Slabbed ASE's that develop milk spots

[TheMightyDuke]

ASE milk spotting was brought up in the 'ATS...Kool Aid' thread. While noone knows what causes it, and obviously noone can find a way to remove the spots, it seems to me that an improper rinse seems to be the consensus. Wouldnt an improper rinse spot no matter what type of storage the coin was in (I realize a storage area that is overly humid/moist can effect even slabbed coins, as slabs are not TOTALLY 100% water proof/air tight)? I have only a few ASE's now (had an MS69 set, but sold it off due to this very reason...spotting), an '86, '94, a complete Proof run, but not slabbed-all in mint packaging, and a dozen or so of the '06-W, a couple MS69 sets of the 20th Anniv set, and BOOM, immediately put them into the 'foodsaver' system.....and we all know about the spotting problem even the '06-W and the Reverse Proofs have.....not a spot on them. In those bags, sucking the air out of them, just stops the problem cold...and there is NO PVC in those bags ( I went to the top, well, the toppest I could get to, and spoke with the VP of sales and marketing, and was GUARANTEED there was no PVC used in the manufacture of the bags...I wouldnt just take some CSR's word for it, no more than I would take the word of a CSR at the mint). If it WERE caused by an improper rinse, wouldnt the coin STILL spot even AFTER the air was sucked out?

 

Those bags are water-tight, as I experimented on a few slabbed moderns from NGC, PCGS, and ICG. Again, wouldnt they still spot from an improper rinse in the slab in the vacuum bag? It cant be luck that they havent spotted....again, my '06 W's and the Rev Proofs (naturally, the DCAM's are spot free also) are nice and spot free, while many forumites ARE spotting...and we all know the spotting happened nearly overnight. So, COULD this disprove the improper rinse theory?? (yes, I agree, having to do this to every single coin you have would be a HUGE pain, not to mention removing the need for boxes...but where we are ONLY talking about ASE's....would it be a viable alternative, should a solution to remove spotting NOT be found?)

[James_OldeTowne]

Milk spots are not something new, and I don't think slabs per se are the culprit. Rather, my own pet theory is that residue on the coins reacts with fumes given off by plastic compounds to produce the spots. This can be seen by the fact that spots develop even in the mint's own plastic holders. So to me, the logical solution is two-fold: (1) dip coins in coin dip, followed by acetone, followed by a rinse in distilled water, and (2) avoid storage of the coins in a plasticized environment.

 

Please note that I don't have any first-hand evidence that this will work (I have never owned a drop of coin dip), but am basing this theory on what I've read of others' experiences.

[CHABSENTIA]

I don't know about this cure but I would concur that it sort of a Chemical reaction that produces them.

[GDJMSP]

While I can't prove any of this, I don't think that coin holders/slabs have anything to do with milk spot issue. The mint uses soaps, detergent to wash the planchets. It is believed that it is these soaps/detergents that cause the spotting. So why do some coins develop the spots and others don't ? Because some planchets get rinsed thoroughly and some don't. Those that don't have some of this detergent left on them and that's what causes the spots.