So I was in the coin store today to pickup my weekly silver stash and I saw something I'd never seen before. Its a 1/2 oz australian silver bullion coin. I went ahead and bought it. I looked it up and found it on Apmex, so I know this is legit: http://www.apmex.com/product/78059/2014-1-2-oz-silver-australian-year-of-the-horse-sii I was not aware that any official government-issue silver was being sold in anything less than 1 ozt. So this is pretty cool. I usually buy 1 oz coins like the ASE or the China Panda, etc.. but when I have a little money left but not enough to get another 1 oz coin, I'll buy some junk pre-64 half-dollars or something. I don't really like buying generic silver. I prefer to buy silver that is government issue, even if that means a pre-1964 junk silver. Well, so now I found something new to buy.. only trouble is, it is 36.6 mm and I'm having a heck of a time locating any coinsafe tubes or direct-fit airtites for the thing. It actually came in some sort of plastic airtight container from the mint, but I don't like it because it is unnecessarily large and the coin sort of wobbles around inside as it is not all that tight. So I'll have to keep my eye out for a better storage method.
My dad purchased the 2 oz version of that one. It was pricy, but the amount that you can physically see on it is just fantastic. My personal favorite Aussie bullion is this one
I bought these back in 1988. 1/10th oz. Platinum. Had to take to 4 different jewelers before finding one who would work with Platinum. Ended up using white gold to make the rims and studs. I believe I paid about $75 each for the coins and about $350 for the custom work. I purchased a furry stuffed Koala and put the ear ring on it, boxed it up and gave to the boss for Christmas. She still collects Koalas and still wears these on special occasions. She also gets a new Australian Koala coin every year since they started.
