What's the difference between the two? For the investor, which is the one to go with? Thanks in advance.
cast = poured (look a little rougher, carry virtually no premium) minted = stamped (or sometimes milled, better looking, carry a higher premium) The two terms were more commonly applied to coins in the old days. Genuine coins were made in a big stamping press to achieve a high detailed design. This technology was so expensive only the government/king could afford it. Counterfeiter's would copy the coin, but could only cast the coin in molten metal from a forge... hence the term 'forgery' ! If you're purely an investor, go for the big bulk cast bars. If you're speculating (i.e. on the popularity of 1 brand of bar over another) then go for minted bars and coins. There's the potential of more reward, but there's a risk the bars you buy may become unpopular, and you won't make good on the premium you paid for your exotic bars.
In 1oz gold I think it's really personal preference - the premium different is in the order of ~1-2% of the overall price depending on where you source them. That can add up though - if you were buying upwards of 50oz or more the cast bars might get you an extra ounce of gold.
I personally love my cast bars - nothing beats a nice rough poured bar. With that said, some people love their 10oz PAMP bars - they're minted and have the lovely lady fortuna design on it. At the end of the day - the intrinsic value is in the gold or silver in the bar, the form it comes in is all down to preference.
while we're here - i have been meaning to ask... do 1kg pamps have a lady on the other side or are they blank?
When you have a minted bar be it PM or Pamp without the plastic packaging but with the excellent condition of the bar itself, would that bring down the selling price? Also, if there are some scuffs on the bar as a result of no plastic packaging, would that also bring down the selling price as if it is a cast bar?
Perth Mint = Cast, Australia produced NTR Metals = Minted, United States produced But why NTR Metals is cheaper than Perth Mint? See Bullion Bourse, Bullion Money and KJC. They sell NTR Metals is cheaper than Perth Mint. Why?
Production costs It's a lot cheaper to produce in the states as they make lots more bars , PM don't manufacture as many bars as NTR
I think Perth puts some time/effort/expense into finishing their cast bars, too. The cast bars sold by SilverTowne and Scottsdale have an unfinished, semi-rough, almost pebbly finish but the Perth bars look like they have a much smoother, semi-shiny finish. I'd guess that must be one of the factors in the cost difference. Disclaimer: I've only seen images of the Perth cast bars, as they're uncommon in the US. Because of this, my guesswork about the finish is based on pictures, but the Perth bars in the pictures do look a lot like the finish on the older Engelhard pours that I have--which is totally different than the surface on the Scottsdale and SilverTowne cast bars.
They definitely *don't* put extra effort into the finish - it's just the nature of their casting process. Cast bars are much more time intensive to manufacture - very low economies of scale, plus it takes just as long to cast a bunch of 10oz silver bars worth $250 ea as it does to cast a bunch of 1kg gold bars worth $47k ea in a conveyor kiln. Minted bars can be stamped out as quick as you can push feedstock through a mint press.
I stand corrected about the finishing Perth's cast bars get, but they still do have a more "finished" appearance than the 5oz and 10oz poured bars put out by SilverTowne and Scottsdale these days. The surface of the Perth bars is considerably smoother and doesn't have that rough, almost pebbled kind of look that's characteristic of the SilverTowne and Scottsdale. Scottsdale does however put out a 100 gram cast bar that seems to have the same surface smoothness appearance of the Perth bars or the Engelhard poured bars from years ago. The surface on that bar seems to be totally different than the surface on their 5oz and 10oz poured bars. Note---I've used the words "cast" and "poured" when and where the different bar makers use them to describe the specific bars they offer. I'm not using those words interchangeably here.
