Minted by the Australian Perth Mint, the Kookaburra is the only major silver bullion coin to change its design yearly.  The altering of its form and pattern every year is intended to help compete with other mints worldwide by attracting collectors as well as investors. These coins have a superior quality finish which incorporates delicate, proof-like frosting within the central design. Kookaburra silver coins are legal tender under the Australian Currency Act 1965.

Kookaburras are a bird known to many, not by its appearance, but by its call. Native to Australia, the Kookaburra’s call has been used many times in the movies and televisions. It sounds extremely similar to loud human laughter and is used mainly to greet its mate after being apart for any reason. It is the world’s largest Kingfisher, with a body length of up to ½ meter. They are also known as “laughing jackasses” due to their chattering calls. They form community groups within Eastern and Southern Australia, marking and defending their territory both with their calls and with force, if necessary. 

The Kookaburra is carnivorous and survives on a diet of mostly small mice. However, it is also known to eat other small creatures like snakes, lizards and sometimes other small birds.

First introduced in 1990 by the Perth Mint, the Kookaburra silver coin has proved successful for two decades, its purity and weight are guaranteed.

It is issued in four popular sizes, 1oz., 2oz., 10oz. and kilo (32.15 troy oz. – the worlds largest silver bullion coin) through the Perth Mint. Many variations exist with extra stamps or seals issued for special occasions & coin shows.

Obverse Design

The obverse contains an image of Queen Elizabeth II along with the inscriptions “Queen Elizabeth II”, “Australia”, “year minted” and “1 Dollar” ( “1″ changes based on the size.)

Reverse Design

The reverse design incorporates an image of the Kookaburra. Encircling the bird around the top of the coin is the inscription “”The Australian Kookaburra.” Underneath the Kookaburra are “1 oz” ( “1 oz” changes based on the size), “999 Silver” and “year minted”.

Australian Kookaburra Silver Coin Specifications

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References:

• worldmintcoins.com
• apmex.com

The dollar (often represented by the dollar sign: “$”) is the name of the official currency in several economies, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, Ecuador, Suriname, El Salvador, Panama, and Belize.

The “Dollar” originated in the city of Joachimsthal in Bavaria (now Germany). Beginning in 1518, silver from the mines near Joachimsthal was minted into silver “thalers”, with a standardized weight of 29.2 grams. “Thal” means “valley” in German, therefore a “thaler” is a person or a thing “from the valley”.

Eventually, governments throughout Europe adopted this standardized coin for commerce. The silver came from many locations, and many different governments produced the coins, but they were all basically identical. Europe was on a “Dollar standard”…

European “thaler” coins from the 16th-18th centuries are shown above with a modern US quarter for comparison.

The Spanish silver Dollar emerged from the rich mines of the Spanish colonies of the New World, particularly Mexico. The Spanish Dollar became the most common coin in the American colonies, although silver dollars from throughout Europe also circulated.

In 1792, after the American Revolution, Congress adopted the European “thaler” or dollar as the standard in the new United States. They were following standard practice throughout Europe. The US Dollar was just a bit lighter than the original thaler, at 27.0 grams of silver.

In those days, gold and silver traded at a ratio that hardly varied over centuries. It was known as a “bimetallic” system. About 15 or 16 ounces of silver had the same value as an ounce of gold. Thus, the silver “thaler” system was also, in a sense, a gold system.

In time, gold became the central monetary basis rather than silver. Britain went to a “monometallic” (gold-only) system in 1816. The United States effectively put gold on top in 1834, although British-style monometallism was not wholly adopted until 1900. The Coinage Act of 1834 set the value of the US Dollar at $20.67/ounce of gold, or 1/20.67th of an ounce. This works out to 1.5048 grams of gold.

Thus, we see that the “dollar” as roughly 1.5048 grams of gold, or $20.67/ounce, has a history that dates back to the early 16th century and encompassed all of Europe. The “dollar” was an unchanging unit of account for 415 years, until 1933.

During this time, there were many experiments with floating, paper currencies. The US colonies had a wave of hyperinflation in the 1740s, and again in the 1780s. There was another round of currency devaluation during the Civil War. However, after the smoke cleared, they returned again and again to the stable gold Dollar.

Devaluation of the US Dollar took place during the Great Depression. In 1933, the Dollar’s value was reduced to $35 per ounce, or 1/35th an ounce of gold (0.8887 grams). The introduction of floating currencies in 1971 was then something of an accident. It was an unplanned consequence of Richard Nixon’s “easy money” policies of 1970. It was supposed to be temporary. As we can see now, however, it was one of the biggest changes to Western civilization in the past 500 years.

