Milking on silver

[AaaGee]

Is there a silver bullet (pun not intended) to get rid of this blite on at least 10 of my coins? A mate of mine who stacks rang me the other day to say a load of his silver had suddenly been covered in milking in quite a big way. He lives in an old cottage that as lovely as it is has no real control of its own internal temperature + moisture in the air. Dont think it suffers from damp.

Anyway, i checked mine and at least 10 are now showing signs of milking too! Small but modern house. Temperature is stable(ish), 17-20°c average and no dampness.

Ive put the 10 affected coins to the side. Put the good coins in small sealable bags in sets of 5 with a brand new 1g silicone pack in each and put them into storage.

The affected  coins are now kept separate in sealed bags untill i can figure out what to do with them. Only a light hazing at this point. Anyone got a trick of the trade i xan do? Not a happy bunny!

Sorry about the poor pix, would have been better if they were taken in day light.

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by AaaGee

[SheepStacker]

Never tried it personally, they are bullion coins at the end of the day. Sucks that mints pump out such garbage. Used to be just Maple Leafs.

I don't recall Britannia 958 Silver ever milking.

[AaaGee]

Thanks. Ill give that a go 🙂

I know its just bullion but still annoying.

Just one of those things.

Does sudden changes in temperature or moisture in the air cause the milk spotting process to accelerate?

Am i wasting my time bagging my coins with silicone packs?

[Petra]

It’s a result of the process used when making the planchettes. Some of the stuff used to degrease them gets left on and during heating gets into the silver. It can come through as the spotting either in days or years. The conditions they are kept in are irrelevant. Can be removed in a variety of ways. I think some people use a pencil eraser. (Don’t quote me on that though🤔🫢)

Edited December 4, 2022 by Petra
Edit

[ArgentSmith]

2 hours ago, AaaGee said:

Is there a silver bullet (pun not intended) to get rid of this blite

Short answer no there isn't. You will permanently dull the coin and introduce unsightly micro scratches using a pencil eraser. Personally I would rather buy an honest coin with spots than cleaned coins but at the end of the day 999 fine silver CGT exempt bullion will always have a premium over spot

I appreciate a collector would be more concerned about milking than a stacker for obvious reasons.

17 minutes ago, Petra said:

Some of the stuff used to degrease them gets left on and during heating gets into the silver.

You could be right although milk spots being white look like acid damage to me perhaps the blanks are annealed and pickled before being struck, its just my theory if pickling solution isn't fully removed or neutralise it could become active again when exposed to any amount of humidity. 

[Petra]

7 minutes ago, ArgentSmith said:

Short answer no there isn't. You will permanently dull the coin and introduce unsightly micro scratches using a pencil eraser. Personally I would rather buy an honest coin with spots than cleaned coins but at the end of the day 999 fine silver CGT exempt bullion will always have a premium over spot

I appreciate a collector would be more concerned about milking than a stacker for obvious reasons.

You could be right although milk spots being white look like acid damage to me perhaps the blanks are annealed and pickled before being struck, its just my theory if pickling solution isn't fully removed or neutralise it could become active again when exposed to any amount of humidity. 

That’s the problem, after they de-grease and clean the blanks they are annealed and if any of the acid used is left on then it gets into the silver during the annealing process. Basically whatever you try and do, if there is any air present then it is enough to potentially start the milking. Maybe they should use fairy liquid instead of acid?

[Gordy]

1 hour ago, AaaGee said:

Thanks. Ill give that a go 🙂

I know its just bullion but still annoying.

Just one of those things.

Does sudden changes in temperature or moisture in the air cause the milk spotting process to accelerate?

Am i wasting my time bagging my coins with silicone packs?

depends on the coin and where the spots are, the kangaroo is an easy example due to the lines on it so using the eraser in a way that follows the lines reduces the visible damage, a coin which is proof like will have noticable marks from the eraser, if you try it, use it gently and get a good white eraser like a staedtler  

[Solachesis]

I've used the white rubber method, and I've used a silver cleaning cloth. I prefer the cloth. Coins look much better now, they are bullion, which I'm not going to grade so I don't care if there are micro scratches, they don't show up on the macro lense on my phone.

I wouldn't dream of doing it on a proof coin, or on a finish like a BU where there is a very reflective surface 

[Faiz]

On 04/12/2022 at 22:45, AaaGee said:

Thanks. Ill give that a go 🙂

I know its just bullion but still annoying.

Just one of those things.

Does sudden changes in temperature or moisture in the air cause the milk spotting process to accelerate?

Am i wasting my time bagging my coins with silicone packs?

I’ve tried all sorts to prevent it, with little success. Temperature control, moisture control, the lot. It used to be the maples, the Britannias are just as bad, if not worse than the maples at milking now. My queen beasts collection is also affected to some degree. I can’t stand the site of the stains. I personally would not use a mechanical method to remove the stains, the scratches left behind are even more unsightly, bullion or no bullion. Hard earned cash has gone into buying them, so there should be no excuse for such poor quality. I’ve moved over to gold. 

[HillWalkerDundee]

One day, they will invent something that will do the job

[Faiz]

On 26/12/2022 at 18:17, HillWalkerDundee said:

One day, they will invent something that will do the job

I look forward to that day.

[gji25]

i dont worry too much about silver bullion coins with milking as you dont really have to check if there real or not lol

[DrPoo]

Milk spotting I believe is Borax that is left behind on the surface from part of the manufacturing process. There are all kinds of theories flying about but personally I do not believe, air exposure, moisture over handling is the cause for milking as many would tell you is the cause.

I have some bars that are still completely sealed in factory plastic with no rips or holes and even they have milk spots.

I have experimented on cheap bullion the eraser method and also a silver polishing cloth, both worked but also both present their own issues. Eraser I found it left quite visible scratches, polishing cloth left less visible micro scratches. Basically you end up removing one defect only to add another defect to the coin. 

These are the only two methods I have tried, milk spots are annoying and ugly and if they bother you that much and its just bullion out of the two I would use the silver polishing cloth personally. If it's a proof coin don't touch it and just send it back.

I think the Canadian mint have improved on this issue recently, Royal Mint however are absolutely atrocious for milking in fact quite notorious for it. I got a tube of Brits recently and the amount of milking on them is disgusting! 

Edited January 6, 2023 by DrPoo

[arphethean]

Conservation or restoration by experts can remove milk spots without introducing new defects. I'm not sure what process they use. Some kind of alchemy using goats bladders and frogspawn I heard. This would be worth it for special, rare or proof silver coins worth £100 and up but not much help for normal bullion. Unfortunately it does affect saleability as people often like their coins to look good if they're paying any premium for it.