World Coin member dabbling in bullion-stung today

Went to see my 'children' at the bank today my MS68's have developed the white spots of death whilst my MS70's look just as good
as when they were tucked away about 8 months ago (Pandas). So do the lower grades get milk spots and the MS70 not?


Also, I have quite a quantity of Silver Maples and have seen some dreadful selling prices on e-bay of late. What should my time frame be, crystal balls and
all that with some tubes? Just keep an eye on the market or should I be expecting 6 months or year before things pick up??



Thanks.......Marbury518

 

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No comment on the prices, but I dont think those milk spots are dependent on grades. I'd suggest getting some Gelatin packs to put in your deposit box along with your coins to prevent any more damage that may be caused by humidity changes.

 

so sonically sealed PCGS slabs are affected by humidity?

 

Time is about the only thing that can't be accurately gauged. Just about anything can end up being true on a long enough timeline. My method for attempting to predict future price moves is based on events. If one or some of these things happen, I expect the price to skyrocket shortly thereafter (but not immediately). If none of these things happen then we may have seen the top already.

- QE3
- Futures market implodes
- Available silver hits a shortage
- US Dollar loses world reserve currency status
- US Debt ceiling is not raised in time to pay obligations

As for the milk spots. Some of my coins have seemed to develop them when they initially didn't have any. I don't think humidity can cause them, but merely accentuate them. I'm not positive though. I would be very surprised if a sonically sealed coin developed them all by itself.

 

Those slabs are not air tight so humidity and other atmospheric conditions effects them the same as a non-slabbed coin.
Guy

 

I thought milk spots were caused by improperly cleaned planchettes or exposure to some foreign airborne chemicals before
being and/or after punched by the dies. Therefore no matter what we collectors do they are going to appear regardless
of being kept in a vacuumed air tight himidity controlled environment.

 

It is a shame because when I bought theses Pandas they were OK....got them slabbed by PCGS....popped them in safety deposit box at bank and now have very high grade Pandas which look terrible because of mildew looking white spots. Been unloading them at a loss. I have put some cilica gel packs in my box just in case it helps.

 

IMO i would never buy slabbed bullions' for a high premium it doesn't make sense these are modern coins with mintage in tens of thousands with very little chance of any getting melted or lost in next couple decades. In fact i even busted a few slabs to take few coins out so it is easier to store in my albums and I throw my bullions' and comm. coins into an airtite and that has kept them safe.

 

Yes I agree to some extent but when it comes to Pandas there is a big market for MS69's and the MS70's go very well indeed.

 

Do you have any photos? I'd be interested in seeing what this looks like. Thanks in advance.

 

The milk spots show up as a result from the borax on the coin reacting to the air/humidity. The mints use borax as part of their process for minting and die polishing. You see them on all bullion, but you see them more on the maple leafs coming from the Royal Canadian Mint. It's drier up there in Ottowa, so in the process of shipping do they show up due to the constant temperature changes and humidity en route (ground & air).

 

Yes it due to condensation but a slab should be shut air tite and it should not be happening in a post slabbed coin?

 

Yes, you are absolutely correct. While the respective mints don't ship these coins slabbed from their facilities, they do get transported long before they are submitted to TPG's anyways. And often times, the milk spots don't show their ugly heads until months after they have been slabbed. Think of it as someone being trapped in a biosphere along with an airborne strain of the flu. Everybody inside will become infected, same with a coin that has already been affected by some sort of elements will both become trapped inside a slab. Hope my analogy is fairly clear.

 

I had the pandas for a few months, then got them slabbed, then 6 months later the spots appeared. You can see two large and two small on
this example. As for Maples, I got a tube of 25 arrive and I would almost say they were soaking wet when I opened the tube. A glaze or sheen of
water vapour was very visible. Anyway, I avoid ordinary bullion Pandas and only deal in proofs or key dates and move them on quick. I
have silica gel packets in my safe deposit box and hope that nothing happens to the 26 1 oz Maples I have sitting there long term.