Milk spots

[Dan12345]

Just see this on eBay, never seen a coin so bad with milk spots. What causes this to happen.

Hope my queen's beasts don't end up like this, they will be worth nothing but scrap

[James32]

25 minutes ago, Dan12345 said:

Just see this on eBay, never seen a coin so bad with milk spots. What causes this to happen.

Hope my queen's beasts don't end up like this, they will be worth nothing but scrap

That looks like its been stored in milk

[ArgentSmith]

plus bonus scratches

[James32]

3 minutes ago, James32 said:

That looks like its been stored in milk

Where do Milk Spots come from?

Imagine buying an uncirculated silver coin from a mint. It's in encapsulation and you place in it your nice environmentally friendly storage area, then you have a look at it after six months - and it is covered in milk spots! Sadly, this is a real scenario for some collectors. Milk spots can appear days, weeks, months, even years after minting.

The current thought is that milk spots on silver coins are caused by a flaw in the minting process. The silver coin starts life as a flat circular disk known as a blank or planchet. To prevent the silver coin becoming too brittle, the blank is annealed, which is a process of heating and cooling. Prior to annealing, the blank is cleaned/degreased with solvents and it is thought that sometimes not all of the solvent is removed before the coin is heated, baking an imperfection into the surface of the silver.

The coin emerges from the process looking in perfect condition, but with time (between days and years) the imperfection mutates into a white substance, the dreaded milk spots.

Other theories attain that milk spots can be caused by reaction with certain plastics (like PVC) but it may be that these reactions simply accelerate the appearance of the production flaw.

Milk spots are quite common and the problem is not limited to a single mint. Coins affected include Canadian Maples, America Eagles, British Britannias, Chinese Pandas, Silver Krugerrands and many others, including silver bars

[daca]

29 minutes ago, Dan12345 said:

 

Sadly nothing new, "top quality" from RM

[Dan12345]

Puts me off buying anymore 

[dikefalos]

That's world famous Royal Mint Arctic Camouflage Matte finish, available as bullion and proof

[modofantasma]

3 hours ago, Dan12345 said:

Just see this on eBay, never seen a coin so bad with milk spots. What causes this to happen.

Hope my queen's beasts don't end up like this, they will be worth nothing but scrap

I thought it was a high tech security feature 

[KevinFlynn]

Just now, modofantasma said:

I thought it was a high tech security feature 

Nothing can be as milky as a genuine Royal Mint 😁

[SilverStorm]

4 hours ago, James32 said:

Milk spots are quite common and the problem is not limited to a single mint. Coins affected include Canadian Maples, America Eagles, British Britannias, Chinese Pandas, Silver Krugerrands and many others, including silver bars

Agree with the last comment.  However, from 2018 onwards, the Royal Canadian Mint has applied the Mint Shield technology to their silver bullion.  What this means is that from 2018 onwards, the likelihood of milk spotting on silver Maples is greatly reduced.  I'm not saying newer Maples will never milk spot (and the Canadian Mint doesn't either), but the chances are quite unlikely due to this special process the Canadian Mint has employed.  

MINTSHIELD™ Surface Protection

[James32]

3 minutes ago, SilverStorm said:

Agree with the last comment.  However, from 2018 onwards, the Royal Canadian Mint has applied the Mint Shield technology to their silver bullion.  What this means is that from 2018 onwards, the likelihood of milk spotting on silver Maples is greatly reduced.  I'm not saying newer Maples will never milk spot (and the Canadian Mint doesn't either), but the chances are quite unlikely due to this special process the Canadian Mint has employed.  

MINTSHIELD™ Surface Protection

Very good additional info 👍 

[SilverStorm]

5 minutes ago, James32 said:

Very good additional info 👍 

I also recommend that you open and read the 2 pdf files in the Mintshield link above.  The pdf file "Mintshield One Year In - Winning the Fight Against Milk Spots" was a real eye opener for me.  The Canadian Mint subjected the silver maple to an accelerated aging process that includes high heat and humidity.  It passed with flying colors with no milk spots.  IMHO, Mintshield Technology makes silver Maples the best bullion to own without fear of milk spotting.  😀

[Oddjob]

9 hours ago, SilverStorm said:

Agree with the last comment.  However, from 2018 onwards, the Royal Canadian Mint has applied the Mint Shield technology to their silver bullion.  What this means is that from 2018 onwards, the likelihood of milk spotting on silver Maples is greatly reduced.  I'm not saying newer Maples will never milk spot (and the Canadian Mint doesn't either), but the chances are quite unlikely due to this special process the Canadian Mint has employed.  

