STATISTICS

With investors taking advantage of lower precious metal prices during April, The Perth Mint experienced a huge leap in demand for bullion.

Gold coins and minted bars were heavily bought, resulting in record sales of more than 110,000oz. April sales of silver bullion products were also markedly higher.

Total ounces of gold and silver sold by The Perth Mint* in April 2013 as coins and minted bars.:

  - Gold (Au): 111,505.06

  - Silver (Ag): 1,102,465.96

 

(*excludes Depository and Perth Mint Shop.)

Most Popular Bullion On The Web

Website clients contributed significantly to April’s record sales. The most popular products sold via www.perthmintbullion.com during the period were:

Gold

• 1oz Kangaroo Minted Gold Bar

• 2.5oz Cast Gold Bar

• 1oz 2013 Australian Kangaroo Gold Coin

Silver

•1oz 2013 Australian Koala Silver Coin

• 1oz 2013 Australian Kookaburra Silver Coin

• 1kg Cast Silver Bar

BULLION BARS AND COINS

Here’s an interesting insight into the rarest gold bullion coins from Series I and Series II of the Australian Lunar program.

Launched in 1996, Series I ran until 2007 when production of all coin sizes ceased. Series II began in 2008 and final mintages have been declared for coins portraying the first five (of 12) designs.

Rarest coins in each size

Over the course of the program to date, Australian Lunar gold bullion coins have been offered in eight different sizes. Mouse designs account for the majority of the rarest issues

Rarest 2oz coins

Somewhat surprisingly, 2oz coins have noticeably low mintages when compared to other small bullion coins in the program. This list highlights the five rarest Australian Lunar gold bullion coins in this convenient size.

Rarest of the rare

Despite their cost-effectiveness, very few kilo coins have been issued. This list reveals the five rarest Australian Lunar gold bullion coins – all of them kilos!

The full list of Australian Lunar gold bullion coin mintages:

  • Series I
  • Series II

STATISTICS

Total ounces of gold and silver sold by The Perth Mint* in February 2013 as coins and minted bars.

Gold (Au): 44,048.62

Silver (Ag): 426,319.29

(*excludes Depository and Perth Mint Shop.)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Having an official face value is part of what gives coined bullion its legal tender status.

Although face value represents the price the Reserve Bank of Australia would redeem an Australia bullion coin for, in reality, it’s nothing more than a nominal figure advised by Federal Treasury.

Take our 1oz Australian Kangaroo gold bullion coin, for example, which has a face value of $100. That’s a ridiculously low figure compared to the value of its actual gold content, which is tied to the ‘spot’ market.

The face value of a bullion coin does not reflect the value of its precious metal content.

So while it is important for investors to ensure their bullion coins do have an official face value, they need take little notice of it thereafter.

By selling your bullion coins to The Perth Mint or a reputable coin dealer, you’ll receive much more - a fair price close to the metal’s prevailing spot rate.

And if it’s highly sought-after, the coin could have some numismatic value, meaning you may be able to find someone willing to pay a premium!

STATISTICS

Total ounces of gold and silver sold by The Perth Mint* in January 2013 as coins and minted bars.

Gold (Au): 65,683.71

Silver (Ag): 670,544.36

(*excludes Depository and Perth Mint Shop.)

BULLION BARS AND COINS

There has been a surge in wholesale demand for Australian Kangaroo gold bullion coins.

Since being released on 1 October, sales for 2013 Kangaroos are 35% ahead of sales of 2012 Kangaroos at this time last year.

Combined sales of all 2013 Kangaroo denominations (1kg, 1oz 1/2oz, 1/4oz, 1/10oz) performed even stronger - up 40% on the number of 2012-dated coins sold at this stage 12 months ago.

We’re getting more interest from North America as well as Asia. In line with this week’s reports of strong physical demand in China, we’ve just secured major Kangaroo orders from distributors in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

 

Compared to last year’s phenomenal Year of the Dragon, sales of 2013 Australian Lunar – Year of the Snake gold coins are not as strong.

However, demand for the Kangaroo and Lunar series combined puts us clearly ahead of this time last year.

We have also achieved greater market share. According to the latest quarterly data from Thomson Reuters GFMS, The Perth Mint’s share of the worldwide gold bullion coin market has risen from 7% to 13%.

The Perth Mint manufactures the Australian Government’s official bullion coin program. Our coins stand out from other bullion coins due to their superior ‘reverse proof’ quality and annual design changes