This National Day will be different from what we have been used to annually due to the global pandemic. However, this is a good time when we as Singaporeans can all unite and stand together!#SGUnited To lighten up the spirits and join in the celebrations, we have specially curated a promotion to celebrate Singapore’s 55th Birthday! Let’s have a look at one of the featured products; the iconic 1965-1975 Singapore Mint 10th Anniversary of Independence Gold Coins Set.
To commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Republic of Singapore on 9th August 1975, the Board of Commissioners of Currency Singapore made a special issue of 3 legal tender gold coins, released on 3rd February 1975.
The Gold coins are set in 900 fineness and are in denominations of $100, $250 and $500 respectively. The coin obverse bears the Republic Coat of Arms with the figures “1965-1975” and encircled by the words “10th Anniversary- Republic of Singapore”. The coins were struck by the Singapore Mint, a division of Chartered Industries of Singapore Pte Ltd.
1965-1975 Singapore Mint 10th Anniversary of Independence Gold Coin 34.7g
Modern Singapore which was first named “Singapura” (Lion City), symbolized by the stylised version of a lion’s head on the reverse of the $500 Singapore legal tender Gold Coin. Each coin contains not less than 1 troy oz of fine gold.
Diameter: 34.5mm Thickness: 2.6mm Weight: 34.7g
1965-1975 Singapore Mint 10th Anniversary of Independence Gold Coin 17.5g
Multi-racialism of the Republic is symbolized by the four clasped hands on the reverse of the $250 Gold Coin. Each coin contains not less than 1/2 troy oz of fine gold.
Diameter: 28.4mm Thickness: 2.2mm Weight: 17.5g
1965-1975 Singapore Mint 10th Anniversary of Independence Gold Coin 6g
Singapore’s successful housing programme is symbolized on the reverse of the $100 Gold Coin by 2 blocks of high rise flats. Each coin contains not less than 0.175 troy oz of fine gold.
Diameter: 19.4mm Thickness: 1.6mm Weight: 6g
This coin set is perfect for history enthusiasts or Singaporeans who want to relive part of Singapore growing years. Due to its limited mintage, it is very unlikely that we would be able to replenish the stock once they are sold out. These rare coins will not only add beauty and value to any coin collection but also own a part of Singapore’s history!
*Customers are allowed to purchase a single item instead of set.
Evonne
In this article, we will delve into some of the features that distinguish Proof coins from the regular bullion coins. Whether you are looking to collecting or new to proof coins, this will help you make a delightful purchase decision.
Proof coins are recognized for their stunning, sharp, detailed presentation. This is achieved by using hand-finished die to strike Proof coins and the dies are constantly re-polished to ensure the intricate details of the design. Due to the high amount of manual work such as inspection and cleaning, only 50 Proof coins can be struck in an hour. Thanks to the immaculate production process, proof coins are the finest quality commemorative coins.
The main reason to own Proof coins are:
Rarity: Unlike the bullion coins, Proof coins are limited in mintage due to the additional manual work and time-consuming production process as compared to minting a bullion coin.
Price: Generally, Proof coins have a higher premium as they carry a more defined presentation, quality and exceptional finish. For collectors who value beauty, Proof coins are well worth the premium. Moreover, due to its limited mintage, some of these proof coins might appreciate greatly in value as collectors would like to get their hands on one. Especially if they missed out on it previously, they would be willing to pay much more for it to complete their collection.
Appearance: Instead of being struck once, Proof coins are struck twice in order to give the coins a shinier, sculpted foreground and intricate appearance. The mirror-like surfaces and detailed sharp features distinguishes them from the regular coins.
Packaging: Proof coins are encased in a protective capsule and packaged beautifully in a gift box and this makes it a thoughtful gift especially for birthdays or anniversaries.
Proof coins are aesthetically crafted works of art. If you are interested in knowing more or purchasing some Proof coins, stay tuned for our National Day Promotion next week! We will be featuring the dazzling collectibles from the Perth Mint.
Evonne
Today, we briefly explore a different topic – the merits of Fractional Ownership in Precious Metals
Do you legally own half a home with your spouse? Do you have friends “co-owning” a private yacht? That is fractional ownership, where the ownership of an asset is shared by several parties. This form of partial ownership allows them to share the benefit that comes with the asset. Typically, this occurs most often when a sole owner does not require usage of the asset 24/7. Simply think of “your yacht” in Singapore, it’s highly unlikely you will wish to sail 24/7. Of course, there are other reasons to pursue fractional ownership, such as inability / reluctance to own the full asset.