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References:

• Wikipedia.com
• goldnews.bullionvault.com

The Silver Koala can easily be confused with the Australian platinum investment coin, which has been wearing a koala motive from 1988 till 2000.

The silver koala coin is a legal means of payment in Australia. However, the material value is by far higher than the nominal value indicated.

General Coin Information

The 2010 Australian Koala Silver Coin marks the fourth issue of this popular series. The coins are struck in four sizes – 1 kilo, 10 oz, 1 oz, and 1/2 oz, with the 1 kilo size bearing a slightly different design. These collectible coins are struck on a mint to order basis, and total production will be determined when the 2011 design is announced, thus closing the 2010 offering.

The koala, native to Australia, is practically an icon synonymous with the country. Probably the only other animal to claim the same distinction would be the kangaroo, a fellow marsupial.

Living almost entirely on a diet of eucalypt leaves, the koala’s habitat is restricted to areas of Australia capable of growing the trees.

Koalas were hunted almost to extinction in the early 20th century for their fur, but their numbers have grown steadily under the protection of the government.

Some key points for the coins include their government assurance of weight and purity, their Australian legal tender status, limited mintages, versatile sizes and new annual reverse designs.

Obverse Design

An image of Queen Elizabeth II is shown on the obverse along with the inscriptions “Queen Elizabeth II”, “Australia”, “2010″ and the denomination.

Reverse Designs

The reverse features a young koala on a tree branch eating gum leaves. Also present are the inscriptions of the weight, “999 Silver” and the Perth Mint’s historic ‘P’ mintmark.

Australian Koala Silver Coin Specifications

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Reference:

worldmintcoins.com

These commemorative coins are legal tender only in Austria, unlike the normal issues of the Austrian euro coins, which are legal tender in every country of the Eurozone. This means that the commemorative coins made of gold and silver cannot be used as money in other countries. Furthermore, as their bullion value generally vastly exceeds their face value, these coins are not intended to be used as means of payment at all—although this remains possible where they are also legal tender. For this reason, they are usually named Collectors’ coins.

Such coins usually commemorate the anniversaries of historical events. They can also draw attention to current events of special importance. Austria mints more than ten of these coins on average per year, in gold, silver and niobium, with face values ranging from €1.50 to €100 (though, as an exceptional case, 15 coins with face value €100,000 were minted in 2004).

Summary

As of  2008, eighty variations of Austrian commemorative coins had been minted: eleven in 2002, twelve in 2003, fourteen in 2004, thirteen in 2005, thirteen in 2006, nine in 2007 and eleven in 2008. These special high-value commemorative coins are not to be confused with €2 commemorative coins, which are coins designated for circulation and have legal-tender status in all countries of the Eurozone.

The Vienna Philharmonic coin is struck in pure gold, 999.9 fine (24 karats). It is issued every year, in four different face values, sizes and weights. It is used as an investment product (bullion coin), although it inevitably ends up in private collections. According to the World Gold Council, it was the best-selling gold coin worldwide in 1992, 1995 and 1996.

A design of musical instruments representing the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the text Wiener Philharmoniker (“Vienna Philharmonic”), can be seen on the reverse of the coin.

The subject of the obverse is the great organ in the Golden Hall in Vienna’s Musikverein, the concert hall of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The face value in euros, the weight, alloy purity and year of issue are also inscribed on this side of the coin.

Since 1 February 2008, the coin has also been minted in silver. The design of the silver coin is identical to that of the gold coin, except for its face value of 1.50 euro.

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References

1. Austrian Mint. http://austrian-mint.at/cms/start.php

There is also a Gold Panda series issued featuring the same designs as the silver Panda coins.

History

The first silver Panda coins—issued in 1983, 1984 and 1985—were Proof quality, with a precious metal content of 27 gm. of .900 fine silver, and a diameter of 38.6 mm. Mintages were only 10,000 for each year. No silver Pandas were issued in 1986. The 1987 silver Panda coins were minted in Proof quality from 1 troy oz. of sterling (.925 fine) silver, with a diameter of 40 mm. There are several mints that produced silver Panda coins over the years, including but not limited to: Shenzhen, Shanghai and Shenyang. Unlike coins made by US mints that carry mintmarks to distinguish their origin, Chinese mints generally do not carry mintmarks. In certain years there are minor variations in the coin design—such as the size of the date, temple, etc.–that allow the originating mint to be determined. An example is 1996 where different mints produced coins with minor variations in the font size of the date on the obverse side of the coins.

