't have any problems with touching and handling 1 kg bars (of silver) these small coins simply feel "fragile" to me and I try to avoid handling them as much as possible.

The point was that I have never seen "paper inside" the capsule but I understand how it can avoid "rubbing" the capsule during transport. But if it is practical during transport would it be harmful if I let stay in there now as some kind of "extra" protection?
Regarding the gold coin I have seen opened capsules and broken capsules after opening a package but never one where the capsule is still "intact" but where the coin has moved but is stuck in their current position. 

I am leaning towards leaving the gold coin where it is as it is not moving now. I know for the OCD people out there that that makes no sense but the main goal of the capsule for me is that it holds the coin (safely) and although out of place it is kind of doing that now. Regarding the paper I am still a bit on the fence but I think I will remove it permanently. 
   
  

Far better now we can see the coins, which do look very nice!

You should definitely get hands on with the Pope. It probably slipped out of place because it will be quite thin.

😎

Edited July 3, 2022 by LawrenceChard

[James32]

Absolutely no reason to store the silver coins with paper attached. 

Again Absolutely no reason to leave the gold coin stuck the way it is, put a pair of gloves on and carefully place back in its rightful place.

Whilst you still have the gloves on... might aswell blow them up and try and make balloon animals 😄

[LawrenceChard]

11 hours ago, James32 said:

Whilst you still have the gloves on... might aswell blow them up and try and make balloon animals 😄

And post photos😎!