Hi. I am new to the forum and am definitely a coin novice. I was hoping you all could give me your knowledgeable opinion about some coins. Several years ago I inherited a set of coins from my grandmother. The set is called "The Aussie - Australia's Diversified Precious Metal Portfolio (1994)." It consists of a 2 oz. kangaroo gold coin, a 1 oz. koala platinum coin, and two 1 kilo kookaburra/Elizabeth II silver coins. The coins are very pretty. I would love to keep them but I really need the money to make a down payment on my first house. My wife took the coins to a local dealer several weeks ago. The dealer essentially took the weight of the coins, looked up the current market prices for gold, silver, and platinum and made us an offer relative to the weight of the raw precious metal. This was somewhat confusing to me as I would think the set would have more value relative to whole collection. I obtained a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins (2009 version). The book lists the coins at $2000 for the proof. The current market prices for gold, silver, and platinum would make the raw metal worth about $3500. A couple of questions: - Does the set have any true collectors value? - Should I just use the current precious metal market prices to determine the value of the coins? - What is the best way to sell coins like these? The two options I'm considering are the local dealers in Seattle and eBay. Thanks in advance for your help!
Howdy wpatton - Welcome to the Forum !! Sorry, but no it doesn't. Yes. And you can expect most dealers to offer about 10% less than the current spot price. You can try ebay if you wish, but unless you are an established coin seller there with a good reputation it probably wouldn't be worth the effort. Best idea is to just sell them to a dealer.
what is the different between the perth australian mint and the royal australian mint?. are these two different government entities?.
I have to disagree with you there, GDJMSP. The two ounce gold coin is QUITE scarce and will go over gold melt value easily. The same applies with the massive kilo kookaburra. Platinum might be slightly over premium but I am not too sure. Nice set really. The Perth Mint and the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) are two completely different mints. One is in Western Australia and the other is in Canberra. Most of the circulating coins are struck in Canberra whereas most of the modern hyped junk and bullion "coins" are from the Perth mint. This is simply because there are a lot more mines over in Western Australia. If I am not mistaken, the Western Australian government owns the Perth mint. Not too sure who owns the RAM.
If it does it won't be much. Regardless of how few of these were made they are just bullion coins in the end. I have seen them at shows before and they are inevitably offered at spot plus about 10%. And even then they are few who would buy them. Of course given the metals markets situation today they would probably be more easily disposed of. But I seriously doubt they would bring a larger premium than any other bullion coin. And there are going to be far fewer interested buyers because most cannot afford to buy so much at one time. I still say a dealer would be the bet for that reason.
GDJMSP, as far as I am aware, Aussie 1 oz gold coins of most years pop up in the market on a near daily basis but not the 2oz coin. This is one example I can find on ebay at the moment: http://cgi.ebay.com/1994-GOLD-AUSTR...temQQimsxZ20090207?IMSfp=TL090207144008r31222 I am sure the premium is easily over 10%, perhaps at least 15-20%.
Welcome to the forum! I must say these are really nice coins. I kind of split the difference between the two opinions presented so far. I think it's possible to get a "collector" price over spot, but the question is how much effort would be required to find someone willing to pay that? It might turn out to be more of a job than it's worth. My own experience on buying one ounce silver Kookaburras (only) has ranged from around spot or a bit less at a coin dealer that didn't know what to do with them otherwise (which supports one point above) to a non-trivial but not outrageous premium above spot on eBay (which supports the other point above).
there will definitely be a premium to the right collector. the problem is will you be able to find it. i suggest holding a reserve auction on ebay and then moving on from there
What a lovely set to have to sell! But I understand. Wish you could keep it not only as a future investment but as a keepsake.
