Tarnish on unfired brass normal?

[ruchik]

As I'm a brand new shooter who's never even seen brand new ammo out of a box before, is it normal to see tarnish around the bottom of the brass on "fresh" ammo? Picked up a box of Remington UMC 115gr 9mm today for practice, and some of the rounds have quite a bit of tarnish or something around the bottom/rim of the brass.

[OneSevenDeuce]

Yes.

[J-cat]

+1

If you don't like it, Comet removes it very quickly.

[Legasat]

It is not uncommon...

[Wherryj]

Yes, metals tarnish based upon their inherent properties, not merely upon handling.

I had an issue where I purchased a Mont Blanc fountain pen on Ebay. They were selling for $500, and this one I snagged for $120. I was already a bit leery, but upon it's arrival I note that it has what appears to be a tarnished brass nib. Current Mont Blancs have a nib made out of two metals.

I figured that it was a fake, so I brought it into the Mont Blanc store where the manager was shocked to see a 1970s pen new in box. The pen had sat on a shelf in a NY photo business that the GOLD had actually tarnished (yes, even gold tarnishes).

It even passed muster at the Mont Blanc repair store when I sent it in for a free fix of the nib when it got splayed (never lend a good pen to anyone).

Even gold will tarnish if left alone long enough. Brass can be expected to tarnish if given adequate time.