Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;yakpoo, post: 1162922, member: 18157&quot;]Chris, I gotta side with Doug on this one. Take the First Spouse series for instance...each coin has about $150 of markup over bullion. That seems like a lot, but when fewer than 10,000 coins are struck, the costs per coin add up. There&#039;s design, die fabrication, production costs such as the premium the Mint pays for planchet costs and production setup, facilities/management overhead, packaging, etc. ...it all adds up. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&quot;Economies of scale&quot; reduce premiums on higher production coins which may make premiums of lower production coins seem outrageous, but they&#039;re really not. I really like the 3&quot; (1/2 lbs) bronze medals the Mint produces! The Mint charges $42 each for them (that&#039;s a $40 markup...I wouldn&#039;t pay that!), but it tells me that they&#039;re not making very many of them (as evidenced by the high premium over bullion). They&#039;re probably a good deal when you can find them on eBay in the $15-$20 range.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As for the AP (Approved Purchaser) bullion distribution network, I think they should be able to price their products anyway they see fit. With that said, they should never have been the distribution network for the ATB 5 Oz coins. Their purpose in life is to distribute high volumn bullion coins, not low mintage collectibles. You don&#039;t see them involved in the First Spouse bullions coins. If the Mint is only going to produce the ATB 5 ouncers in limited numbers, they should distribute them through the US Mint web site.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in