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 Replies: 10 / Views: 5,369 |
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New Member
United States
26 Posts |
So, I'm a new person to gold interested in bullion coins. And while I don't aspire to be a coin collector for the sake of rare coins or sets, I hope to buy a few gold coins in the future that look nice (Eagles. Maple Leafs, etc.) And I've been reading about brown spots which I don't suppose change the value of the bullion no matter how bad they are, but then who wants ugly coins?
Can someone tell me how widespread the problem is (in other words, if you were to purchase ten coins--or going back to your last ten coins), how many (gold) coins would you expect to collect brown spots over time?
I also understand that .999 gold is as liable to get brown spots as gold with 8% or so alloy mixed with it.
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
 To the Forum.  |
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New Member
 United States
26 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4409 Posts |
the brown spots are copper spots
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
.999 gold is extremely close to pure gold. Copper in this case is not present in sufficient proportions to give rise to spots due the the presence of copper.
I have only seen copper spots on MODERN NCLT proof gold, and never on pre 1932 gold bullion or circulation coins of .900 or 22ct gold (sovereigns etc.).
Perhaps copper in the alloy is not the cause of the problem and is some sort of surface staining, but I don't really know.
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Valued Member
United States
123 Posts |
Yeah that!
Maybe if you can show us pics, we could be more specific.
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CCF Advertiser
United States
1533 Posts |
US ciculating gold is 90% and it does get copper spots. They would dip right off if you want to do that, but the coins are probably better left as is.
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
 for bullion copper spots don't matter. For those with a numismatic value copper spots eliminate a lot of potential buyers. |
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Moderator
 United States
188197 Posts |
to the Community! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
I can't tell you what causes it, but I do know that such spots can develop over time after the coin has been slabbed. I bought a Baseball Hall of Fame gold proof last year from a reputable online dealer. The coin in the picture did not have the spot; the coin I received did. The images online matched exactly the coin I received except the spot -- I saw no evidence of re-slabbing (the label and alignment matched) nor of image manipulation (the hi-res image showed no sign of Photoshop). I have to think the coin just sat in inventory for so long and they didn't notice or take a new picture by the time I bought it. I returned it for a refund, was handled very professionally. Seller's image (with my highlight):  What I received:  I still have a 2007 gold Buffalo proof that has some slight red staining in the hair on the obverse. It's not as blatant as the spot on the baseball piece; it's more like a light smear, noticeable under magnification. Since this is a bullion piece, it doesn't seem like it would be caused by copper in the alloy. More likely, it's caused by something inside the slab (oily fingerprint? excess moisture?) and developed over time as with the baseball piece. |
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Valued Member
United States
142 Posts |
I have spots on my gold queens beast. It started as a micro dot.
A year later it increased in size. My spot is more red than brown.
Is there not a safe way to remove them? I know PCGS has a recovery system where they remove it completely some how.
I've seen some vids on you tube where peeps send in their coin and they got removed and they were all over the coin.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 5,369 |
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Posted 11/02/2017 9:11 pm
