The Perth Mints PHENOMENAL 10kg .999 Fine Silver 2013 Lunar Snake "Coin"!

Recently The Perth Mint released their 10kg .999 Fine Silver 2013 Lunar Snake "Coin", I use the term "Coin" loosely & if you take a look at the link you'll see why!
I know when I think of coins, I generally think of either bullion/numismatic coins or the spare change that weighs heavily in my pocket...this coin definitely fits into the first group; It's both bullion (a heck of allot of it too) and as it carries a "Face Value" of $300 it also qualifies as a Numismatic Coin.
So YES, it's a coin by definition but it's certainly not something one could carry around in ones pocket!
With the fantastic new Coin Press Perth Mint recently purchased, the production of coins like this and their smaller counterparts has become both easier and cheaper for The Perth Mint and consequently they're both able to make more stunning coins like this and also charge less for them.
In my honest opinion, The Perth Mint is undoubtedly the finest mint in the world and with their constant innovations they can only get better!

Vintage Silver Ingot Pendant

This is a topic I've noticed has become quite popular recently so I thought I'd just quickly share a picture of the one little 5g .9998 Fine Silver pendant that's been knocking about amongst my cufflinks for as long as I care to remember. I haven't been able to find out much about it as yet so if anyone sees this & can share a little knowledge, that'd be great. As pictured, on one side it's "Zodiac Themed" & displays the word "Libra" in a stylized font across the bottom & above that the symbol associated with the Libran Starsign; The Scales. On the other (more interesting) side it features the following text: CRAGSIDE (within a diamond pattern represented by the "<>") 5g .9998 Fine Silver. The ingot itself weighs 5grams, it also has a sterling silver bail (from which to hang it from a necklace). Any & all information gratefully recieved. Thanks.

Sunshine Mining

Sunshine Mining was a major player in the United States Silver Bullion Market throughout the 1950's, 60's, 70's & 80's.
Not only was it one of the biggest producers of newly mined Silver for the Bullion Market, it was also the official supplier of Silver Bullion to the U.S. Government for their "Strategic Defense Silver Stockpile".
Around 1993 Sunshine Mining ceased to exist as a Mining & Minting entity and after a few years emerged again as "Sunshine Minting", still using a virtually identical logo & design for their Silver Bullion Rounds & Bars. The only real difference was the substitution of "Minting" as opposed to "Mining" on their designs.
Sunshine Minting is now the official sole supplier of "Blanks" for the United States Mints; American Silver Eagle Dollar program.
Although very little had changed in the way of design or appearance of Sunshine Silver's products for many years, the recent upsurge in "Bullion Stacking" & the desire of these Stackers to have Serialized or Certified Bullion products has led (the now named) Sunshine Minting to develop an innovative new "security system" they say is "encoded" onto their new release Silver Bullion Rounds & Bars which can be decoded with a smartphone application.
Similarly to serial numbers on bullion, the idea behind this innovation is to provide:
a) A way of identifying & thus recovering Bullion in case of theft.
b) Lessens the chances of counterfeiting of their bullion products.
and lastly
c) Brings Sunshine Minting up closer to being in the same league as Englehard, PAMP and other "High Premium" Bullion Producers by providing this "peace of mind".
After talking to many Silver Bullion Buyers & Dealers, the consensus I've ascertained is that they'd gladly pay a slightly bigger premium for the advanced security features.
That being said, when you actually see & hold one of the Vintage Sunshine Mining Rounds like the one pictured, it's outstanding mirror finish field & "Proof-Like" appearance, coupled with their rarity makes at least this Silver Stacker prefer these older, rarer, vintage rounds to anything new on the market.
I'll let you be the judge.

THE FOUR SILVERS

When it comes to Stacking Silver, there are four main kinds on offer... We'd like to know which you like best.
1) Bullion Bars:
Silver Bullion Bars come in many different shapes & sizes from a myriad of different mints/refiners/assayers. From 1oz Minted (like a coin) Bars like Scottsdale's "The One", PAMP's Lady Fortuna, Johnson Matthey or Engelhard's serialized bars through to "Generic" Morgan Dollar & Flying Eagle Design, all the way up through 5, 10, 100ozt, 50g, 100g, 250g, 500g & 1kg minted, cast or poured Bars.
These bars are a great investment in straight silver...in my opinion the larger of these bars are going to be your best value % over spot however It's always wise to have a range of smaller bars or other smaller sized forms of silver (as mentioned below) as 30-50% of your total stack. This provides the ability to sell or trade/barter small amounts without having to "cash in" a large portion of your stack when you only need a little bit of $$$ or