Obverse

Depiction of the Temple of Heaven in the center with Chinese characters on top saying “中華人民共和國” meaning People’s Republic of China and the bottom the year of issue. If the issue is a commemorative issue, the theme will be marked here also.

Reverse

Different portraits of panda that changes every year (except for 2001 and 2002, which share the same design).

There are many varieties on the types of coins issued as follows:

1. Uncirculated
2. Proof
3. Gold Plated / Gilded (either side or both)
4. Colored (only obverse side known)
5. Privy marked for different distribution such as 2001 D (for domestic market)
6. Privy marked for commemorative issue, which can also be gold plated

 The official distributor in China for the silver and gold Panda coins is the China Gold Coin Corporation (CGCC), and since 1982 Panda America has been an official distributor in the United States.

In 2006, a flood of counterfeit 1-ounce silver pandas came onto the market, and were frequently encountered on eBay through sellers located in China, both BU and proof versions. Many of these were easily distinguishable from the real thing by the lack of a denomination, which all authentic legal tender silver Panda coins have. Although these counterfeits did not contain a significant amount of silver, they were marked with ’1 oz Ag .999′. Also, some do include the denomination, and are difficult to distinguish from a real one without weighing them, or comparing them to a known genuine coin.

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Reference: 

Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler. 2005 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901–Present (32nd ed. ed.). Krause Publications.

Design

The design features, the Independence Angel against a backdrop of the “Lovers’ Peaks” twin volcanoes, Iztacc’huatl and Popocat’ptl. The volcanoes symbolize a prince and princess from two different Indian tribes, who fell in love but were later exiled. Also featured in the design are the fineness and amount of silver, the date, and the name of the issuing country, ‘Mexico’.  The center of the coin on the obverse features an eagle perched on a cactus holding a snake in its beak, surrounded by a wreath and the words ‘Estados Unidos Mexicanos’. Laid out around the circumference are different versions of this emblem.   

Minted by the Mexican Mint, the Mexican Libertad Onza became the first silver bullion coin to be minted in one ounce sizes. Originally called Onza, these Libertad Onza coins are legal tender, although no face value is displayed. The reverse image of the Angel of Independence is based loosely after the 50 Peso’s Winged Liberty.  

Obverse Design       

The obverse or heads side of the coin features an eagle battling a snake (Mexico’s national coat of arms), which is surrounded by a wreath and the words “ESTADOS UNIDOS MEXICANOS”. Encircling the center are ten eagle designs that have been used as National Emblems through the centuries, including one depicted in the 16th century Mendocino Codex.         

Libertad_Obverse

Reverse Design     Since 1996, the reverse or tails side of the coin features the famed winged angel design. The angel towers above a background of the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl.
Inscription surrounding the top include the numerical size following by “ONZA” for “ounce”, then “PLATA PURA” for “pure silver”, the year of issue, “LEY” and “.999″.       

Libertad_Reverse

General Coin Information

Mexican Libertad Silver Bullion Coins are struck annually for investors and collectors and were first minted in 1982. A beautiful winged angel design has been portrayed on the coin since its inception, but a re-design occurred in 1996 to “make it more attractive,” the Mexican Mint said. That design, which is still used today, depicts the spectacular Angel of Independence — an eight ton golden statue on top of a tall slender column in Mexico City.  The Mexican Libertad Silver Coin is Mexico’s treasure coin and is minted at Casa de Moneda de Mexico, which was established in 1536 and is the oldest mint in North America. These magnificent coins are struck in .999 fine silver and the proof editions are struck in very small quantities.  The one-ounce Libertad Silver Coin is deservedly popular with collectors and investors alike.       

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 References: 

• Information about Libertad Silver Series at Banco de México’s Web Page.
• worldmintcoins.com    

The face value of the 1 oz coin is 5 Canadian dollars, the highest among international silver bullion coins. The current market value of the coin is approximately 20 Canadian dollars. The purity of the coin is 99.99% silver, also the highest among other bullion issues which have a 99.90% standard.

