Which silver coin brands are worth a higher premium?

[Scootermuppet]

4 hours ago, LightningSilver said:

Well I wont be buying any more silver from the Royal Mint. I bought some 2021 Britannias last year, kept in capsules and in pelican cases and they have all spotted terribly. Basically just junk silver just 9 months later!  Almost no shine on a couple of them. 

 

55 minutes ago, Arganto said:

White/milk spots? Unfortunately it's something that afflicts a lot of modern silver, bullion and proof. It's not isolated to the Royal Mint either and seemingly happens regardless of storage conditions. One hypothesis is that it is a residue left over from production, possibly borax. It can be removed and the shine brought back but involves contact cleaning. If it's regular bullion though milk spotting doesn't render it "junk", it's a recognised issue.

There's always a solution... quite literally, as it happens... (NB - NOT recommended for Proof coins though!) 😏

Just don't leave it in too long... 😲

And some other methods discussed here :

 

And have to agree with @Gordy - taking some precautions should pay off 👍

[LightningSilver]

Not sure how i could have stored them better really. Sealed capsules, in a pelican microcase, in a dry drawer. All other silver bought at the same time, in the same box all shiny as new, including eagles, krug, maple and pandas 

[Scootermuppet]

🤔 that is an odd one...

[Arganto]

It's a discussion had many a time with respect to 'milk spotting'. If it is a residue on the metal left over from production no amount of care in how it is stored will stop the marks from appearing unfortunately.

[Centauri167]

On 27/06/2022 at 12:21, Sybilla said:

All local silver and gold shops, coin shops and even a few online coin shops (in the Netherlands and Germany) only seem to purchase coins slightly under spot. I have been making a lot of inquiries everywhere 😅

The shops do seem to offer worse prices than collectors though. From what I see here on the forum, people pay a much more realistic price.

As you are from Holland, check this site from a store in Belgium: ( which I will never buy from but it gives a good idea which coins to buy or not )

https://www.europesegoudstandaard.be/nl/inkoop-goud-en-zilver?field_edelmetaalcategorie_inkoop_tid=46

 

The worst coin to buy is the American Silver Eagle, you got the same amount for it as a Kangaroo or Philharmonic ...

[GoldDiggerDave]

I can remove the appearance of milk spots!

did as a video to show the coin at various angles easy to make a coin look good on a photo from a single angle.

 

[Sybilla]

22 hours ago, Centauri167 said:

As you are from Holland, check this site from a store in Belgium: ( which I will never buy from but it gives a good idea which coins to buy or not )

https://www.europesegoudstandaard.be/nl/inkoop-goud-en-zilver?field_edelmetaalcategorie_inkoop_tid=46

 

The worst coin to buy is the American Silver Eagle, you got the same amount for it as a Kangaroo or Philharmonic ...

Thank you, that is very helpful

[kimchi]

22 hours ago, GoldDiggerDave said:

I can remove the appearance of milk spots!

did as a video to show the coin at various angles easy to make a coin look good on a photo from a single angle.

 

Is that just silver dip Dave?

[GoldDiggerDave]

8 minutes ago, kimchi said:

Is that just silver dip Dave?

Silver dip will not remove milk spots, it may help with thin film interference/copper sulphide.

The results are from 3 individual chemical process to remove the appearance of the borax.   

I’m still perfecting the results it’s not 100% yet, but even so it’s possible to turn a grubby silver bullion coin back to somewhere close to what it’s supposed to look like.  
 

i’ve read a lot about the silver manufacturing process and it looks like the borax is not or can not be removed sufficiently from the process @BackyardBullion might be able to shed some light on this.  I’ve read if they don’ t use borax and  boric acid in the process the silver can crack and also can have more air bubbles in the silver.  
 

my kitchen looks more like a laboratory at the moment .

[kimchi]

5 minutes ago, GoldDiggerDave said:

i’ve read a lot about the silver manufacturing process and it looks like the borax is not or can not be removed sufficiently from the process

Yes that's what I've been thinking (not from experience, just from deductive reasoning).

