White Spots On PF 69 Slabbed Coin? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 3,976
sw3dish ch3f Valued Member Canada 89 Posts	Posted 12/29/2013 5:38 pm Hello, I'm not really a collector of slabbed coins so my knowledge in regards to grading is very limited. That said, I recently purchased an NGC slabbed numismatic coin on ebay that was graded PF69. When I received it, much to my surprise and discontent, I noticed white spots (milk spots?) on the surface of the coin as shown below. I'm guessing these formed after being slabbed otherwise it wouldn't have achieved a grade of 69. If 70 is flawless, 69 should be close. My question is in regards to slabbed fine silver coins, is this a common occurrence? I would've expected the slab coin holder to function like a coin capsule, protecting it from foreign substances. Wouldn't it be better to not grade numismatics at all? Once a coin is removed from its original capsule, it is exposed and vulnerable to damage. And with these spots, surely the grade would no longer be PF69. In your opinion, what should be the actual grade? Report this Post to the Staff

basebal21 Bedrock of the Community 13014 Posts	Posted 12/29/2013 5:55 pm Quote: My question is in regards to slabbed fine silver coins, is this a common occurrence? I would've expected the slab coin holder to function like a coin capsule, protecting it from foreign substances. It depends on the mint and the series for how common it is. The slab does act like a capsule and does protect from foreign substances, the problem with milk spots is they arent a foreign substance. Milk spots are the result of the washing/drying process the mints use on the plancets. If its not done right over time those milk spots form on the coins. Theres really no way to know its going to happen until it does which is what makes it so frustrating. Long story short its a problem with the minting process thats undetectable as of now. Canadian Maples are famous for this problem Report this Post to the Staff
denco7 Pillar of the Community United States 2543 Posts	Posted 12/29/2013 6:05 pm Unfortunately, while it is still considered an MS69 coin. The affected "eye appeal" will probably hurt it's resale value. I think that more and more the TPG's are not considering milk spots as a grade lowering defect. Report this Post to the Staff
basebal21 Bedrock of the Community 13014 Posts	Posted 12/29/2013 6:10 pm Quote: I think that more and more the TPG's are not considering milk spots as a grade lowering defect. PCGS and NGC do if its present during grading. Its just that it usually doesn't show up until after theyve graded it. I sent an ASE with some milk spots to PCGS in a batch just as an experiment and it got an MS 67 which is basically unheard of for those. Report this Post to the Staff
sw3dish ch3f Valued Member Canada 89 Posts	Posted 12/29/2013 6:25 pm Thanks for your replies guys. I've heard of the milk spot problem with Maples. I'm not aware of numismatic coins having the same problem though...not even RCM coins. Lesson learned. Always ask questions. These spots were visible in the auction pictures but I thought they were dust/dirt on the slab. It didn't occur to me the marks were on the coin because of the high grade Report this Post to the Staff
basebal21 Bedrock of the Community 13014 Posts	Posted 12/29/2013 6:49 pm SW they do seem to be more of a recent problem than in previous years. Not sure if they changed their process or not, but my theory is the increased bullion and product offers are making them sloppy and rush things out so we see this more. Report this Post to the Staff
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