Hello everybody After lurking for quite a while, I recently joined and wanted to say hello here. I bought my first ounce of bullion silver back in 1990 or so, but then, for many years, I only occasionally picked up some German Mark and Euro commemorative coins. Not really being a fanatic collector, but always with a casual interest in numismatics. In 2009, I started stacking for investment purposes. Some bars, but mainly Kooks and Philharmonics and a Lunar here and there, and still more commemorative coins for investment. I wonder whether it is a coincidence that by far the most members here are from Australia: It could be because the board was funded by an Australian, but this can hardly affect the composition of the user group in such a way. Do you think there is a greater awareness or general interest in precious metals in Australia than in other countries? Could this even be "some cultural thing"? I could imagine, last but not least because the Perth Mint is not 'a' mint but THE Mint. However, it's always interesting to read about opinions and news from all over the world. So long, Silber
Welcome Silber! With regards your question about the boards composition, it could be that the board allows frequent trading by the members with each other ie Australian to Australian without the hassle of overseas postage, customs limitations, International bank transfers etc. Of course, there will be some overseas transactions, particularly by the bigger players or dealers. But there are also a lot of "average" buyers who like to buy a coin here or there in a fast easy way. I could be wrong but I'm just offering a thought. For myself, the attraction of the board is the vast range of differing opinions being expressed from the far right to the far left and how these opinions tie into views of what is happening financially across the globe. No shouting down of supposed "conspiricy" theories here with the result being that they are hounded off the board. Lots of "shouting" at times on controvercial topics. Indeed. But not completely one sided or the other. Have fun! I look forward to reading your comments about political/financial issues from a European perspective. Can I assume that with your id being "Silber" that you are German? If so, then a German perspective (being the engine room of the EU), would be most enlightening!!!
Thanks for your replies! That might indeed be a reason. And maybe my guesses about the role of PMs in Australia have been biased... another example where a nice mixture of opinions might help to get a clearer picture And you're right, I'm German, and I'll try to occasionally post comments about what I percieve as the public opinion here in Germany, although I'm not an expert at politics and economy. @THUCYDIDES79: Most people won't know the city, but it's not far from Frankfurt.
Australia and Precious Metals go hand in hand. After England dumped all its criminals in Australia it was hard to get anyone else to come over, then they discovered gold and they have spent the last couple of hundred years digging holes all over the country, you don't get much more 'cultural' than that! I think that any english speaking country with a strong mining history would be active on this forum. Having easy access to a mint doesn't hurt but, other than the lunar dragons, people seem very interested in the offerings from other mints overseas.
Hello & welcome Silber mining is certainly a part of our history but i think in fact there would be less awareness of precious metals in Australia compared to countries that have more traditional mainstream culture, such as in Asia & Europe.
Thanks again to all Concerning the role of precious metals in Australia, I just was wondering: There are few "famous" mints, which in general only have one well-known coin: Eagles, Krugerrands, Libertads, Philharmonics - but the Perth Mint has such a huge variety of many famous coins. Most prominently the Lunar series, but also all the other pure bullion coins. (The Kilo coins are quite popular here in Germany, due to a reduced tax of 7% on coins vs. 19% on bars). I thought that this might also encourage more people to invest into PMs in general.
Maybe I should emphasize/clarify this: Bullion gold is GST-free in any case. The difference refers only to Silver coins and bars. Recently, one large PM supplier started issuing Silver Coinbars - which are basically their old bars with an additional stamp that says that the bar is worth "30 Andorra Dinars" - thus, these bars are now coins, and the tax is reduced to 7% But I think this will hardly affect the popularity of the Perth Mint kilo coins.
Hello everyone. I am Blaine from USA. I recently joined this forum. Please share with me your comments.
