Mint under pump as gold demand soars

THE Perth Mint was forced to suspend new orders for gold coins in December and January because it could not keep up with surging demand from overseas.

The mint's treasurer said there was no doubt people were seeking the safe haven of gold, rather than the turbulent share market, amid the global financial crisis, The Australian reported.

"We're exporting more than ever," Nigel Moffatt said. "The supply of gold coins, not just from us but on a global basis, could not meet global demand.

"So in common with all the other major mints around the world who produce collector gold coins -- the US Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Austrian Mint -- demand exceeded supply by a considerable margin.

"We actually suspended additional coin orders because we had so many there that we wanted to catch up on the backlog."

Mr Moffatt said this might help explain why Australia recorded a whopping 55 per cent increase in gold exports in February, which in turn was the main reason for a 4per cent bounce in total exports that month.

"We came back on again with a vengeance in February," he said. "So part of this jump in figures would certainly be because we were re-exporting gold coin again in large volumes."

The Perth Mint is also a 40 per cent shareholder in the city's AGR Matthey refinery, which produces 400-ounce gold bars for export to London's gold market.

Mr Moffatt said the refinery was running at "very high capacity" and was likely at least to equal last year's production of 400 tonnes of gold.

The increased demand is reflected in major expansion moves by gold miners around the country. In January, Kalgoorlie's famous Super Pit, the largest open-cut goldmine in Australia, was given conditional state approval to expand further and add another 10 years to its working life.

Newmont Asia Pacific is due to start a major new operation at Boddington, 130km southeast of Perth, in the middle of the year.

The export figures were not the full story because they did not take into account the mint's depository, which allows clients to open an account and buy gold that remains in Australia. Sixty per cent of those accounts are held by clients from overseas; of those, 60 per cent are American.

Mr Moffatt said the depository was turning over volumes of gold worth well over $2.5 billion and had doubled its business in the past 18 months.

"This is very much a barometer of people's views towards gold," he said.

"In very recent times, we have seen a large influx of investors and indeed of management funds, superannuation funds coming into it in very large amounts."
Source: news.com.au

Going for gold: How the world's mints are coining it

A few years ago his visits to the mint, founded more than 800 years ago, might have seemed eccentric. No longer. From the Russian Georgy Pobedonosets to the American Eagle, gold coin production is being cranked up in mints around the world to satisfy customers believing the assets may be immune to the global financial crisis.

Russia's state-controlled Sberbank says it has never seen such strong demand for investment coins. In Australia, the Perth Mint had to suspend new orders for gold coins because it could not keep pace with overseas demand. And, in America, the US Mint says sales of its one-ounce American Eagle gold bullion coins rocketed by more than 400 per cent to 710,000 ounces in 2008. "The demand for gold and silver," said US Mint spokeswoman Carla Coolman, "has been unprecedented."

Austria's Philharmonic, named after the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, was the world's best-selling gold coin in the last quarter and sales soared 544 per cent in the first two months of 2009. "There is no sign of demand abating," Austrian Mint's marketing director Kerry Tattersall said. Sales this year are expected to exceed 2008's record levels. "At present, production is struggling to keep up with demand."

Hans Dieter Rauch, who sells both collectors' and investors' coins in his boutique on Graben, one of Vienna's most exclusive shopping streets, said revenues rose 300 per cent last year. "It's the man in the street, not particularly rich people but normal citizens like you and me," said Mr Rauch, 65, monitoring the fluctuating price of gold on a screen in his back room.

Gold hit a record high of $1,030.80 (£700) an ounce in March 2008 and last month rose back above $1,000. Jewellery sales by cash-strapped Americans and Europeans have helped to slow the metal's rise in recent weeks.

The Czech Republic's Komercni Banka this month added gold coins and bars to its traditional portfolio of products. Even the Central Bank of Armenia is at it, issuing 10,000 gold coins with a Zodiac signs design. And, in New Zealand, Michael O'Kane, head bullion trader at the mint, said it was averaging a month's transactions in a day.

Wealthy investors are more likely to invest in bars than coins as the premium for production costs is lower, said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of sales at the precious metals group Heraeus. "If you buy a kilo bar you have to pay the surcharge for producing the bar, which is pretty low, only once" he said. "If you buy 30 1oz coins, which would be about equal to a 1kilo bar, you have to pay 30 times that amount."

Coins have the edge for small investors who want flexibility and appreciate their aesthetic allure. Demand is for more than physical products: in the past few years, gold has been sought after for speculative gains, with interest in gold-backed funds in particular soaring. But since the financial crisis accelerated last autumn, interest in coins and bars has increased, with investors seeking security rather than profit.

