Anyone actually held these very thin gold sheets intended for discreet movement of gold? You never know when each one of us will be fugitives or refugees. I'd like to buy one byt I fidn't see any forvsale in Vietnam. Baldwin's Auctions sometimes has them.
You can buy 24k gold leaf or sheet from any number of sources on the net. this one is in the US http://www.riogrande.com/Product/24K-Yellow-Gold-Sheet-30-Ga-1-4-Hard/608030 Get 24k sheets cut to credit card size and store them in your wallet, they DO definately show up on airport scanners Apparently an embossing stamp http://www.embossingseals.net/ could also come in handy
I should have expected such replies from this members of this forum, as the purpose of most members is bullion. Let me clarify... Yes, I have seen the Valcambi small unit sheets (1 gm?) But my purpose in finding the Vietnamese one is as piece of history, not survival after a banking holocaust. No sarcasm intendee. Of course, I would like to have both types. But as I will soon be in Laos and moving on to Vietnam the original article might be easier to find and more interesting aesthetically. As a rare (?) item it might even go up in value. But on further consideration, gold bullion sheets might actually be a lot easier to find in southeast asia. Bags of silver pellets (925) supposedly are from jewellers in Bangkok.
Another way to achieve a 'discreet movement of gold' is to swallow a handful of Perth Mint 1oz blobs... I guess... For those not familiar with KT's or Ngoc Ha gold wafers:
Only ever seen one of these once - coin dealer in Melbourne a few years ago Thinking about it, given that many Vietnamese came to Aus in the past 30 years there may be more floating around
I read a story about that one piece ngoc ha pictured above and how hard they are to find... Pity they decided to cut it up.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CHINA-VI...-1-TAEL-OR-PUR-ORIGINAL-WRAPPER-/251370251000 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VIETNAM-GOLD-TAEL-BAR-SHEETS-WITH-ORIGINAL-WRAPPER-/300974202048
I walked into a gold dealer (apparently a chain) in Hanoi, of the sane name - Kim Thanh. The manager said he hadn't seen any for decades, but that I might have better luck in Saigon. Last week I enquired at two Vietnamese gold shops in Sacramento, California. One dealer said she had never seen any in the USA. The other older lady said she did get one or two a couple of years ago. As there was no collector demand she had melted them down. Yikes!
I saw some on display at the Perth Mint. They are an amazing historical item. I can imagine the history of a piece of gold like that in Perth, perhaps carried on the body of a brave person fleeing communism. It represents the hard labour of their family, and is carried across treacherous oceans and perhaps defended against theft by pirates. I can understand why you would want one.
