I've never heard of milk spots occuring on Britannia coins. I got this coin from Bullion Bourse / Perthbullion a couple of months ago. Took them out recently and there were milk spots all over the coin.
As with ASE's it does happen but isn't common enough for people to be aware that it does. Had some 2012's that developed slight spotting (nothing as bad as yours) but the majority are still unmarked and in good condition. Some proofs were also affected :/
Sorry to say, it is true. Gotta 'hate' silver for this reason. I keep telling myself, 'self, stick with gold, even the fractional stuff.' And I buy some, but then self says to self, 'self go back to silver, it looks prettier.' But then I see stuff like this, and go, maybe I should stick with gold. :-( By the way, how are you storing them? Air-tites? Ziplock airtite bags. Oxygen and moisture absorber packs? Airtite containers? With silver, these things I've found are important. Otherwise just buy inexpensive rounds/coins as close to spot, and don't worry about it...it still has the same metal content, and it will sell. Unfortunately, I happen to like the pretty, expensive stuff.
I have the same one. The quality of brit .999 is very poor...milky n scratches. Maybe they should stick back to .925
Which is why I don't think their 2013/2014 silver britannias or even the new lunar horses will do well in the long term.
Agreed. Hence why I'm glad I have a lot of the 1997 - 2012 coins...I think those should do well in the future.
Has anybody taken a sample of the spots and cultured them? Is it a microbe? Does it have to do with humid storage conditions?
It's not actual milk or a culturable substance, it is a baked-in blemish that has a cloudy white appearance to it. This happens when a cleaning detergent is left on the coin, and is still present when the coin goes into a furnace to prevent it from being brittle,and it gets baked into the coin itself. The problem has pervaded for 25 years straight and despite the infamous markings, the Mint really doesn't care as they're still making record sales for SML's, 6.4m sold in just Q2 this year. Some Philharmonics, Ferns and Lunar coins also get the milk spots.
Hi barsenault, this particular coin was just stored in the air-tite case and then left in the card board packaging it was shipped in. It was never taken out of it's capsule. Can anyone tell me if Britannias normally come in capsules? This one didn't seem to have a perfect fit
They don't come in capsules, unfortunately. I've been told that there are lots of issues with 2013 and 2014 Brittanias, and they mint to demand, and quality went out the window once they went to .999. Just say'n
Hello Everyone Im "Mintproof Maxc" ., new to this site .. So if I dont reply straight away bear with me , Im just getting used to the way this site operates .. Thank u ..
Never seen this on a UK Britannia or any other Royal Mint coin. Wonder if anyone from the RCM has moved to the UK recently ? I read that the infamous Maple spot is due to a borax based cleaning agent that perhaps is not rinsed off properly before or during annealing. If the residue is baked onto the surface then it must be visible immediately so I cannot understand why so many people say it developed in time. That surely must be something else and might be related to humidity etc. Just don't know but if spots are new on the fine silver Brits then an email to the Mint might reveal more info.
To be honest, their quality went down after they switched to .999 for their silver and gold coins. Scuffing, scratches became quite prevalent. Perhaps they should just stick to their Britannia standard instead.
Exposure to humidity may accelerate the development of the milk spots but have yet to come across anything that confirms this or why there is even a delayed reaction in the first place. But at least you know you have a genuine silver coin Forgot about this video. Cloudy ammonia, jewelry wipes and brand new erasers seem to give the 'best' results for removing milk spots [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sJSwKe5Ev8#t=87[/youtube]
I posted about this late last year. Same problem 2013 britannia. http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-48659-milkspot-on-2013-brittania.html I decided it was my storage of the coin and have stored with moisture absorbers.
YIKES! That thing looks like somebody took it with them on a Canadian vacation and the poor thing caught the dreaded RCM Milk Spot Virus through osmosis!
The Canadian wildlife series was destroyed because of the dang milk spots like these Britannia coins. What a pity. The coins look cloudy milky and UGLY. I wouldn't want them for FREE. You can keep em. The mint that produces these could give a rats behind. disgusting