Other manufacturers are reducing output and jobs, but the Royal Canadian Mint quadrupled capacity to produce its bullion gold and silver Maple Leaf coins in late 2008, and the Austrian Mint is producing in one week what it usually churns out in a month. It has extended its shifts throughout the night and weekend and recruited more workers to cope with the surge in demand.
Source: independent.co.uk

New Lincoln pennies hard to find

The first of the four new Lincoln pennies was released on Lincoln’s birthday more than a month ago but why can't you find any in Rochester?

Joy McComb was on a mission today. “My grandson is doing a report on Abraham Lincoln.” She came to the Gallery of Coins just to find the new Lincoln penny. “My husband won't even carry pennies. He thinks they should be dispensed with.”

A coin dealer is about the only place you can find the new Lincoln, the first in a series that honors the 16th president's life. The first new design on the reverse or tails side shows the log cabin Lincoln grew up in.

Dick Austin of Gallery of Coins said, “I called the banks I do business with. I had a couple customers called their banks and I also had dealers from out of state as far away as Texas call their banks and none of the new banks have the new pennies available.”

A roll of 50 pennies at a bank should cost 50-cents. “These were gotten about a week ago at the Albany coin show and there price there was $6 a roll,” Austin said.

Austin has two-roll sets from both the Philadelphia and Denver mints and he's selling them for 50-cents each. He said he won’t sell them by the roll because he wants as many customers as possible to get them.

The U.S. Mint coined more than 600-million new pennies but few have made it into circulation. Austin says, “I think it's a shame because there's no reason that a child who's just learning about coin collecting, should have to go out and pay 50-cents for a penny. He should be able to get them at the banks but unfortunately, the mint doesn't see it the same way I do.”

And what about that school project? McComb said, “And I thought ideally we would let him hand one out to each students in his class but since I had to pay top dollar, or penny, as you might say.”

News 10NBC checked with a local bank today who said the Federal Reserve isn't distributing the Lincoln pennies in several northeast states, including New York.

We called the Federal Reserve in New York City and they referred us to Washington. The feds do have the new pennies but we were told the banks can't order just the new Lincolns even if their customers are demanding them. If a bank orders pennies, it's whatever the guys on the shipping dock send.

The new pennies can not even be ordered from the U.S. Mint. The mint had the two-roll sets -- 50 coins each from the Philadelphia and Denver mints for $8.95 plus $4.95 shipping but all 96-thousand collector sets have sold out.
Source: whec.com

Austrian Mint’s Basilisk Silver Coin Launches

Within its theme of "Austria and its People" the Vienna Mint begins a new sub-series of six silver 10 Euro coins called: Tales and Legends in Austria. The first coin is dedicated to a mediaeval legend from Vienna – the Basilisk. It will be issued on Wednesday, 15th April.
The story goes that in the year 1212 a baker’s boy in a shop in the Schönlaterngasse (Lovely Lantern Lane) No. 7 discovered a horrible monster at the bottom of a well. The stench and poisonous fumes of the creature killed all those who inhaled them.

The monster was identified as a basilisk, a mutant creature part snake, part toad, part cockerel. To look into its eyes was instant death. A counsellor learned in such matters was fetched to help and to advise. He said that the only way to destroy the monster was to confront it with its own horrid appearance. Someone must go down into the well with a mirror.

No matter what reward was offered as an inducement, there was no one prepared to confront the deadly monster, until the baker’s apprentice raised his voice. He had long been in love with the baker’s beautiful daughter, but that was an alliance that the baker would never accept under normal circumstances. The young man seized his opportunity. He would descend into the well if the baker would consent to give him the daughter’s hand in marriage as his reward.

The desperate baker agreed. The apprentice was lowered into the well with a large mirror. As the fearsome basilisk turned to him, it caught sight of itself in the mirror held before the apprentice like a shield. In a fit of rage and revulsion at its own image, the basilisk burst. The apprentice climbed from the well to claim his bride, while the spectators began to fill the well with earth and stones to bury the remains of the monster and its deadly fumes.

The tale has been retold (with minor variations) ever since. Indeed, the Baroque house that stands on the site of the old baker’s shop today has the legend and a fresco depicting the brave apprentice and his mirror on its façade. A stone purporting to be a petrified basilisk hatched from an egg found in the well, also adorns its façade.

The new coin shows the legendary monster as it turns and sees its reflection in the mirror held by the baker’s apprentice, who peeps timidly over the frame. At the top of the well two more frightened faces peer (almost comically) over the stone edge at the scene below. On the other side we see a view of the Schönlaterngasse (Lovely Lantern Lane) in Vienna. At the end is the gateway into Holy Cross Court, belonging to the great Cistercian Holy Cross Abbey in Lower Austria. On the right is the Basilisk House No. 7 as it appears today.

This 10 Euro silver coin is struck in sterling silver (.925 fine) in three qualities: proof (max. 40,000 pieces), special uncirculated (max. 30,000 pieces) and circulation quality (130,000 pieces). The proof version comes in an attractive box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. For the first time a special collection album for all six proof coins is being produced and can be purchased separately. The special uncirculated coin is sold in a colourful and informative blister pack. The circulation pieces are issued at face value through the Austrian banks.

