Milk Spot Removal Experiments #1 and #2

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

85% of Silver Dollars have been cleaned, probably multiple times. Vann Allen published the book on cleaning Morgans in 1976. Every Collector read the book and did what it said, "Every Morgan Must Be Cleaned" I have the book and I have the 1998 edition to. It says over Toned coins should be reduced until variations can be seen. So if you think you have a coin that has never been cleaned I got a Bridge to sell you.

[@budgetstacker]

Interesting. I hadn't hear of that book.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker It is called, The Catalog and Encyclopedia of US Morgan and Peace Silver Dollars.

[@rocksolid6494]

Good thing Liberty is not part of the Me Too movement, because otherwise she may get upset about microabrasions, or microaggressions.

[@budgetstacker]

LOL!! That’s not the way lady Liberty rolls, for sure!

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

Maybe add a little perchloroethylene to the eraser

[@budgetstacker]

Another intestine idea.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker Got fingernail polish remover, gun bore cleaner or Dry Cleaning Fluid.

[@crazyasieverwas]

Baking soda, warm water and tin foil. Can NOT beat it

[@budgetstacker]

Thanks for that tip. I’ll include it on the list of things to check on, but do you mean aluminum foil, or is tin really involved?

[@crazyasieverwas]

@@budgetstacker take aluminum foil and place a sheet in a bowl. Add a little baking soda then add your metal the cover it with more soda. Add warm water and fold the foil over. The soda and aluminum foil in warm water and soda does something and then only takes a very light rub , rinse with cold water and your metal will look as good as new. Let it sit for like 15 min before the rinse. I’ve cleaned VERY tarnished rounds back to new like this. Or you can just flip your metal over. Main thing is contact with the baking soda and warm water. The foil is just a reaction of some kind that makes it work

[@flogrownhomeslice2955]

That cloth looks like a pretty good thing to use.

[@budgetstacker]

It is! It will leave minute micro abrasions but I was still happier to have the end result than the milk spotted coin I had before I used it.

[@silversharkc4666]

I actually took some KZbin advice on using fine polish very gently on my very spotted Britts (41). The end result was back to life magnificent coins and honestly even with a 20 power scope, did not see scratches.

[@budgetstacker]

Great. What polish did you use? Do they still have that cart wheel luster? In the end, better to have milk spot free beautiful bullion, but we shouldn’t have to fix the defect in the first place.

[@silversharkc4666]

@@budgetstacker It's called Mothers Mag & Aluminum

[@dontask8979]

Its my understanding that they are basically like water spots. Cleaner rinse and jetdry required

[@budgetstacker]

Funny you should mention jetdry as my wife has a mixture she uses with that to clean jewelry. I’ll try it too. Thanks.

[@damiansullivan9728]

Milk stains are caused by excessive borax used to clean the dies, milk spots can be removed with a soft gel art eraser

[@budgetstacker]

I’ll see if I can pick up some soft gel erasers to give those a try. My eraser used in this experiment wasn’t that soft. Thanks for the tip.

[@damiansullivan9728]

@@budgetstacker I received some rounds that had some milk stains around the edges, did a bit of research into the cause and how to remove it, there were several options, the eraser method seemed more reasonable, the softer the eraser the better

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

There is something called Basining Polish done to the Die at the Mint. I can see, in that spot, The Basining is Gone!. You can not put it back on without a 150 tom Press.

[@budgetstacker]

:( That spot will have to remain the way it is then.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

you might try this cover with toothpaste and very lightly rub with fingers, then let it sit and soak in, then rinse it off under the faucet, then wash and dry with dish soap. Repeat as needed. Lightly buff with Red Rouge Jewelers Silver Polish on a Soft Cloth.

[@budgetstacker]

I'll try this one.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

Welp I guess I am going to have to buy one of these and see if Red Rouge Silver Polish on a soft cloth will fix it.

[@budgetstacker]

Good luck.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker TY

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

I would not use those random polish strokes. I think I would use a Cartwheel Polish Stoke over all the fields of the coin. Every stroke goes from the outside of the coin directly to the center of the coin, all the way around. then lightly buff the images with Silver Polish.

[@budgetstacker]

I have a few more of these to do, so I'll keep that technique in mind.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

Oh Boy The Coin Dealers are going to Hate You LMAO

[@budgetstacker]

Luckily I never show my face, so they won't recognize me. ;)

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker The first time I met my LCD he chewed me out. The second time I met my LCD I made him laugh twice LOL

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

I have a video on how Luster is put on the Die, there are different types of Luster, Like Mat, Satin, Reeded, Gloss and so-on, If someone says it is a deep mirror coin, what just means Gloss. If you gloss a coin pcgs calls it "Grossly"

[@budgetstacker]

I'll have to check out your video! Sounds like you really did your research.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker I'll take any written information I can find

[@piecesofeight]

I understand that the milkspotting is from residual borax from the smelting process that is 'baked on/into the surface of the planchets prior to minting. The borax collects any impurities as a slag. The Mintshield nano-coating, if present, is obviously a barrier that must be removed to get at the milkspotting. No info on the Mintshield coating being added before or after the annealing process. It's unfortunate that milkspotting reduces the value of a coin but...................................life happens.

[@budgetstacker]

I don’t think the Royal Canadian Mint is going to spill the beans on their MintShield technology but I sure wish they’d license it out to Great Britain’s Royal Mint as it would be nice to have Brittannias without milk spots.

[@piecesofeight]

@@budgetstacker I concur. I really like the design and reverse proof-like finish, and I'm really pissed-off.

[@troyshore3357]

What would happen if soaked in denture tabs ??

[@budgetstacker]

Hmmm,… perhaps the solution to milk 🥛 spotting. You never know. Sometimes it just takes the right experiment to find the answer.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

Boot Conditioner. It keeps humidity off the coin just like it keeps it off your Boots. No humidity no chemical reactions.

[@budgetstacker]

Interesting. Not sure I've seen this for sale, but Amazon has everything, so maybe there.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker KIWI Shoe Conditioner, it's been around forever

[@williamtell2053]

Why would you remove milkspots they show that it's silver

[@budgetstacker]

Some people have mentioned that positive factor of milk spotting, but none spotted silver does seem to fetch a bit more and sure is a lot prettier. Good point to bring up though as that is a positive factor for milk spots.

[@williamtell2053]

@@budgetstacker I actually buy it when it has milkspots because it is a investment so it won't matter in twenty years

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

if it has brown the surface has been exposed to pH's below 7

[@budgetstacker]

Interesting. Hard to know what these all have been exposed to for these many years, but that's a good clue.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker I don't think it is caustic

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

That is not a Cartwheel. Compare it to a Mint State Morgan and you will see it is not a Cartwheel. Peace Dollars Do Not Have Fluted Rims and Reeded Basining. They have Satin Rims and Satin Basining.

[@budgetstacker]

Sounds like you know your coins. I'm still learning as there is a lot to learn.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker I try my best

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

You have micro abrasions. Stop Pressing So Hard On The Cloth.

[@budgetstacker]

Honestly, that method wasn't really doing anything with the polishing cloth without my putting some force on it. Not the best method, although it had some general success with getting the milk spots off, but not the perfect method at all.

[@TobaccoRowe1960]

@@budgetstacker Just keep in mind that the harder and slower you push the more likely it is to pernitrate deep into the metal. You want only enough pressure and a high enough velocity to break the Salts..