Newbie question: Why similar coins sold at different price?

Hello all,

I know next to nothing about numismatics, so please don't laugh if my question is stupid. I can see that price of similar coins (both gold and silver ones) is slightly different from coin to coin. Look at this page, for example: Silver Coins. At the time I'm writing this, prices are: 1oz Canadian Silver Maple Coin - $37.64; 1oz American Silver Eagle - $37.92; 1oz Koala Silver Coin - $38.29. The same goes on for gold coins.

I don't understand why there is this slight difference in price. All these coins are by no means unique or rare. All of them are of the same purity and weight. All of them are from renown mints. Transportation costs from Canada/US should be the same. And for Australian coins it must be even cheaper. But the Australian coin is the most expensive of these three.

What makes these coins different?

Thanks.

 

This is where you are a bit mistaken. Each year, there are more than ten million American Silver Eagles minted. Not sure about the maples, but they're mass-minted as well.

Perth mint minted less than 500,000 Koalas each year (http://www.perthmint.com.au/investment-bullion-bars-and-coins-mintages.aspx). Also, PM coins tend to command extra premium due to different design each year. ASEs and Maples don't change very much.

 

It depends on your view are you wanting to stack oz.s or do you want to try profiting on a particular coin due to rarity or demand? Personally I'm all for getting the most oz for my money. I feel that coin collecting is too much of a niche for me to be a player in especially given my remote locale. Now I just go for what's recognizable and has low premium. I buy the odd limited mintage coin just to keep it interesting.

 

- Hello.
- No problems/worries.
- It's okay to ask questions.

- Mintage numbers dictate premiums. The more rarer an article (coin) the higher the price.
- Maples have higher Face Value (legal tender), Koalas have lower mintage, Eagles are sexy. Each different numismatic traits. Each influence value compared to hypothetical blank (un-striked) minted .999 purity 'coin' (i.e. round).

You are welcome.

 

Someone has hacked Water&Food's computer and is replying to questions in a friendly and helpful manner!!!!!!!

 

Capsule mate, it's all about the capsule.

 

500,000 looks like a huge number of coins to me. I think it's on par with regular coins that gov't makes for general circulation.

This is my position, as well. I buy coins for their bullion value. But I thought that because of the different prices maybe I miss something.

I understand this. But what about generic coins like ASEs and Maples? Their design doesn't change over years but they have different price.

Does face value of a coin even matter? Does anybody use these coins as a legal tender based on their face value? I'm wondering if coins which minted in millions have numismatic value. Do they?

 

On top of the already mentioned unique differences, Perth Mint coins also come in capsules.

Maples are .9999 (but often have milky marks on them which discourages interest for some people but they are a very nice coin) the other coins are .999 although this is a subtle difference hardly worth considering.

As I am also new to stacking PM's and the spot price of silver is so volatile I am always confused about todays
value of the coins I have.

I don't worry about it too much at this stage because I am not selling just buying.

If you want to sell some coins and need to work out a price and are a bit uncertain about it there are are always plenty of experienced SS members who are willing to help.

 

Circulation numbers for normal coins are in the millions, for instance the first 50 cent coin, the round silver one, they minted 36,000,000.

They generally don't fire up the presses for anything less than couple of million, I think the 1972 5 cent is one of the lowest mintages and that was something like 1.7 million. It is worth a lot of money in mint condition because of this.

500,000 is tiny!


Also remember that if a dealer buys them in bulk they can get a discount, which can be passed onto the buyer, harder to source coins will therefore not be bought in such bulk.

And finally, Maples and Eagles are made in third world countries where the labour is cheaper. Koalas are made in Australia, and Australians are used to paying more for everything.

Please disregard W&F's comment about Eagles being sexy, they are dull and the picture is the same every year, seen one, seen them all. The Koalas on the other hand, they get uglier each year.

I am sure there is something about exchange rates in there somewhere for foreign coins but I would be guessing at that.

 

Um not sure if I consider US and Canada as third world countries.

 

No! Just joking, Canada is a fine country!

 

It wasn't very clear

 

It is true, a sarcasm font would be useful, it would probably be just as helpful if I remembered to use smilies once in a while as well! ;p

 

I think it also comes down to popularity / demand..

since its an aussie site, there is more demand for perth mint coins im presuming.
Also maples aren't as popular here due to milk spots etc..

if a coin is gonna sell out faster than others, might as well put the price up a little

 

Guys/Gals,
When I had said, "Maples have higher Face Value (legal tender), Koalas have lower mintage, Eagles are sexy. Each different numismatic traits" it means just that.

P.s. Eagles are damm sexy! The most popular coin sold.

 

Gotta say, Eagles are sexy, I own a tube of 2011 Eagles, and I fondled them last night

 

Well, sexy or not sexy is in the eye of the beholder. I personally don't find ASE sexy. I agree with Jislizard, for me ASE is dull and feels like a washer. But I won't argue about subjective feelings. Currently I buy mostly Maple coins for the following reasons:

- Best value oz/$.
- Recognizable mint. So, easy to sell it to another commoner like myself.
- Higher purity than other coins of the same class. Though, I don't think it actually matters as long as it's standard .999.

I don't buy silver coins for numismatic value, but for metal value. 1 oz coins are more convenient than big bars for me, since it's easy to estimate their price, to sell etc. Because I use these coins to store wealth, most likely I'll sell them in the future to a person who doesn't care about numismatics either, but is interested in weight and purity only. Occasionally I buy more expensive coins to give them as gifts to my friends, but personally I don't have any emotional attachment to the metal.

 

I don't usually buy single coins. I buy in tubes, so capsule doesn't apply to me. But even in tubes/boxes coins are priced differently. I can't see any rational reason for this, that's why I started this topic.

 

I was kidding about the capsules but basically it comes down to fabrication costs and how much the mint wants to sell them for to get profit.

Perth Mint wants to sell them for say spot + $5 whereas Canadian mint might be happy with spot + $3 a coin (example only).

After all the mints have to buy bulk (eg. 1000oz) silver at spot and then transform that lump of metal into coins and there's a cost involved.

This cost will vary (fabrication costs) based on labour, machinery etc.

US Mint having a much larger production scale will realize economies of scale and their costs will be lower so they can offer a lower price for ASE (I am guessing).

 

you might not but i deffinatly consider the USA to be a third world nation..