The new series "Tales and Legends in Austria" will continue in October with a coin for the imprisonment of King Richard the Lionheart in the castle of Dürnstein on the Danube and the search for him by his loyal minstrel Blondel.
Source: coinnews.net

How Coin Grading Services Determine the Value of Their Coins

Coin Grading Services are available online and off. The grading of coins or coin grading is a very important practice, In coin collection.

Grading of coins began in early 19th century, then grading was done with the help of letter grading system ,in this system alphabets were used for grading for example PO was used for Poor ,Fr was used for Fair G was used for Good VG was used for Very Good F for Fine VF for Very Fine XF/EF for Extra fine.

In 1950 an American Doctor and a well known coin collectors evolved a Sheldon scale in his book called Penny Whimsy a numeric grading system which would scale coins on numeric grades of 1-70.

This numeric Sheldon scale was particularly useful for grading of copper coins ,and was a well known practice with copper coin collectors.

In 1986 a professional service of grading was launched in Newport Beach California ,this grading system was a combination of 2 older grading systems ,the combination of numbers and alphabets.

This form of third party assessment service of grading coins came to be known as PCGS, Professional Coin Grading Service.PCGS used the following grades for coins- PO-1, FR-2, AG-3, G-4, G-6, VG-8, VG-10, F-12, F-15, VF-20, VF-25, VF-30, VF-35, XF-40, XF-45, AU-50, AU-53, AU-55, AU-58, MS-60, MS-61, MS-62, MS-63, MS-64, MS-65, MS-66, MS-67, MS-68, MS-69 and MS-70.

The whole idea behind grading was to make the dealing of coins easier in the open market .Around 2006 finer means of coin grading became assessable like NGC -Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, ANACS and ICG.

Though there are some limitations as these services technically grade coins where as the market value of these coins can many a times differ.

Recently computers were too being used for grading ,this practice was known as Compugrade this system soon lost its flavor as computer grading could not replace human grading.
Coin grading services have been very useful in getting rid of fake counterfeit coins.
Coin grading services are to determine genuinely the condition and the authenticity of a coin and grade it to provide coin collectors or buyers with a grade on which they can rate the value of the coin.

Coins are graded keeping in mind various aspects of its design its country of origin its uniqueness the date printed as well as the mint mark on it.

Coin grading can also be performed by individuals who have the knowledge and the skills of identifying a true coin and a fake coin.

Nowadays the quality of counterfeit coins has gone up increasingly it has become nearly impossible to distinguish between the original and the fake coin with a naked eye ,here is when it is highly recommended to sought help from professional coin grading services .

Coin Grading services are authorized companies who not only grade coins but also give limited value guarantee to the coins graded by them.

Coin grading services are known to grade the coins with authorized certificates ,which provides further assurance to a buyer for investment.
Coin colleting is an expensive hobby ,if one is not well experienced it is better to use the advice and service of Coin grading services to avoid any misfortune in future.
Source: articlesbase.com

Meter repairman accused of stealing tons of coins

A parking meter repairman is accused of stealing a whole lot of pocket change _ several tons that totaled about $170,000.

Police searched the Stafford County home of William J. Fell, 61, last week after officials became suspicious when Alexandria's parking meter revenue was lower than expected.

The booty was taken over about a year, police said. Most of the coins were found in cups, canisters and a silver box, court documents said. Police also found paper money in a safe and in zip-lock bags. They even found the top of a parking meter inside the home.

"It's pretty bold," said Sgt. Shahram Fard, who oversees Alexandria's property crimes unit. "I've never recovered that much money in a search warrant."

Police say Fell pulled it off by going to work at 3 a.m., well before his shift started. Under the cover of darkness, he would drive around in his city truck and empty the contents of parking meters all over Old Town, according to court documents.

He would then drive back to his personal car, hide bags full of coins in his trunk and go about fixing meters, a search warrant affidavit said.

Fell faces two counts of embezzlement by a public officer and is being held at the city jail. He told a judge that he needed a public defender because he did not have enough money to hire a lawyer.

City officials suspected something was amiss after Alexandria did not get as much money as expected after raising parking meter rates to $1 an hour.

A supervisor became suspicious of Fell and began following him during his morning rounds, watching him steal the coins, according to court documents. Alexandria officials called police, who hid a surveillance camera in Fell's city truck.

Between Jan. 22 and March 16, Fell was secretly recorded as he took bags and bags of coins, the court documents said. He would empty as many as 24 canisters a day, with each full canister containing about $80, according to the affidavit.

In all, he stole at least $170,000. That much money in quarters, dimes and nickels would weigh at least four tons. If it was all in nickels, it would weigh nearly 19 tons.
Source: wtop.com