What a week! If you would have told me a month ago the Cubs would win the World Series, Texas A&M would make the first College Football Playoff poll, and Donald Trump would win the presidency, I would have asked what medication you were taking.
It has been quite a season of surprises, but I think some topics are a bit too fresh to dive into this week. And, to be honest, the metals market is reacting with such craziness, it’s hard to even predict where it’s headed.
I think this would be a good week for any of you who might be a little miffed to vent a bit. If you are feeling victorious, feel free to join in as well. This week, we are discussing our precious metals pet peeves.
Most long time investors and collectors could easily list several of their biggest annoyances when it comes precious metals; beginning with the researching process, to purchasing, receiving, storing, and selling, there are a multitude of opportunities to find grievances with the practice.
Since I am a relatively new investor, myself, I can’t say I have an extensive list of pet peeves, aside from having to actually pay for my metals (wink wink, boss). I have read a few from prominent collectors, which seem understandable.
Some of the most popular frustrations include referring to a one-cent coin as a penny versus a cent. The term “penny” is British. Penny is the singular unit of currency, while pence is the plural; therefore, technically, since Americans use “cents” as the plural for currency, we should use “cent” rather than penny. It’s trivial to many, but to others, semantics rule.
Another common annoyance is milk spots. From my daily readings of a myriad of coin collection websites, I see many individuals find issues most commonly with RCM bullion. For most, this doesn’t seem to impede the purchase of RCM products, as it is some of the highest quality bullion available, but others avoid Maples and the like for fear of the dreaded spots. (Though, from what I’ve gathered, milk spots do not impact the value of a coin).
Perhaps the most popular issue I’ve seen is quite understandable- counterfeit coins. In this day and age, counterfeiting abounds, and ensuring your dealer is reputable can be tough. Because I only shop Provident Metals (shameless plug), I have never personally encountered this issue. As the idiom goes, in this case, counterfeiting is the world’s second oldest profession, so I am certain some of you might have unfortunately stumbled across it at some point.
So, obvious question for this week- what are your personal bullion collecting and investing pet peeves? Have you encountered those mentioned, yourself? What one issue really grinds your gears? Let me know, below!
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Happy Stacking!
-J
FINGERPRINTS!!! Definitely those huge unique-circular-ridge-identifiable-human fingerprints that span the face of an entire coin!!! What are some people thinking when they pick up and handle precious metals with their grubby little hands? Whether it is a coin, round, or bar – always use protection! (Sounds like an STD prevention campaign, but coins need advocates too!)
You crack me up! I couldn’t agree more. White gloves for all the coin handlers!
-J
Pet peeve #1. – People beeching about their government issued silver bullion metal coins getting milk spots. These were created to give people an opportunity to own small increments of a government issued precious metal. We aren’t talking a Ferarri GT 250 with a racing pedigree, we are talking a hunk of metal as an alternative investment! Your 2013 Maple Leaf is NEVER going to be a collector’s item, but don’t tell them that! Some people get so pissed with milk spots….. but now on to my:
Pet Peeve #2. Toning – Which was formally known as corrosion or oxidation, conditions that detract from appearance, just like milk spots. Unlike milk spots, “toning” is something to cherish and makes some pieces more sought after ??? I wonder what will happen if milk spots develop their own unique shades of “toning” that you can’t get on coins if it’s perfect and has no milk spots ??? Will they be ruined because they have milk spots, or cherished because of unique shades of “toning” ?????????
Pet Peeve #3. Don’t ever clean your coins you’ll ruin the value – I watched a video where a guy took a bunch of junk silver, tossed it in the tumbler with SS media and they all came out shining like new! So instead of crappy looking junk, he had shiny junk….. still junk, no matter how you look at it. The people ripping him a new one was ridiculous, as if he had done this to that Ferrari GT 250 !!!
Rant over…..thanks for the opportunity to spout off. 🙂
I like the passion! I can certainly get on board with #3; I might be terrified to ruin my coins, but for someone who knows what they are doing, why not keep it shiny?
-J
I’m going with peoples lack of knowledge. I don’t really tell too many people that I collect coins because they instantly want to tell me they have a perfect silver dollar worth a lot of money sitting in with a bunch of old “pennies” in a desk drawer somewhere. ( see what i did there?) When I ask if it is protected in plastic of course it isn’t. And just try and tell them any different. Good question!
Haha, I like your usage of “pennies.” I probably would have had no idea a year ago, but I certainly can’t believe a perfect silver dollar exists without protection!
-J