2) Silver Bullion Coins:
This term refers to Government Issue Silver Bullion Coins which carry a (largely symbolic) "Face Value" well below the coins "Intrinsic Value" (that is It's Silver Content). For example: A 1ozt American Silver Eagle (ASE) only carries a USD$1.00 Face Value however the coins Intrinsic Value is currently around USD$32. These Coins however tend to fetch a higher "premium" (% over spot price). This is for a number of reasons. Firstly the Government of the nation that issues the coins Guarantees their weight & purity. Secondly, some Governments issue "Limited Mintage" coins as standard (Australian Kookaburras or Lunar Series for example) and other Governments issue limited edition &/or "Proof" versions of their coins. This creates a demand driven rarity factor which often means these coins command premiums far above their Silver Content alone. Allot of these higher premium coins could be considered "Numismatica", that is collectible coins. Examples of these coins are: ASE (as above), Kookaburras, Koalas, Canadian Silver Maples (& the R.C.M. Wildlife Series), Chinese Pandas, Armenian Noah's Arks, Vienna Philharmonic's, Brittanias etc.
3) Silver Bullion Rounds:
You'll often hear these (usually) 1oz or less rounds referred to as "Generics".....These "Rounds" are based on the same format as a coin except have no "Legal Tender" Status & are minted by any variety of Private Mints. They are a low premium alternative to the Government Issue Coin which offer all the benefits of having smaller amounts of Silver on hand (as discussed above) without the cost. Many Private Mints have really done a great job with these coins... Scottsdale's 1oz "Omnia" Rounds are lovely as are many of the Indian Head/Buffalo Rounds.
4) "Junk" Silver:
Finally we get to REAL money, the way it used to be! The term "Junk" Silver refers to (generally) Pre-1969 .900 (90%) or less, coinage that has been in circulation. Virtually all governments worldwide abandoned the "Silver Standard" coinage prior to 1970, most slowly withdrawing the currency from circulation as it made its way back to the Reserve Banks....EXCEPT, many people were smart enough to hold onto their Junk Silver & it is now widely traded at both Bullion Value & as Numismatica. Well, that's the brief rundown of The Four Silver's. Now let's hear which you like best & why!?!

*Disclaimer: Information & "Advice" is given under the express understanding that it not be taken as investment advice. Although we make every effort to be factual, mistakes are made: The author, site admin &/or anyone involved will not be held liable for any loss sustained as a result of information contained herein. ©2012 TheBullionBoys.

the.bullion.boys@gmail.com

Valcambi Mint's "CombiBar": Bullion Chocolate!

Valcambi Mint, the famous Swiss Precious Metals Minting company that has been in business since the '60's (was bought out some time ago by Mitsubishi & Newmont Mining.) & is listed on The LBMA Good Delivery List has come out with what I think is one of, if not THE greatest innovation in Precious Metals Minting ever, a little product I like to call:
"Bullion Chocolate"
Introducing:
The Valcambi Mint CombiBar.
Gold: 50 X 1g CombiBar Au .999
Silver: 10 X 10g CombiBar Ag .999
            100 X 1g CombIBar Ag .999
Essentially these Gold & Silver Bars are designed to be easily divisible into exact 1g Gold/Silver or 10g Silver "MicroBars", with no loss of metal so as to provide the flexibility of smaller bars with the benefits of buying a larger bar.
Realistically, this idea works best with Gold ($59ish per gram 24ct) as opposed to Silver (.95cish per gram .999 Fine) however thiese bars have attracted a great deal of attention amongst physical holders of BOTH Gold & Silver. So much so that 10 X 1g Silver MicroBars recently sold on eBay for around $20 (that's Spot + 100%!!!).
The bars themselves do carry a fairly hefty premium however so far at least, it appears that the premium has more than paid off for those who have bought, divided & sold their Gold or Silver CombiBars off as MicroBars.
These bars are not only a phenomenal idea, they're very well presented in a plastic, tamper-proof sheaf with serial number & assay certificate, certainly good reasons to try keep your CombiBar in one piece for as long as possible!
(I know I won't be splitting mine up anytime soon!).
I look at it this way; It's a great idea & has fantastic potential but if people aren't willing to fork out the initial premium for them (especially silver) then theis product may not be on the market for as long as planned so I'm getting a few while the going is good!
Well......Enjoy your CombiBars folks & if you'd like to buy some, just drop me an email at:
the.bullion.boys@gmail.com