Hi everyone, I recently bought a 1996 kookaburra and though it is the correct weight and size etc, and passed the magnet test, it was a little dirty so I washed it in hot soapy water. I noticed that there was a plastic-like fine coating on the coin that rubbed off in the warm water. Has anyone else come across this?
First off welcome to CT. Not too sure what you had on the kook but it sounds like it must have been exposure to the elements or somebody played with the round and greased it all up. I would be careful washing your silver, it rubs the premiums out of the coin and could lead to milk spots. People pay higher premiums for pristine specimens but not if there are scratches and milk spots.
Thanks, I’d heard that warm soapy water does no harm provided you were not being abrasive with the coins. The film was/is plastic-like and one can see the edges of what remains when some of it came off. Looks like it may have been intended to be protective. Very odd, never saw it before. Just wondered if anyone else had come across it.
Never ever wash your coins...I would not want to buy a coin that was supposed to be in a capsule from the mint after it was handled and washed...no good. Lets see a picture of your coin.
Sounds like it was dipped or sprayed with a clear acrylic. Did you check it for authenticity? Pics please...
You described it as "rubbing off". If you're using the word "rub" to describe something you're doing with a coin, you're doing it wrong. There are some things you can "soak" the coin in or "rinse" the coin with, but that's about it. I don't know about this particular coin, but some coins have a coating that is applied by the mint. It's not typically desirable to remove it in those cases. It makes the coin harder to conserve, as some chemicals will eat at the coating, but you can still soak them in distilled water.
Yes, it rubbed off because I rubbed at it after I saw part of it lift. I figured the coin value was pretty much melt at that point, or that it was not genuine. Interesting to know that some mints apply such a coating - does that include Perth mint? I can find nothing on the internet that indicates that they do so, or any mention of films applied to bullion coins generally.
"some coins have a coating that is applied by the mint." That's the first I have heard of that. Can you supply some fact based evidence to support that?
They do a lot of innovative type products, but I am not aware of any true bullion ones they do with a coating.
I have a bunch that are like that. The iron, steel, brass, nickel, and aluminum proof restrikes done by the Hungarian mint in the 1960s were all coated to prevent corrosion. I've heard of other special mint products that are similarly coated, but I don't have any examples.