Can someone tell me a little about this product: http://www.apmex.com/product/95763/2016-australia-1-oz-gold-kangaroo-in-assay I normally ignore the RAM stuff since they mostly seem to produce collector-focused/numismatic stuff. But this coin is priced at normal 1 oz bullion coin prices, and is stored in a PAMP-developed bullion certicard-type packaging. There also seems to be listings in the APMEX catalogue for different sizes of this coin (e.g. 1/10th oz), but they aren't in stock yet. I like the design, so if this is to be the first of an ongoing series, I might pick one up. But if it's just a one-off, then I won't bother.
Seems like a new sovereign coin. Design will probably be the same from 2016 onwards. Strange cos they already have the kangaroos by the Perth Mint.
Yeah it caught me by surprise too, especially given its bullion-like pricing (and the Royal Australian Mint explicitly says it does NOT make or sell bullion, and refers you to the Perth Mint if you ask!)
http://www.pamp.com/sites/default/files/RAM_LEAFLET_Kangaroo_16_12_2015.pdf Same setup as the Lunar Monkey where it's distributed by PAMP.
It's one of those situations where the country's sovereign mint has given an exclusive monopoly in Australian precious metal legal tender to a foreign company, and will not sell direct to Australian dealers. Several dealers tried, and were referred to overseas sources if we wanted to buy them. I'll do what I did with the RAM monkeys - re-import them, which makes them uncompetitive against Perth Mint products. Notably Perth always leaves some stock for Australian distributors (even if it's just one distributor on some issues which is another anti-competitive matter, but at least there's SOME locally) even when the primary market is overseas. Not RAM. I'm sure that there's politicians of a certain ilk in Australia who would find the monopoly arrangements very contrary to their beliefs, but I'm not going to be the one to rock the boat. The market can sort that out.
Get a nice2016 gold lunar coin from Australia imo.. I'm not wild about this one. Looks like a cartoon.
This design really does look good on a gold coin, probably one of the best kangaroo designs ever created. Are they readily available in Australia yet without a big premium?