Any experts could you please tell me why my slabbed pandas got milk spots? I thought the case is air tight ... now I cannot clean it... can't do anything beside watching the spots to grow... too bad...
Sorry cant tell you why. Sad isnt it? I got one with a dozen spots on it at last count. Pissed off is an understatement, especially when they are graded 69.
Yeah, milk spots are the pain of Panda collectors worldwide... Sometimes they disappear when sent to NCS... sometimes they grow.
According to a post on CCF, "NGC slab is pressed together in combined with ultrasound vibration. This process can not make slab 100% sealed. The speed of white spots development after coin slabbed depends on the seal. IMO, double sealed coin has a better protection of air and moisture than NGC and PCGS slab in term of white spots development. ". http://china-mint.info/forum/index.php?topic=3621.0
Thanks mfm for bringing that post to our attention, I hate relying on others to tell me if a coin is real or fake. Especially from a source I have "0" trust in. I want to make sure I know first hand. Someone on another board said it best and I quote: (Fishball is being quoted at CCF... ) "Everyone is stating the reason not to get into Panda's is because of the number of fakes on the market. That's exactly the reason to buy real Panda's. They don't fake Andy Warhols or Picasso's for nothing. Because good art always has a demand even in bad times. Which means you have to be a more educated consumer to know the good from the bad. You would not get into Picasso's because there were fakes. You'd just make sure you don't buy a fake which makes the real ones that much more valuable". exchange I'm also an OMP Panda collector, although I do have slabs also because I was just starting out and wanted legit coins. The main reason I won't send coins in to be graded is paranoia that I don't receive the same coin back. Exchange over at CCF brings up a very valid point here about trust and scandal. One I pointedly noted that Badon did not address in his response. What's to stop a grader slipping your lovely, first perfect specimen '00 Mirror into his pocket and sending you an impostor back? The answer is simply nothing at all. Another reason not to slab are theses stories of developing white spots AFTER THEY"VE BEEN SLABBED. Something is activating these white spots inside the coin to come out. OMP packaging is not a cause of milk spots as unsealed coins such as maples and silver eagles have them. Better to leave them double sealed... My '95 micro date has white spots inside OMP. It was one of the first coins I bought and wasnt really paying attention to what I was doing. I'd send it to NCS to see if it can be cleaned up, sure. But my '92 1oz Ag proof is absolutely gorgeous in its OMP and Ill never take it out of its packaging. Now whenI buy OMP i simply buy the best coin I can afford from the best trusted source (me, i.e. Im viewing the coin before purchase) or else buying from someone I trust (i.e. yennus) There are still plenty of beautiful pristine pre 2004 investment grade coins out there. The BEST way of acquiring them is to go to them, not the other way around. The OMP market will do just fine, there is enough doubt in my mind about grading services to make me think long and hard about sending my coins in.
Where am I being quoted? Lol Anyway this is exactly why I have slabs and OMPs, although I don't see much point in "OMP" for post 2005 silver pandas as they aren't double sealed so I prefer slabs.
http://china-mint.info/forum/index.php?topic=3621.0 Legend. Yeah agree on the 05 statement, from then on slabs are fine... just don't expect them to guarantee no white spots I guess from what I read.
This was discussed a while back but white spots have nothing to do with grading or leaving coins in OMP. From what I know they have mostly affected silver coins of the more recent years and pandas are not the only coins affected. American Eagles & Canadian Maples (Canadian Wildlife also) have been affected as much or more. I have had friends tell me that they purchased coins that were double sealed OMP and had white spots on them. Even though a coin has been conserved and graded, white spots can develop from residual impurities left in silver which are inherent in the process of minting the blank planchets. Some people have sent affected coins to NCS for white spot removal but I have also heard that they will and do reappear later due to the impurities that are in the affected coin forever. In the event that I do get exposed to a coin with white spots, I think I would try NCS conservation just to see for myself what happens.
To be honest I've rarely if ever had coins develop white spots, even the few maples I've had in airtites never had white spots (I held them for at least 8 months at a bank box). I believe it is to do with storage method. I keep them in a dry cool place by using those little packets to absorb moisture (which you find in prepackaged food sometimes) & picking a bank which has an airconditioned SDB area. Humid and warm temperatures do no favor to silver coins imo, NCS'd or not. Hopefully my Pandas don't get white spots either
On the topic of grading verses OMP that is a personal decision for each individual but there are many reasons that I like my coins slabbed and graded. Not only do I want the best coins that I can buy, I want to be able to handle them as much as I want and store them easily. I do still have many coins in OMP but I never handle those as the coins rattle around in the capsule which is doing just a very slight bit of damage and over time I believe it can scar or scratch the coin. Also the soft plastic does start to get a little cloudy/hazy from being handled and stored next to other coins in OMP over time. I do think coins can be kept in OMP for eternity without damage and still grade highly if they are not handled often but I do occasionally like to go through my collection and handle the coins which the slab makes it very easy. Working on 400 slabbed coins now it is just easier for me to store the slabs in NGC boxes in chronological order. As I stated before, I'm not a person who shoves my opinion down your throat as to what a person "should" do with their coins but I'm just saying what I do. Certain commemorative coins and sets will always be in OMP. There are many other reasons why I prefer graded/slabbed coins but this is the wrong thread. OMP has its purpose just as grading does in my opinion In the end as long as you are happy about your collection that is what is important. There is one poster on CCF who turns almost every thread into a "why I hate grading" debacle to the point I believe everyone is sick of it thankfully that has not happened here ! It gets old :/
Hi comeaux, I like your style. I read in a Chinese forum that white spots has nothing to do with storage. That collector stored his sheet of OMP coins inside a drawer for 10 years or so. Some develope white spots, some don't. Interestingly those has white spot, it happen across most of the sheet. I think he was saying certain series, not panda has higher tendency of develop white spots. I also read Shanghai museum has done a chemical analysis on coins with white spots and I believe they published their findings somewhere. I can't find it. There is one poster on CCF who turns almost every thread into a "why I hate grading" debacle to the point I believe everyone is sick of it thankfully that has not happened here ! It gets old I love to hear what that person has to say for Imperial/Republic coins. Hahaha.
Hello Low ! Thanks and I like yours as well, I surmised by your commentary that you must be of Asian descent to have such clever insight of Chinese Coins & Culture. I took notice of your intelligence when you arrived on the boards here and at CCF and could tell by your posts that you are highly knowledgeable regarding Chinese Numismatics & Culture. Although I predominately collect silver, gold & platinum pandas I am also starting to look into many other Modern Chinese Coins so I will be looking to use some of your brain power in the future. Yes the things you mention about white spots I have also heard some of these as well. It would be EXTREMELY interesting to us all if you could locate the results of the Shanghai Museum on their chemical analysis of the causes of white spots on silver coins. Oh yea I agree that "person" has much knowledge for sure and is very beneficial to the forum without doubt. Maybe he should just put it in his signature what he feels about grading so he doesn't have to say it in every thread !!!
