Anybody else had milkspot problems with Brittania coins? Image of 2013 Brittania - both sides have started on all coins I own: I wonder is they source blanks from the Candian Mint.
Well, since they've moved from a limited mintage (pre 2013) to unlimited, I don't think the mint really cares about milk spots. They will/have adopted the same attitude as the RCM, 'F'U, this is purely a bullion coin that will look the same year in and year out, so be happy we are minting these.' This will only get worse over time, IMHO. We shall see. Hope I'm wrong. By the way, to help with this, perhaps put them in a capsule right away, then move them to an airtight, water tight contain, and throw in moisture and oxygen absorbers, that should help....for a while. . All the best. By the way, my many 100's of Brittanias (pre 2013) have zero spots. Once I heard they were going to a unlimited amount, and same image every year, and still charging a premium, I stopped buying, and stuck with good ole faithful kooks.
Use an eraser on it, make sure both are clean first. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sJSwKe5Ev8 Please note i have never tried this myself, do at yoour own risk.
I would not try the eraser method. I used a "cheap" coin to try this and you can see the problem it leaves. Oh well just $6.00 over spot so maybe it will be worth something in a 100 years from now.
Don't try any method of cleaning!!! It is what it is, and maybe in a 100 years they figure out a way to solve the issue without damaging the coin. Any scientists want to go in business with me to figure out how we can solve the problem. You create the product, and I'll help fund and sell it. I think we could patent the product and make millions. Sounds like a plan to me...any takers? LOL.
Not sure about the eraser trick - I don't want to scratch the coin. For storage - all my coins treated in exactly the same. Some kept in original tubes, some put into capsules. No breathing on coins. I don't use oxygen absorbers. A few brands get milkspots but most don't. For me personally: Maples (all years), Brittania (2013), Noah's Ark (2012) and generic buffalo round all have spots! Other like: Libertad, Philharmonic, Eagles, Kookaburra, Somalian Elephant, Taku don't have any spots. PS - Noah's Ark are from a fresh tube - unopened until today.
Milkspot = real silver Well I guess that would only apply if you bought be coin for its silver content and not any numismatic value.
True. All bought at bullion prices no numismatic coins. Just spots look ugly. I would be gutted to have paid numi prices and got spots. hmm the future - fake Chinese counterfeit coins with fake milk spots.... :/
Also it doesn't devalue the coin as an asset. It may drop the premium to collector's by a bit though.
That's what sucks about collectibles and semi numi silver coins though. We are always looking over our shoulder to see if there are any spots on our precious coins, and if so, the premium goes bye, bye. Hence why all my coins are in capsules, then in tubes, then placed in air-tite, water-tite containers with oxygen and moisture absorbers...ain't taking any chances with my stack of thousands of kooks, lunar, early brittania, gilded, colored, pandas, etc...I think I'm already screwed on the 2012 pandas...they suck for spots, and will longer stack pandas, as beautiful as they are. I stick with perth only for semi numi coins, and converted to gold recently, since I don't have to worry about the dreaded spot, spot, out damn spot.
Seeing some of the milky tarnish on relatively new coins I would worry about the method of storage. Perhaps high humidity can affect coins. If you are in a high humidity climate then what you can do is convert an old refrigerator into a dry cabinet. A fridge has an excellent door seal so you are running it WITHOUT the cooling compressor. Place inside the fridge a light bulb say 40-60Watts power or heat equivalent - forget Lumens you need wattage as this is contributing the heat. Run the light continuously maintaining a temperature around ambient or say 30 Celsius. Try to mimimise openeing and closing of the door but the heat from the lamp will ensure the interior is always dry. Maybe for the first few days place some silica gel bags in the fridge to absorb any residual moisture. If you can monitor temperature and it is rising too much put your bulb on a timer and adjust on /off periods until you are happy with the temperature profile over time.
Thanks Photonaware. Perth can be both humid, hot and 30C isn't even close to a hot day. When the Ashes Test was in Perth it was 39C+ those few days. I'm going to try the moisture absorbers and see if it stabilises the milk spotting. Can't hurt giving it a try. The bottom line for me is: if the manufacturer produces bullion susceptible to spotting you need to be stabilised the bullion by keeping it free of moisture. Otherwise the borax reacts with the air creating spots. So heads up - 2013 Brittania and 2012 Noah's Ark have started to developed spots for me. Glad other folks haven't had this problem (yet). PS. the Noah's Ark were kept in coin tubes. The Brittania were kept in capsules. (not sure how "air tight" the capsules are).
