US Mint packaging ruining coins
safari_dude
Posts: 725 ✭✭✭✭✭
So I was going through a few recent US Mint purchases and decided to unbox them and see how they looked. I was taken aback that literally 60% of the coins in ALL my 2025/2026 proof and US Mint sets were milky and turning white. (They are in a climate controlled area and no other sets from previous years looked like this). Unfortunately, returning them at this stage is not possible. I have to say I am beyond disappointed that this is the garbage the mint is putting out….and I’m being nice with my words. I recently ordered a 2026 set of 70 Ultra Cam ASE's from a company I buy a lot of coins from that developed bad milk spots within a month after I received them. They were as shocked as I was when I sent them photos, and luckily were able to replace them. Is anyone else having or noticing this issue? 
Comments
This seems to be ongoing for quite some time and it also seems to be hit or miss.
I checked all four sets in this order and almost half the coins are developing the hazy/milky look. Very upsetting when this issue was considered one of the ‘sets to have’ due to the cent.
Time heals all wounds. Or, as I once read in a cobbler shop : “Time wounds all heels”.
Practice makes perfect & nobody is perfect. So, practice being nobody and be perfect !
In this case it just makes the wounds worse….😩
That Proof eagle is probably rather valuable today.
Coin Photography
Well I’d think, with my history at PCGS, it would be tossed in a genuine holder and labeled not gradeable, due to questionable color.
Practice makes perfect & nobody is perfect. So, practice being nobody and be perfect !
I tend to agree with you. Just submitted five coins from different dealers (known brick and mortar shops with good reputations)…and ALL five coins were labeled as cleaned or questionable color. Seems this is getting to be the norm……😒
Been there. Had a 1962 cent from a Proof set come back at QC despite having the same tone a ton of the original ones from those sets have. Still in the QC holder.
Coin Photography
And this is an example, my compatriots, of why I don’t pay for graded silver coins from the Mint unless they’re close to spot.
A PCGS70 with crippling spots will be worth under spot.
And SafariDude, that is a pretty stellar response from the company that was willing to replace spotted 70 Coins, given that it wasn’t their problem or fault.
I agree 100%! I have a great relationship with them and they have always treated me well! 😉
That eagle is likely worth as much as the rest of the set. That's a good one. Almost a blueberry.
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What is the typical humidity in your area and where they are stored ?
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Hi Dan,
They are stored in a safe with desiccant packs. I live in southern FL and the AC is kept at 74 degrees. My wife doesn’t like humidity so the air is always on. I checked quite a few other of my other proof sets/coins/slabs and the 2025/2026 dated ones are the only sets experiencing this……
I sent back 5 of 6 Silver Proof Sets. Looked like hazy dried cleaning fluids on 1c and $ planchets pre strike & suction cup swirl on mirrored fields on silvers. Due to this all clad sets got deleted last week. My last returns, scuffs on cheeks of reverse proof morgans and peace took 10 weeks to credit. Called and nice lady said they were running a bit over 3 months processing returns this year.
ENORMOUS linky shows how automated proof production is now:
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https://abc7news.com/19910627/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAcGRvZgVicmlkETFoRW5hMXRabkVvUUVTSFhrc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHk1Ew0B3eCaNI-kpMdz_MtzOm1UW_tA0iHpa8ObJaxF-mx-zW1vhOfbO0PSS_aem_9JyJoigfGEnJRUEuipIJ3Q&h=AUC6BD3akR50lfd4Tp7uBKqFhV6DsPlJGmy_ernzKb28_hmqolEHd5805gncoNJtsFoY-S5vSKonTyQroOwcXnPV8h6eHk3q7U0tPkjfePnJirlY6f2aBs7xJksIBiI4B_MDx5gU9Aod5Tdc9VD5rdR7QZEJ3-UJkHsjqg&tn=-UK-y-R&c[0]=AUCtmp7FxXs3AJiCjLXlvLt0NwlN2VURaTfNSEsuQKyXW9RuCUiEfFpv49HG9rJP9Q-kW_MOB9T2fLcm4P2E9cQ6F75DgIJwssSFl5eObaaWxf85_So5DCW-DBP2_GRalhL4YkZECVD7kP-FUVGrR_llzSNMkUOADKzxGUY6ptqQaLFqrCaFmAhqCLMSxjj-4970Ryn5HMrZ8N4F5dFJ06tudn0lG_49j-W9u7qiOs0dsAoN-Q
Thought I was the only one.
When the Statehood quarters debuted in 1999, our coin shop ordered a box of 100 sets for store inventory, expecting large demand. When we got the box, we opened a few sets and noticed that on some of them the Cent had a small ring of toning in the center of the reverse. We checked the entire case and found that at least two-thirds of the cents had this toning ring.
I did some digging and found out that in that year the Mint had begun using machine to package the sets. The sets were assembled face down, with a suction tube picking up each coin and placing it into the correct spot in the insert. How it aligned the obverse upright I never learned.
To protect the coin from the end of the suction tube, there was a soft ring of some substance capping the end of the tube, with a hole in the center for the suction. Don't know if it was rubber or silicone or what. The important thing was that it left a light film of something on the reverse of the coins, which quickly toned the ring where the coin had been touched. Eventually the problem went away, but not before many sets were affected.
TD