SOLVING the SILVER BULLION WHITE SPOT PROBLEM White Spots on Silver Bullion Coins Have Been a Known Issue in the Global Bullion Market for Years
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SOLVING THE SILVER BULLION WHITE SPOT PROBLEM White spots on silver bullion coins have been a known issue in the global bullion market for years. While white spots do not change the purity or composition of bullion coins, investors have expressed concerns about their impact on the coins’ aesthetic quality — a fact that presented a challenge for the R&D and engineering teams at the Royal Canadian Mint. Determined to get to the bottom of the elusive white spot problem, the Mint engaged in a four-year process of research and exploration that culminated in 2018 with the announcement of MINTSHIELDTM MINTSHIELD™ surface protection, the first proven, proprietary solution for signifi- SURFACE PROTECTION cantly reducing the occurrence of white spots. HIGH-TECH DETECTIVE WORK reacts with contaminants in processing, fit with what we already do while delivering White spotting is not like tarnishing or oth- handling and storage. While this makes on quality and manufacturing efficiencies.” er oxidation phenomena. Its appearance it challenging to come up with a single, is unpredictable and irregular. The Mint’s definitive solution to the issue, by the end BULLION REDEFINED engineering team knew the first order of of its intensive investigation, the Mint be- All Silver Maple Leaf bullion coins dated business was to identify the root cause of lieved it had identified a way to reduce and 2018 and later are now protected with the spots. contain white spots. MINTSHIELD, significantly reducing the occurrence of white spots. “Our team considered every factor that PUTTING THEORY TO THE TEST could possibly play a role, including chem- With a prospective solution identified, the “Our goal, as always, was to arrive at a ical, environmental, handling and storage Mint began testing. On a small scale, the customer-focused solution drawing on the conditions,” explained Dr. Xianyao Li, Chief results were positive. The Mint’s technique Mint’s extensive R&D expertise and our Technology Officer at the Royal Canadian reduced the occurrence of white spots. unrelenting commitment to innovation. Mint. “We used the full range of tools at But the real measure of success was con- MINTSHIELD is engineered to support the our disposal: image analysis system, X-Ray firming it worked at production scale, with long-term protection and integrity of spectroscopy for compositional analyses, consistent outcomes even across different bullion coins to meet the needs of the and surface microstructure and morpholo- coin finishes and textures. Accelerated global market.” said Sandra Hanington, President and CEO. “Combined with gy examinations.” testing confirmed the surface protection TM would significantly reduce the appearance Bullion DNA anti-counterfeiting technol- To expand the scope of its investigation, of white spots for years. ogy, it represents the next step forward in the Mint collaborated with a local Cana- delivering the quality, security and aesthet- dian university to take advantage of its All along the Mint’s research team knew ic excellence investors expect of our Silver Maple Leaf bullion coins.” laboratories. the viability of the solution depended on its ability to integrate with existing production The Mint’s research concluded there is no and quality control processes. “That was single cause of white spots. Multiple factors one of our mandates right from the begin- have an impact, including the way silver ning,” said Dr. Li. “MINTSHIELD needed to MINTSHIELD word mark and logo are trademarks owned by the Royal Canadian Mint. BULLION DNA word mark is a trademark owned by the Royal Canadian Mint. Bullion DNA Anti-Counterfeiting Technology is co-developed and co-owned by the Royal Canadian Mint and Arjo Solutions. The Bullion DNA Anti-Counterfeiting Technology uses the patented Signoptic® technology. © 2018 Royal Canadian Mint. All rights reserved..