General Coin Information

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 Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar and tolar.

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

This Australian Investment Coin has been  issued by the Perth Mint since 2007. The reverse shows the motive of a Koala bear, which is changed on a yearly basis. The other side of the coin depicts a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, as is common practice with coins of the Commonwealth. The Perth Mint has been minting the koala coin in ½ ounce(oz), 10oz and 1kg sizes since 2008. This coin is also available in gold, specifically for coin collectors. However, the gold coin cannot be considered as a classical investment coin, due to the fact that it only appears in small editions with limited numbers of copies and a relatively high premium on the original material value.

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

Euro gold and silver commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone. They are minted mainly in gold and silver, although other precious metals are also used on rare occasions. Austria was one of the first twelve countries in the Eurozone to introduce the euro (€), on 1 January 2002. Since then, the Austrian Mint has been minting both normal issues of Austrian euro coins (which are intended for circulation) and commemorative euro coins in gold and silver.

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

The Chinese Silver Panda is a series of silver bullion coins issued by the People’s Republic of China. The design of the panda is changed every year, and these are minted in different sizes and denominations, ranging from 0.5 troy oz. to 1 kilogram.

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.

There are several ways to use silver coins when making transactions. It is not as complicated as some might think, since there is no need to herd your livestock(money used in the ancient times) to the marketplace and do trades with cows, sheep, goats, horses, and use chickens for small change as they did in days gone by. Actually, in terms of history, it was less than a blink of the eye ago when Americans were still using silver in daily transactions.

Why we stopped using silver

The only reason that Americans stopped using silver in our daily commerce is that the American Dollar had became so devalued that the silver in the coins was worth more than their face value. So in the mid-1960′s the government needed to stop making most of the coins out of silver and use just base metals like copper and nickel in order to get the cost down. Due to this, your parents and grandparents hoarded these more valuable coins and removed them from circulation. These very same 90% silver coins are currently worth more than 12 times their face value. So every dollar in face value of these coins is worth more than twelve paper dollars according to today’s spot price of $17.07/oz. From the given trend in value, what do you think will be worth more in the years to come? The 1 dollar face value of 90% silver or 12 paper dollars? Since the trend is your friend, it points to the 1 dollar face value of silver.

History repeats itself

Now, less than 50 years later, the government is in the same boat again. The US dollar has continued to devalue so much during this brief time period that some of these base metal coins are worth more than the face value. Up until 1982 the penny was 95% copper and 5% zinc, this was changed to 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper at that time to keep cost down. The nickel, which is currently made of 75% copper and 25% nickel, will most likely being targeted for a composition change in the near future since its current metal value is worth about five and a half cents, or 110% of face value. So it costs the government more in raw materials for the coin than it’s face value is worth. Once you include the fully loaded manufacturing expenses, the cost of producing each nickel is approximately 9 cents. Not a good business practice if you want to stay in business. Now don’t go out and melt down all your nickels and take them to the scrap yard to make your 10% profits just yet. The government is way ahead of you, in 2006 laws were created that made it illegal to melt pennies and nickels. It is also illegal to export these coins for melting. Travelers may legally carry up to $5 in pennies and nickels out of the USA, or ship $100 of these coins out of the country “for legitimate coinage and numismatic purposes.” Violators could pay up to $10,000 in fines and spend up to five years in prison. Plus, you get the added bonus that the government will confiscate any coins or metal used in melting schemes.

Face Value vs. Weight

There are 2 easy ways to potentially use silver in today’s marketplaces and as usual there are advantages and disadvantages of each.

Face Value: Faster, but lose a little accuracy. Today’s silver spot price of $17.07/oz. calculates out that 90% junk silver coins are currently worth 12.348 times their face value. While the spot price and the conversion calculations are accurate, you lose some resolution in the fact that you don’t know the exact weight of each coin. Most of these coins have been used in circulation and therefore some of the silver has been removed from normal wear and tear. Therefore each coin of the same denomination could have a slightly different weight.

Weight: Slower and a scale will be needed, but more accurate. With the weight method, you don’t even need to count the face value, just make sure it is 90% silver and start stacking it on the scale. Start out with the bigger coins and fine tune it with dimes until you get the weight in ounces needed.  Just make sure that you are using Troy ounces. I have pasted the definition of a Troy Ounce below, if you come across a word on this site and are not familiar with its meaning, there is a good chance that it is on our definitions link that can be found at the top of the home page.

TROY OUNCE: A measure of weight. A Troy ounce is different from the ounce most Americans are accustomed to (the Avoirdupois ounce). There are 12 Troy ounces in a Troy pound, and one Troy ounce is equivalent to 1.333 Avoirdupois ounces. So, if you buy one Troy pound or twelve Troy ounces of silver, don’t expect it to weigh in at one pound on your bathroom scale, because it won’t. One troy ounce equals 31.1035 grams or 480 grains. One troy ounce equals 1.09711 avoirdupois ounce.

Either the Face Value or Weight method will work, it is just a matter of personal preference or the availability of a scale.

We’re going to zero in on four key principles that we believe will help you make smart decisions as you seek out opportunities to buy and invest in silver coins.

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
Via ProBlogPartners