Gold Soveriegn Shortage

[chinmusic]

So the financial mess in Greece is causing a shortage of Gold Sovereigns. Enough so that the premium is climbing and US dealers are shipping to Europe to capture the additional premium.

http://numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=10951

The high prices at which sovereigns are selling in Greece and elsewhere in Europe has had one expected result. American wholesalers have been shipping their sovereign inventories to Europe to take advantage of the higher premiums. Consequently, sovereigns are now virtually unobtainable in the United States.

As the premium on sovereigns continues to rise, it soon might be possible to swap sovereigns that you own for other low premium gold bullion-priced coins so that you could increase your gold holdings without having to pay out any funds.


It was only recently they had some of the tightest markups of any of the common gold coins.

[madfranks]

The same thing happened with common date pre-33 gold pieces here in the US. When the economy started crashing and people started looking to gold, many people bought up the hype about pre-33 gold being "exempt from gov't confiscation", so much so that the premiums for common date circulated pre-33 gold went through the roof! You used to be able to buy a pre-33 $20 Liberty or St. Gaudens for very close to bullion price, now they are hundreds of dollars more!

[uranian]

i've not noticed a shortage of sovs here in the UK, but there's a shop now paying 100% of spot for krugers and maples.

[gunDriller]

i've not noticed a shortage of sovs here in the UK, but there's a shop now paying 100% of spot for krugers and maples.


is that abnormal ?

in the US small coin shops sometimes pay spot or $10 under spot for Maples & Krugs. bigger shops pay about $15 over spot.

one thing i would really like to find out - how are South African 2 Rand coins perceived in Europe, compared to the Sovereigns ?

referring to these things -
http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_images/584/108584_2674A.jpg

they are the same weight of gold as the Sovereigns - .2354 ounces. and they're sometimes cheaper than the sovereigns, to buy.

if you take a 2 rand to a coin shop in Europe will they usually give you about the same price as for a sovereign ?

[uranian]

very unusual to get spot value for a coin, yes. mostly the shops pays 97-98% of spot.

i'd guess that if you shop around a bit, you could get the same for the 2 rand as a sov, but certainly they are less well known than sovs, so there's a chance you'd get a bit less for them.

[Liquid]

Sov's are actually my favorite gold coin. Since I refuse to pay the premium on pre-33 gold, sov's give me a chance to own old gold, circulated. I really like that, the history.

I see apmex has 171 gold sov's for sale for $320. Price seems a little high though over spot.

[gunDriller]

Sov's are actually my favorite gold coin. Since I refuse to pay the premium on pre-33 gold, sov's give me a chance to own old gold, circulated. I really like that, the history.

I see apmex has 171 gold sov's for sale for $320. Price seems a little high though over spot.


i think the Sovereign's are more attractive than the 2 Rand's. the Sovereign's almost seem like the color of 24K gold, but that doesn't make sense, they'd be all dinged up.

they're both .2354 ounces, they're both made for circulation. but they don't look the same color-wise. is it just my eyes or does anybody else notice that ?

do i need to be colorimetrically checked out ? 8)

[JohnQPublic]

...do i need to be colorimetrically checked out ? 8)


Try taking those dark glasses off. :)

[Skirnir]

I am not fond of sovereigns as bullion because of the counterfeiting.

[chinmusic]

Counterfeiting is a real concern with Sovereigns. I think I read somewhere years ago that they are the most counterfeited coin in the world.

But, even with those concerns they have many pluses too, their worldwide recognition and acceptance being one of the greatest. That is why I always carry my Fischer kit when I am purchasing any Au

[uranian]

never seen a fake sov, indeed the only fake gold coin i've ever seen was austrian. easy enough to tell with a known to be genuine sov and some scales.