The coin generally always features a maple leaf and generally consists of 1 troy ounce (31.1 g) of silver. Annual variations for the coin in past have included proof releases (1989 only), privy marks, a coloured maple leaf (with a design different from the regular maple leaf), holographic enhancements and several differing designs, such as a 2009 issue commemorating the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The one universal element in all silver maple leaf coins is the phrase “Fine Silver 1 oz Argent Pur” along the bottom of the obverse of the coin.

Several notable issues have been released over the life of the series. A single-issue 10 oz version was produced in 1998 to mark the 10th anniversary of the coin series. In 1999, all Silver Maple Leaf coins that were issued came with a privy mark to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the RCM Maple Leaf Program. The following year, the coins featured a Privy Mark with Fireworks and the number 2000. Another Silver Maple Leaf was issued to commemorate the Millennium. The coins were double dated 1999 and 2000.

Silver Maple Leafs differ from their Canadian Gold and Platinum Maple Leaf counterparts in that collector demand generates prices well above and beyond bullion value. In particular, the 1996 and 1997 versions fetched very high prices due to limited mintages (for example, in 1997 just under 101,000 Maple Leafs were minted, in comparison with more than 1.2 million minted in 1999).

Some of the privy marked Maple Leafs were available only in Europe. For the first time in 2009, the Silver Maple Leaf coins were not packaged in Mylar by the Royal Canadian Mint. Due to the high demand, the Silver Maple Leaf was packaged in tubes of 25.

Obverse: The effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. There are three different versions, a young head version, an old head version, and an older head version. The year of issue and the face value of 5 dollars is also displayed on this side.

Reverse: Picture of a maple leaf. On some variations there are also a small privy mark on the lower half of the coin or colour enhancement.

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References:

People in the older times did not use any form of currency to purchase the things they needed. They just traded their goods at the market place and exchanged things they had for things they wanted or needed. As time passed, people began to learn the value of currency. They started to use money as an instrument to purchase goods and services. Because silver has always been considered a valuable commodity, they minted silver coins as their first currency many hundreds of years ago.

Roman silver coins served as an important means of political propaganda. The Romans also used silver coins as a powerful way of paying their legions. These coins were used for most daily transactions by administrators, traders and for army pay. 

In 1792, silver assumed a key role in the United States monetary system when Congress based the currency on the silver dollar, and its fixed relationship to gold. Silver was used for the nation’s coinage until its use was discontinued in 1965.

Paper Silver

Paper silver or silver futures can be a confusing subject for many people. After all, what does it have to do with how to buy silver? To understand silver futures, one needs to understand what a futures contract is.

What is a Futures Contract?
A futures contract is a contract, traded on a special stock exchange called a futures exchange. The idea is to buy or sell, what is called, a certain underlying instrument, in this case silver, at a certain date in the future, at a specified price. Basically it is a bet that something will be worth something at sometime in the future. This gives new meaning to the word nebulous as no one can predict with accuracy what the value of a commodity will be at some date in the future. You can, of course, find heaps of experts that give advice or guidance but, intimately, no one really knows what the price is going to be.

Obligations of a Futures Contract
A futures contract is different to an option. Whereas with an option the holder simply has an option to buy or sell, the futures contract contains, as part of the contract, an obligation. You are required by law, in other words, to pay.

Both parties of a futures contract must fulfill the contract on the settlement date unless you opt to roll over in to the next months contract. Then cash is transferred from the futures trader who sustained a loss to the one who made a profit. Most futures trading is done on a cash settlement basis these days.

What are Silver Futures?
Silver futures are simply futures contracts where the commodity is silver. This is usually in the form of weight.

Futures contracts, or simply futures, for silver are usually 5000 troy ounces, One would trade in parcels or multiples of 5000 troy ounces, and the exchanges clearinghouse would act as counterparty on all contracts, setting margin requirements, and so forth.

Silver futures and options, currently trade on many exchanges around the world. In the U.S. it is primarily traded on COMEX (Commodity Exchange), a subsidiary of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Other major trading countries all have own futures and options (called derivatives) trading floors.

