Decontaminating Purchased Coins During Covid-19 Situation

How did you decontaminate them before covid-19?
John1

Just wait a few days before handling. COVID doesn't survive on hard surfaces for long.

Wash your hands after handling the package, but the coin(s) inside should be fine.

If you are concerned, just leave the purchased coins in strong sunlight for about 2 hours. The UV (which can cause sunburn with people), component of sunlight will kill all viruses, and most bacteria as well.

When they have all been warmed by the sunlight they will be perfectly safe to include in your collection.

well, COVID is nothing like the flu bug or other virus. Appreciate all the responses. Take care everyone in these uncertain times.

Just dip them in Sulfuric Acid. If not available, dip all your new coins in a Vodka Martini. May not get rid of the Virus but after a while if you drink it, you will not care.
Actually from what is being said every where just leave them outside in a place where the Sun hits them.

So I need to get a box of cents,lay out all 2500 coins for a few hours. Then go outside and flip 2500 coins over and wait a few hours more,do I have that correct?
John1

From what I know from the New England Journal of medicine. A new analysis found that the virus can remain viable in the air for up to 3 hours, on copper for up to 4 hours, on cardboard up to 24 hours and on plastic and stainless steel up to 72 hours.
What's more, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found on "a variety of surfaces" in cabins of both symptomatic and asymptomatic people who were infected with COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, up to 17 days after the passengers disembarked. However, this was before disinfection procedures took place and "data cannot be used to determine whether transmission occurred from contaminated surfaces," according to the analysis. In other words, it's not clear if the viral particles on these surfaces could have infected people.

For me, I'd just bag and quarantine the package for a month to be as safe as could be and also not risk damaging the coins with temp changes or chemicals. or just stop buying coins in general until the threats been mitigated.

So, I think, if you wanted to be really safe, bag the package when you get it, and tie it off and stick it somewhere for like a month, and the virus should be inactive in 30 days and totally ineffective, then you can open it. I would not go crazy with cleaning solutions or high or low temps all of which could affect the surfaces of the coins. just time should really do the trick, and if you want to look at it early and be extra safe, wear gloves, goggles and a P100 respirator, and open it outside to inspect it and bag it outside and then bring it in to let it sit for a month in quarantine before opening it again.

it depends on how much worry and risk you have with this virus really. easiest and safest solution is to stop buying coins until you are safe from it and not take any risk at all.

This is going to be a concern for a good while, the rest of this year, probably next year also, I don't think we can all really avoid it completely the way it's going and there's just as much risk of the virus coming from a coin you bought off ebay as it is from a can of lysol or a package of masks or the box it comes in that you bought off Amazon at the end of the day. it only really matters how much risk you deem acceptable for what you want.