I would expect the milkspots to return in time (dependent on conditions), is that your thinking too?

[GoldDiggerDave]

@kimchi I doubt it, but if they do I can deal with it.  It seams like the problem of milk spotting is getting worse I don’t know if this is coinciding with the world wide shortage of silver blanks that mints are suffering with.  It may be getting worse due to reduced quality due to the pressures of high demand or mints sourcing silver blanks from multiple suppliers with poorer quality control.  It would be interesting to see if silver could be smelted and annealed with a different anti oxidiser than borax and boric acid., I’m sure if Isaac Newton was still master of the mint we would have the issue fixed😂
 

I don’t mind coins toning some look very attractive, just can’t stand the scabby milk spots. 

[ArgentSmith]

2 hours ago, GoldDiggerDave said:

i’ve read a lot about the silver manufacturing process and it looks like the borax is not or can not be removed sufficiently from the process

Have read a few theories but always suspected it was acid residue from a pickle reacting with the silver, what makes you think it's borax, have you got a link?

Edited July 2, 2022 by ArgentSmith

[GoldDiggerDave]

21 minutes ago, ArgentSmith said:

Have read a few theories but always suspected it was acid residue from a pickle reacting with the silver, what makes you think it's borax, have you got a link?

Not to hand but if you google it i'm sure you will find it, there is a number of theories but all go down the line of some sort of chemical contaminant in with to process or storage or contact with PVC though this has been ruled out by many.  Found a good site explaining the process and one possible explanation where the crucibles are contaminated with borax and were being reused.   It's an interesting topic and if anyone came up with a solution to stop it happening they would be millionaires over night.  

Would be interesting to see if there is any difference in the composition of a milk spotted coin compared to a perfect silver coin.  

[kimchi]

2 hours ago, GoldDiggerDave said:

@kimchi I doubt it, but if they do I can deal with it.  It seams like the problem of milk spotting is getting worse I don’t know if this is coinciding with the world wide shortage of silver blanks that mints are suffering with.

I don't see that at all mate, unless you are talking further back I have seen no difference at all over the last seven or so years?

[Centauri167]

On 02/07/2022 at 17:47, Sybilla said:

Thank you, that is very helpful

Your welcome and if you are looking for a shop to buy, check out: www.goldsilver.be for the lowest prices on silver and gold.

[Sybilla]

14 hours ago, Centauri167 said:

Your welcome and if you are looking for a shop to buy, check out: www.goldsilver.be for the lowest prices on silver and gold.

They are cheap, but the reviews are bad... I never saw a webshop with so many customer complaints before.

[Centauri167]

On 06/07/2022 at 07:43, Sybilla said:

They are cheap, but the reviews are bad... I never saw a webshop with so many customer complaints before.

I am a customer with them since 2013, never had one problem. The deliveries only come very late in the evening but they always come and are in perfect condition.

[SilverSurferZA]

Apart from starting with the cheapest silver and all the rest, more to your question on looking for premium coins...

The best advise I can give you is to know the best prices in your country/city/area and look out for bargains on any/all bullion coins.  Kookaburras, Koalas, Pandas are al higher premium coins, but as they are more collectable due to different designs each year, their value seems to go up with time.  There are also key dates that you should look out for e.g. 2015 Panda was the last 1oz Panda (2016 onward only 30g), and not marked with content, fineness or weight.  

I like to collect series coins like the Queen's Beasts, Creatures of the North, Australia's Most Dangerous, Myths and Legends and many more.  If you get a good price on these collections, you should at least make a bit of money over time, if not making a nice profit selling to another collector.

Do not sell your bullion to a coin shop if they only pay spot. CRAZY! Get on forums like this, or local buy and sell trading platforms where you can buy and sell from like minded stackers and collectors.  I have never sold a coin for less than what I paid.

Watch out for crazy prices on Silver Eagles - they might be big in the US but here they are expensive, and you don't get your money back on them.