Expert: Dan Moore - 12/10/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello.  I've run across a few 2008-2009 $50 gold buffalo coins that seem to have maybe 1/16" dark spots under the mint wrapper.  One or two spots per coin.  These aren't brown rust spots, but are black and seem to be above the surface of the coin.  Is this "normal" and just crud from the mint?  I thought by getting the coins in the sealed mint wrapper I'd be getting more pristine coins.  I'm buying these as bullion coins but am wondering if I should be complaining about these defects and whether they will come back to haunt me when I go to sell them.

Thanks.

ANSWER: Sam,

Welcome to the world of poor quality control at the U.S. Mint.  It's almost certainly crud from somebody running the machine that seals the coins.

Try tapping the package edgewise to see if the crud moves.  If so, try to tap it off the edge of the coin -- then it should not be a problem.

If you can't get it to move off, then you can try complaining to the mint, but I don't know if they have any coins left to exchange with you.

So, your alternatives may be :

1) find a dealer who would exchange them for spot-free coins (this will probably cost you a few dollars)

2) take them out of the package and either put them into a different package or clean out the crud and put the coin back in.

3) keep the coins in the mint packaging, cross your fingers, and check the coins every six months or so to see if they do any color change.

To tell you the truth, the soft plastic these bullion coins are sealed in is not really safe for the coins anyhow.  It contains PVC's that can react with the metal in the coins, causing a green slime and corroding into the surface over time.  So you may want to consider taking the coins out of that plastic anyhow and maybe putting them into a hard plastic holder (like an air-tight).  While there is a $5-$10 premium for them being sealed in the mint plastic, if over time your coins turn green then you will end up losing a big premium because of that.

I hope this helps,

Dan


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the quick and informative answer.  I took them out of the sheets and everything except one spot came off with the plastic.  The remaining spot looks like a pit now (possibly the gold is soft enough that the speck of dirt made an impression?).  The dealer tells me they just pass them along from the mint so on bullion they can't exchange for defects.  Anything rated for quality they would warranty and exchange.  And I don't see that the mint does much beyond warrantying the gold content.  This sound reasonable and I should just put them away and not worry about it until I sell it?  This must be why I like Maple Leafs.

Thanks

Answer
Hi Sam,

Yes they are considered to be just bullion coins, so they are only waranteed for the gold content.

When you do go to sell it, most likely whomever buys them is not going to be worried much about the appearance -- just the gold content.  So I wouldn't worry too much about appearances.  Just put them in an airtight or a tube and store them in a safe place.

Glad to help,

Dan