Collecting Coins

Collecting coins is a very exciting thing for many people. The one thing that they do wrong though is to overly handle them. They are always taking them out of their storage and doing one thing or another with them.
However clean you think your hands or fingers are, when you touch a coin, you always leave a fingerprint or mark. The naturally occurring oil in our skin will also be left on the coin, and this is also a contributor to further degradation of the coin. For those of you, who can’t stay away from your coins, if you must handle them; hold them by the outer edges so you don’t touch any part of the body. You should try as much as possible to avoid any contact between skin and coin.
Wearing cotton gloves also minimizes the risk of damaging your coin. The cotton fiber is gentler on the coin than a latex glove. If your handling them for the fun of it, and you are dealing with coins that are not as valuable, then you can do away with the gloves, as they are a hustle to someone who just wants to enjoy their collection. A dealer or expert on the other hand, should always make sure they wear gloves.
Moisture from our mouths can also be damaging to the coins! The spittle that comes out of your mouth when talking no matter how negligible can slowly damage your coins. Don’t talk much when you’re around them, and if you must sneeze, cough or sing, go someplace away from the collection. Pick a cool, dark place to store your coins. Keep them away from moisture and humidity, using silica gel will prevent moisture from getting to them.