The Royal Canadian Mint has been under fire for selling Silver Maples that have noticeable milk spots — attributed to the process of cleaning and preparing planchets.
The mint’s official position on the problem has basically been this:
Silver Maples are one ounce silver coins made primarily for investing, not collecting. The spots have been noted on the surface of the coins since their 1988 inception, and there is absolutely no way the RCM can fix the problem.
In short, we may all just have to live with it.
Presenting a periodic headache for dealers and investors who order the coins assuming they will be blemish-free, milk spots don’t seem to be a problem to most investors. After all, an ounce of silver is an ounce of silver, and folks generally purchase the coins for their metal content alone.
Yet while an ounce of metal may be an ounce of metal, there are many collectors concerned about the resale value of Silver Maples bearing the irksome spots. For instance, could they impact a coin’s grade?
According to the Professional Coin Grading Service — one of the world’s most trusted third party coin grading services — though milk spots are not technically considered an eye appeal problem, grade deductions are sometimes made for the spots, similar to other marks and hairlines.
In the end, while investors seem to be scratching their heads at the RCM’s seemingly blasé response to customer concerns, marketwide the consensus seems to be unanimous: Milk spots don’t present much of a threat to the value of your Canadian Silver Maples. And the coins continue to sell.
Should the RCM take a more active approach to fixing the milk spot problem on Silver Maples? Are you concerned that milk spots could impact the value of your coins?
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