Milkspotting on silver coins?

[magneto]

I've got some serious milk spotting going on on some of the coins I've got. The most severely affected category of coins is probably the maple leaves (without surprises here).

I've tried rubbering but the new radial design of the maple leaves make it difficult to get rid of it completely. I'm also concerned that the abrasion from that will make the coin's surface appear inconsistent (I know it's bullion, but I've got some higher end collectible stuff that has milkspotting as well).

My question is, does anyone have recommendations for a chemical cleaner that is able to get rid of these spots, or would they only be rid with an eraser?

Cheers

[krogothmanhattan]

https://coinweek.com/education/coin-grading/ngc/coin-analyst-collectors-crying-milk-spotted-american-silver-eagles/

https://www.numismaticnews.net/article/milk-spots-on-silver-coins-may-be-removable

[Mr.Ease]

Watching this as milkspotting is something i have on some coins and didnt know you could remove it..

Please provide updates on what you find works

[The Sceptical Chymist]

My question is, does anyone have recommendations for a chemical cleaner that is able to get rid of these spots, or would they only be rid with an eraser?

I used to be into coin collecting before I got into crypto, and one of the things I learned was that Canadian silver is notorious for those milk spots, even though they can happen on any silver coin.  They can also have formed by the time you receive a new coin or way after.  If you're going to resell your coin, I wouldn't recommend cleaning it at all.  I've got a few coins with spots and while they're ugly, I can live with them (and they're also all on Canadian coins, too).

You might check out other forums like Cointalk, which have very good information about issues just like this one.  I know there are coin collectors here and you might get good answers, but it couldn't hurt to visit a forum dedicated to coins (if you haven't already).  

And by the way, as much as I'd read about milk spots I never did learn why they seem to affect Canada's output so much more so than other countries.  I assume the planchets and striking method are the same, but maybe it's the dies....?

Edit:

<snip>

Doh!  Didn't read far enough into this thread, as usual.  Good links.

[JUPITYR]

If you want to get rid of the milkspotting, I would suggest sending them to NGC and have them treat the coins.  Especially if they are valuable.  They have a process for removing surface blemishes without harming the coin or affecting the grade.

[Agrawas]

Never heard of NGC treating the silver coins, but maybe they do..

Well maples are the only coins that are officially minted by a govt. mint that have these milk spot issues. Frankly speaking once the milk spots comes it is what it is, sell it or keep it unless u really think there is a big collector value in a particular coin which i highly doubt.

Going back to the basics of collecting, not suppose to clean any coins, and even if u do make sure it’s professionally done, otherwise u might see scratches or further toning with the cleaning process

[JUPITYR]

Meh....just read on their site that they cannot remove white milk spots.  Just hazing and other types of tarnish.

[Lesbian Cow]

Couple of thoughts:

1.  The best way to avoid milkspotty silver is to not buy coins from the  Royal Canadian Mint.  Their designs are great, but they have had this problem for some time and do not seem to care to correct it.  It is not just the bullion maple leafs but also on their semi-numi stuff which really sucks.  If you really like an RCM design get it in gold or platinum.  Maples are gorgeous in both Plat and Gold.

2.  All mints have had some struggle with this issue.  Perth mint had an issue in the 2013-2015 time period.  I believe they determined the source was a detergent in the planchet cleaning process so they added another rinse prior to striking.   I have handled quite a few ASEs, Pandas, and Libertads and it happens but quite rare, maybe 1 in 500 coins.  UK Britanias have a bad reputation for spotting as do the Somalia Elephants, I avoid both for that reason.

3.  Physical crypto coins - only a few I can think of:  Denarium (2017?) and the 10 oz NastyFans coin.

4.  No cleaning method exists that will not further damage the coin (the abrasions you mentioned/hairline scratches).  NGC and PCGS offer "conservation" but that mostly deals with PVC contamination or similar.  

5.  Spotted silver is worth spot.

edit to add: Austria Phils have a reputation of terrible milk spotting.

[magneto]

Couple of thoughts:

1.  The best way to avoid milkspotty silver is to not buy coins from the  Royal Canadian Mint.  Their designs are great, but they have had this problem for some time and do not seem to care to correct it.  It is not just the bullion maple leafs but also on their semi-numi stuff which really sucks.  If you really like an RCM design get it in gold or platinum.  Maples are gorgeous in both Plat and Gold.

2.  All mints have had some struggle with this issue.  Perth mint had an issue in the 2013-2015 time period.  I believe they determined the source was a detergent in the planchet cleaning process so they added another rinse prior to striking.   I have handled quite a few ASEs, Pandas, and Libertads and it happens but quite rare, maybe 1 in 500 coins.  UK Britanias have a bad reputation for spotting as do the Somalia Elephants, I avoid both for that reason.

3.  Physical crypto coins - only a few I can think of:  Denarium (2017?) and the 10 oz NastyFans coin.

4.  No cleaning method exists that will not further damage the coin (the abrasions you mentioned/hairline scratches).  NGC and PCGS offer "conservation" but that mostly deals with PVC contamination or similar.  

5.  Spotted silver is worth spot.

edit to add: Austria Phils have a reputation of terrible milk spotting.

I've got several Australian silver kangaroos that have spotted as well, although nowhere near the magnitude of what I see on royal Canadian mint products. As a result, I'm probably not going to go back to by any of their products (even though it seems like they may have fixed the issue).

If it's true that abrasions are going to be necessary in obtaining cleaning, then I might just leave it as-is. I hate hairlines more than milk spots, lol.

[Lesbian Cow]

The Royal Australia Mint and the Perth Mint are not the same place.  RAM is in Canberra.   I have heard the Kangaroos out of Royal Australia Mint spot horribly.  That said, they are a bullion coin, buck or two over spot, unlike the Perth stuff which is usually 4-5 bucks over spot.

[magneto]

The Royal Australia Mint and the Perth Mint are not the same place.  RAM is in Canberra.   I have heard the Kangaroos out of Royal Australia Mint spot horribly.  That said, they are a bullion coin, buck or two over spot, unlike the Perth stuff which is usually 4-5 bucks over spot.

Really? I always thought that perth mint minted these coins. Guess I learn something new even though I'm aussie.

I actually had bought the kangaroos and the maple leaves which both started spotting from the same dealer. I called back because both of them were supposed to be advertised as BU. The dealer said that he'd be happy to replace the kangaroos, but not the maples, since the maples were random year BUs.

Of course, I never ended up replacing since I had to cover the cost of shipping both ways. Unfeasible for such a small amount