In short, silver futures are a bet that the price of silver is going to be at a specific price at some time in the future. This could be a high or a low price. If you are wrong you have to cough up the money, if you are right, you get the funds to the value of the current silver price on settlement day from the other trader

How Does a Silver Futures Contract Work
You simply agree to buy, say for example 5000 ounces of silver, in three months to the day at 16 dollars per ounce on that day. That future date is called the delivery date or final settlement date. The pre-set price is called the futures price. The price of the underlying asset on the delivery date is called the settlement price. If an ounce of silver on that day is worth 20 dollars, you win as you are only paying 16 dollars for an ounce of silver that is considered to be worth 20 dollars. You would have made 4 dollar an ounce profit, and the seller loses as you are only paying 16 dollars for something that is worth 20 dollars. If the price of silver goes down in the interim to 13 dollars, then you will find yourself paying 16 dollars for something worth only 13 dollars. That is a nasty situation to say the least. You will have lost money! Of course you do not get the silver. It is all a cash transaction so you cannot, if you lose, collect the silver and hold onto it in the hope it will go up again and you can sell it. However you can roll it over into another contract.

The big issue here is the leverage. You don’t have to pay up front all that you are buying, only a percentage of between 1 and 10 percent. Of course if you win you can win a lot of money. Most people lose and that means they do not just lose the percentage of dollars they put down but the entire amount they bet.

You have to have sufficient funds to back up your call so you can ride out the dramatic changes that can occur from one moment to the next.

This is all done on a cash basis in most markets and in practice you would be working with a dealer so there is no “taking the silver and run.”

This explains why silver futures traders are usually professional dealer with large capital bases who are buying and selling for large institutions, and even they can lose big time.

Quite honestly you would probably have a better chance of winning at the casino.

Conclusion

There are pro’s and con’s to each type of silver mentioned above, and as a footnote I have attached a link to a story that explains the recent accusation of JP Morgan’s manipulating the silver futures market.

http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2010/3/30_Andrew_Maguire_%26_Adrian_Douglass.html     What do you think about this?

Reference:

Silver Futures

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Learn

The first thing you may want to do, is look through the SilverCoinCommerce™ archives and learn as much as you can about silver. We work hard to provide intelligent, thoughtful articles that we hope will be of value to you. Even a seasoned investor may pick up a tip or learn something new. As with anything, the more informed and knowledgeable you are the more likely you are to make wise decisions, and get the best deals.

Research

Why is all precious metals measured in Troy ounces? Why not regular ounces and what, if any, is the difference? This question is a basic, but one you should know before even thinking about buying any bullion.  What years were “junk US silver” coins 90% silver, and did this ever change? These are really good questions that you should spend some time researching prior to any purchase. The higher level of expertise you have, the better decisions you will make. The most important thing, is make sure you know what you are buying, what condition it is in, and how its current value relates to the current market. Is it worth silver content only? Is it a collectable?

-Remember to visit SilverCoinCommerce™ to read up. We’ll also gladly research any topics you ask us to, as long as they are related to SilverCoinCommerce™.

Budget

Keeping a stash of silver coins is just a good idea. Along with a water purifier, some food storage, and emergency first aid gear. Like all of these items, their value may increase exponentially in a real crisis. So one way to look at this, is unlike some of these items, silver coins are not likely to degrade like food stores might.

Think about this. Let’s say you buy one cup of coffee, or some other food item on a regular basis, that,.. well, you could probably do without. Do that every day for a week, maybe a month, then a couple of years,… I think you know where I’m going with this. Let’s say you put aside 8-10 dollars a week for a silver coin investment plan. At the current price (17-ish) you would be able to pick up a 1 ounce coin every two weeks (or about 3, Kennedy fifty-cent pieces, 90% silver). After about a year, guess what, you’ll have over a pound and a half of silver!

If you think about it, by cutting back on bad foods you don’t really need anyway, what you are doing, is exchanging body fat ounces for silver ounces. Not a bad deal! –I know, funny.

Let’s take a 10 year goal here. If you applied the same logic, at the end of 10 years you would have around 260 ounces of silver, worth (at the time of this writing) about  $4500.00. A pretty painless investment plan, that, if silver goes up, could gain you a tidy profit. **In 1980 silver climbed to $49.45 per ounce.

Patience

Getting a good deal is important. Watch the market price, come up with a good strategy, and implement it. If you want to buy from dealers, make sure you know what you are buying, and what costs are included. If you’re buying from a private seller, then make sure they are the owner. –goes without saying, but if it stinks, and you pick it up, you will stink as well.–  Be fair, offer a bit above what they could get at the coin shop, and make a friend. You never know when the tables might be turned.

Conclusion

We hope that helps you get started purchasing and investing in silver coins. Our preference is that you then take these coins and start conducting commerce. This could be done between friends or businesses, and is a great way to increase awareness of the real money mission of SilverCoinCommerce™

Pete Skenandore
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