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Help Needed. Did I Ruin My Silver Round?

Wolf-Dog

Elite Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
6,344
Location
Minnesota, USA
I have 2 silver rounds (not found MDing) that I stored in plastic coin-containers. One of them looks completely fine, but the other one isn't looking so good. I believe moisture may have gotten into the container when I closed it, and it looks like it is tarnished now.

Any ideas on what might have happened to it and how to safely clean it without further damaging the coin?

All input is appreciated, thanks, and God bless.

Pics of the damaged silver round:

Buffalo Silver Round Obverse (Resized).jpg

Buffalo Silver Round - Reverse (Resized).jpg
 
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There is no numismatic value in a generic bullion "coin". It has silver value only. While Eagle bullion coins are one Troy ounce, they do have a monetary value, and are issued by the US Mint, similar to the Canada Maple Leaf series, or the Chinese Panda series.
 
Was it a PVC flip? I bought a bunch of those buffalo rounds and they came in PVC so I moved them into a tube like the eagles come in. I personally don't clean my bullion since it only serves one purpose, hut it's hard to go wrong with the old soda slurry on something like this.
 
it's still one ounce of silver. I wouldn't worry about condition. People who invest in bullion coins end up selling at spot and losing their premium anyway or it get damaged and their getting cull prices.
 
Since others already covered the value aspect, let me be the first to say, you did nothing wrong. What you see are common. The front side, those spots are called "milk spots" and its a result of minting. nothing you can do to prevent. The other side pictured is natural oxidation called "toning". Coins tone differently based on minting, handling, storing, etc. A beautiful "rainbow toning" can actually improve the value of a rare MS coin (although that doesnt apply here)
 
Connoisseur’s silver jewelry dip works excellent at removing tarnish. Non-abrasive. I dipped a few 90% Kennedy halves, worth spot, and they came out looking BU. It can be found at a retailer that rhymes with ‘Harget’.
 
It’s recommended not to use pvc flips in the world of numismatics. Only use them for short term.

Best options are the cardboard squares or hard plastic tubes. The pvc breaks down under heat and light. Which can ruin coins.

Toning on the other hand can be beautiful and add value if it’s pretty. Toning is usually caused by sulphur in materials.


Bounty hunter - treasure hunter - cabelas
Best find to date - 15g platinum ring
 
Since it's not a "real" coin, there's no numinastic value...I'd use tarn-x
Thanks for your input. :D

Thanks for suggesting this. It was the first method that came to my mind when I saw it was getting worse, but I wasn't sure if it was a good method.

There is no numismatic value in a generic bullion "coin". It has silver value only. While Eagle bullion coins are one Troy ounce, they do have a monetary value, and are issued by the US Mint, similar to the Canada Maple Leaf series, or the Chinese Panda series.
Thanks for that info. :D I knew the government minted ones had a numismatic value and I wasn't sure exactly what value generic ones had. :D

Do not use tarnex, leaves a dull finish..

<°)))>{
Thanks for your input. :D

Was it a PVC flip? I bought a bunch of those buffalo rounds and they came in PVC so I moved them into a tube like the eagles come in. I personally don't clean my bullion since it only serves one purpose, hut it's hard to go wrong with the old soda slurry on something like this.
It came in a PVC flip but after about 2 days I bought these to put them in:

it's still one ounce of silver. I wouldn't worry about condition. People who invest in bullion coins end up selling at spot and losing their premium anyway or it get damaged and their getting cull prices.
Thanks for your imput. :D I'm not collecting these to sell so I basically just want to look at a nice round. Otherwise I probably wouldn't clean them.

Since others already covered the value aspect, let me be the first to say, you did nothing wrong. What you see are common. The front side, those spots are called "milk spots" and its a result of minting. nothing you can do to prevent. The other side pictured is natural oxidation called "toning". Coins tone differently based on minting, handling, storing, etc. A beautiful "rainbow toning" can actually improve the value of a rare MS coin (although that doesnt apply here)
Thanks. I'm glad that it wasn't my fault, I tried my best to take good care of it and it just wouldn't behave. :lol: I didn't know that about toning though, interesting. :yes:

Wet it and dip it in baking soda and rub it with your fingers. It will clean the tarnish off easily.
Thanks for the suggestion, similar to what DIGGER27 recommended. :D

Connoisseur’s silver jewelry dip works excellent at removing tarnish. Non-abrasive. I dipped a few 90% Kennedy halves, worth spot, and they came out looking BU. It can be found at a retailer that rhymes with ‘Harget’.
Thanks amc. :D

It’s recommended not to use pvc flips in the world of numismatics. Only use them for short term.

Best options are the cardboard squares or hard plastic tubes. The pvc breaks down under heat and light. Which can ruin coins.

Toning on the other hand can be beautiful and add value if it’s pretty. Toning is usually caused by sulphur in materials.
Thanks LOS3R. :D Like I said to Oldsjunkie, I only had them in the PVC flips they came in for about 2 days until I could go get some capsules to put them in. :D

Thanks everyone, I have decided to try the DIGGER27/Chipk method. I will do it when I get a chance and post pics of how it looks. If it doesn't work well, I'll probably try more methods. ;)
 
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Yes, ‘milk spots’ as someone mentioned, something to do with them not being rinsed properly before annealing I believe. Canadian 1oz silver maples are notorious for this. I have a tube of them around here somewhere that are very ‘milky’
 
The milk spots are from the acid bath, all plankets sp? go through. They are then rinsed in batches which cause them to not be properly cleaned.

I always clean my silver bullion in a quick 90% alcohol rinse. Don’t use 40% or it will leave the same mess.


Bounty hunter - treasure hunter - cabelas
Best find to date - 15g platinum ring
 
Yes, ‘milk spots’ as someone mentioned, something to do with them not being rinsed properly before annealing I believe. Canadian 1oz silver maples are notorious for this. I have a tube of them around here somewhere that are very ‘milky’
The milk spots are from the acid bath, all plankets sp? go through. They are then rinsed in batches which cause them to not be properly cleaned.

I always clean my silver bullion in a quick 90% alcohol rinse. Don’t use 40% or it will leave the same mess.

Interesting info, thanks Saoirse and LOS3R. :D

--- Update ---

Yesterday evening I cleaned my silver round with boiling water and baking soda and I am very pleased with how it turned out. :clap: It even took off the "milk spots"! :woot:

Buffalo Silver Round - Cleaned - Obverse (Resized).jpg
Buffalo Silver Round - Cleaned - Reverse (Resized).jpg

If interested in the steps I did, here they are, it only took about 15 minutes counting prep time.

Step 1.
Start boiling 2-3 cups water

Step 2.
Line a pan with aluminum foil & add in enough baking soda to cover a small area, about an inch bigger on all sides of what you will be cleaning.

Step 3.
Put your silver into the middle of your baking soda.

Step 4.
Add more baking soda, enough to cover your silver so it can't be seen.

Step 5.
Pour in the water after it comes to a boil. (If the baking soda on top of your silver washes off, you can put some more back on top of it.)

Step 6.
Wait 5 minutes. Then, using latex/rubber gloves, gently scrub the silver with the baking soda for 3-5 minutes. About every minute, dip back into the mixture of boiling water & baking soda to rinse it.

Step 7.
When you are satisfied with how it turned out, take off your gloves and wash silver under cold water for a couple minutes. (Taking gloves off help to not let more baking soda get on when you wash it, washing it takes off the baking soda so it doesn't leave a stain, & the cold water cools it off.

Tip: Use tongs to take your silver out of the mixture, as silver quickly gets very hot.
 
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