MINTSHIELD™ Surface Protection

There's some bullion dealers in Aust who use milk spots on Maples pre 2018 as a test for whether they are real or fakes. If someone lobs up with some pre 2018 Maples with no milk spots, it raise the dealers suspicion right off the bat. 

[Centauri167]

I saw in a youtube video a few days ago that also the Aussie Kangaroo ( he spoke about the 2021 mintage ) had milkspot problems.

Never had milkspotting on Perth Mint products, anybody here that knows they now also have problems ?

[Happypanda88]

14 minutes ago, Centauri167 said:

I saw in a youtube video a few days ago that also the Aussie Kangaroo ( he spoke about the 2021 mintage ) had milkspot problems.

Never had milkspotting on Perth Mint products, anybody here that knows they now also have problems ?

You probably have not kept your Perth Mint products for long enough. The low premium products like the Kangaroos, 2015 Funnel Spider, 2014 Saltwater Crocodile were prone to milk spotting.

[Pete]

Sadly this is quite common these days with some Mints continuing to ship milk stained and spotted silver whilst others seem to be able to avoid this.
I bought a full tube of Queens Beasts and they all have small spots.
I have also received Britannias in worse condition than this photograph.

Lots of theories out there as to the cause, but the simplest way of thinking about the process is continuing to wash your dinner plates in dirty grey dishwater after all the suds have disappeared. We all tend to do it rather than replenish with clean water just for the last few dishes. So if you are unlucky you will get the "uncleaned" silver.

 

[ArgentSmith]

 

[ArgentSmith]

Dab it gently (don't rub), wash with liquid soap rinse in distilled water, dry with hair dryer, wear latex gloves, works.

[SilverStorm]

6 hours ago, ArgentSmith said:

Dab it gently (don't rub), wash with liquid soap rinse in distilled water, dry with hair dryer, wear latex gloves, works.

But only for bullion, and never for numismatic coins. 

[Centauri167]

10 hours ago, Happypanda88 said:

You probably have not kept your Perth Mint products for long enough. The low premium products like the Kangaroos, 2015 Funnel Spider, 2014 Saltwater Crocodile were prone to milk spotting.

I have Perth mint coins from 2013 when I started stacking/ collecting. Never saw milkspotting on them but all most all of them are in a bank safe so it can be that they have got some in the meantime.

The reason I was surprised because I always read that the Perth Mint was the only mint with no issues, looks like that was wrong to think ...

I like silver, but gold is so much easier, low premiums, no problems like milkspotting, ...

[Oddjob]

18 hours ago, Centauri167 said:

I saw in a youtube video a few days ago that also the Aussie Kangaroo ( he spoke about the 2021 mintage ) had milkspot problems.

Never had milkspotting on Perth Mint products, anybody here that knows they now also have problems ?

I've had the occasional post 2016 PM Roo with the odd milk spot develop after a year or two. Has been the exception rather than the rule.

[sori]

On 29/11/2021 at 18:39, Dan12345 said:

Just see this on eBay, never seen a coin so bad with milk spots. What causes this to happen.

Hope my queen's beasts don't end up like this, they will be worth nothing but scrap

This it the most shame for the Mint

[Dan12345]

Why do we not see milk spots on old silver coins? Like crowns dollars coins 50/100 plus years old. None have milk spots 

[Centauri167]

47 minutes ago, Dan12345 said:

Why do we not see milk spots on old silver coins? Like crowns dollars coins 50/100 plus years old. None have milk spots 

Good question, maybe the chemicals they use now ?

[GoldStandardPartyUK]

6 hours ago, Dan12345 said:

Why do we not see milk spots on old silver coins? Like crowns dollars coins 50/100 plus years old. None have milk spots 

One of the reasons I think we took a wrong turn making coins 999 or 9999 fine. There are many advantages of 925 over 999, I think 999 fine silver is too soft / easily scratched. I also think designs are too pristine and show up spots or flaws, like a white carpet, it is much better to have a pattern on a carpet to obscure marks. 

I heard on a kinesis podcast recently a silly comment that 9999 silver is better for their vaults because it looks cleaner. The difference between 9999 and 999 in a bar would be such a tiny amount of material you probably couldn't see it and is beyond the weight tolerance of the weight anyway! but retail consumers seem to want 9999 as if they'd gain more silver somehow.