I haven't given up on Perth Lunars because of milk-spot potential.. I'm just not buying the 2016 Monkey because the design pretty much sucks, no matter how hard I tried liking it. Certainly worse coins out there, but this is a very weak Lunar design, and I skip over the weak ones, lower mintages be damned. Voting with your wallet is the way to go. There are plenty of other spaces to play in & spend your finite money on. I've shifted / narrowed focus & am concentrating on 4 different "sub-categories" -- modern minted discs is not one of them. Will buy a little modern stuff here & there, but being very selective. Aside from other factors, there's plenty of cool pieces out there that do *not* get / have milk-spots!
Notice Perth Mint are absolutely silent on the issue. Personally after them saying "Dumbbbb... don't know what 'causes them there milk spotty doovywacker thingamajigs"... they've lost my respect and trust.
Yes, well said. (written) The first series of coins I purchased when I started my stacker life 3 years ago was the Perth Mint Lunar series...so emotionally, I am and always will be a PM Lunar fan I think. That said, I have learned over the past 3 years that the milk spot problem is a serious problem when you are paying high premiums and receiving coins that will possibly/likely be very difficult to sell and get even a modicum of premium back as many have noted in the SS forum in various threads. So I have mixed feelings about the Perth Mint Lunar series and I will no longer buy any PM silver bullion (whether Kook, Lunar, Koala, fugly Kangaroo, etc, etc) if it comes with a collector premium. It's throwing money down the toilet. It's really too bad that the large mints have decided to take the route of shrugging their shoulders when it comes to the milk spot issue....it will be to their own detriment. There's plenty of very nice looking high quality silver rounds out there that are priced like bullion with lower premiums than the big mint's bullion. I'm liking the Elemetal Mint 2 oz high relief rounds....high quality and priced right. I have limited money and if I'm going to buy bullion, I have to make my choices intelligently and say "no" to the Perth Mint (or other big mints) over priced milky bullion. .
