The Royal Mint is offering 09 US Silver Mint sets, at an outrageous markup, exclusive of the shipping a UK customer would be paying about £35 from the US Mint directly, they are being offered with a mark up of about £50 ($75). http://www.royalmint.com/store/WorldBase/US09SPS.aspx In the past we have seen joint ventures between the two mints where they package a coin from each nation in one set. Is an indication that they may now start offering some of each others products on a regular basis?
Saw that a couple months back. OK the British have a big markup. A few years back they had a set with a silver eagle and silver Britainnia. The set as sold by the Mint was considerably more expensive than the same set as sold by the Royal Mint sosometime we are higher, and sometimes they are. I don't see it as being a big deal. I want a set I'll buy it where I can get it at the best price.
You are referring to the 2003 (released Jan 2004) Legacies of Freedom set offered by the US Mint. The UK counterpart was issued two years earlier under the name of Ladies of Liberty. This is why the US set included a 2002 Britiannia, the US Mint was somewhat lagging in releasing its version. There were some other earlier joint sets but all were solely released in the UK, the 1997 Symbols of Freedom set, the 1998 Ladies of Freedom set, curious as to why there was no US versions. I would not use the term big deal regarding these US proof sets, but then again it is merely a hobby so what is truly a big deal. But seeing this brings to mind if we will see the US Mint offering any UK products. With many collectors feeling overwhelmed by so many US offerings I wonder what, if any, impact such additional offerings may have. The offering price by the Royal Mint is 140% above the US Mint offering and the 2003 Legacies of Freedom set at $50 release price did not reach this much of a mark up as well as the consideration there was almost a two year gap between release dates of these sister sets. Also silver was around $4.50 an oz for most of 2002, by late Dec 2003 silver was over $6.00 oz , which accounts for some price difference as well.
Part of the increase in price would be due to the Value Added Tax. I believe the current VAT rate in Great Britain is 17.5%.
Right, but as you wrote, that explains only part of the difference. If you bought that set from the UK Royal Mint, you would pay about £88 for the product and shipping - about $134. Buy the same set from the US Mint, including shipping to the UK, and it costs about $48. Even with VAT added on top of that, you won't come anywhere near the Royal Mint's price ... One possible explanation is sheer convenience: If the buyer is in the same country as the seller, possible problems (if any occur) may be easier to deal with. In case it is necessary to return an item, that would be less of a hassle. Whether that is "worth" the considerably higher price ... who knows. Christian