The application of Fractional Ownership to Physical Precious Metals (PM) is not new. A common form would be Pool Allocated Gold where the physical gold is set aside in a segregated pool and clients have the option to purchase smaller denominations. A group of PM investors coming together to co-own a pool of physical Gold. Sounds like Fractional Ownership doesn’t it? For eg, clients can purchase 0.1oz Pool Allocated Gold on our GSC Live! Platform and they will own 0.1oz worth of physical Gold (either bars or coins) within our GSC Vault Network.
So, if the concept of Fractional Ownership in PM isn’t new, what is the big deal then? Well, the key is seeing how we can apply the concept of Fractional Ownership to our PM strategies. How does Fractional Ownership help a PM investor achieve his objectives? It is simple. By converting a specific piece of physical gold to a pool allocated format, we have taken that first step (and arguably a tough one) of converting your inflexible gold to a form that offers more flexibility. And this flexibility brings about more options. Let us explain what we mean.
Imagine being able to sell 0.1oz of gold at a time instead of the whole 1oz gold bar; and being able to set aside funds on a monthly basis to accumulate your gold bit by bit, without incurring the huge markup premiums of small denominated physical gold. (Of course, one can argue that you can achieve the same results and receive gold exposure by going into ETFs but that depends on its structure. You may not be really holding Gold after all. This is an exciting topic for another time!) Fractionalizing your Gold allows you to “enter/exit” the market at multiple price points and that itself opens a lot of options.
Clients multiply their single traditional option of “buy low sell high” to many more options on what to do with their PM assets. For instance, instead of only being able to sell 100% of my Gold bar at the current price, I could instead opt to sell 50% of my Pool Allocated Gold and leave the remaining 50% for continued price exposure. If I am on a monthly budget (setting aside $200 every month), I could also be applying a strategy to buy $200 worth of Gold monthly and accumulate up to 100g worth before taking delivery of 1 x 100g gold bar. This allows a PM investor to stack up their purchases at minimal costs. Previously, an alternative would be to buy a physical 2g gold bar monthly and incur huge premiums. (If you are interested, check out our GSC Savings Accumulation Programme where our clients perform minimal-premiums accumulations automatically on a DAILY basis!)
One thing to note though, just by fractionalizing your gold into tiny bits does nothing for you. It’s about how you use that ability of fractionally dividing up your assets that makes it powerful.
So that is it, a short discussion on Fractional Ownership in Gold. We have only touched the tip of the iceberg here. Stay tuned for more updates and discussions.
PS:
To keep this article short, we did not discuss the various differences between Pool Allocated and Allocated Gold. There are many online articles available but if you are interested in a deeper conversation, please feel free to approach us via email ([email protected]) or phone (+65 6222 9703).
What is Mintage of a Coin and how does it affect the value of the coin?
When we talk about mintage of a coin, we are referring to the number of copies issued of a coin during a period. Usually bullion coins for e.g. the Canadian Maple Leaf, American Eagle, Austrian Philharmonic and etc (excluding those special edition, commemorative edition and etc from the same mint) have unlimited mintage throughout the year. Does the mintage of a coin affect a buyer for bullion then?
Well to be honest it might not affect you if you are investing in investment grade bullion coins instead of numismatic coins. However, we categorized some coins as “semi-numismatic” and generally the mintage does affect the value of the coin. These are coins that have both characteristics of a bullion and numismatic coin. A quick example, in 2019 the total mintage of American Eagle silver coin 1oz was 15,032,000 pcs whereas the Australian Lunar silver coin 1oz had a maximum mintage of only 300,000 pcs. Although Australian Lunar silver coin is a bullion, the mintage is 50 times less than American Eagle silver coin and it has a different design every year based on the Chinese Zodiac. The Lunar series from Australia is well sought after by investors and usually these investors would want to complete their collection if they missed out or couldn’t purchase a particular year. Hence are willing to pay a higher premium in order to collect them. This creates a numismatic value on top of its metal value.
Another interesting example, in 2018, the Austrian Philharmonic gold coin 1oz had a mintage of 318,334 pcs. In contrast, the Mexican Libertad gold coin 1oz mintage was only at 2050 pcs. That is approximately 155 times less than the Austrian Philharmonic, and although the Libertad design every year is the same, this low mintage results in a higher demand. Thus premiums for Libertad Gold coins are generally way higher as well and years with lower mintages will command a much higher premium.
Does this mean that those who bought these “semi-numismatic” coins can sell it at a premium in future considering it has added numismatic value? This really depends on who you are looking to sell it to. If you are selling it to coin collectors or coin dealers who are willing to pay high premiums for a relatively rare coin, then the answer is yes, you can get more than the metal value. But if you are selling to a bullion dealer, most of the time they only recognize the metal value of the coin. They might bid at a higher price, but it might still be far off from your expected price.
When it comes to investment, we always encourage clients to do more research and plan their exit strategy. If you are planning to get a bullion coin as an investment and intend to sell it off when precious metal prices are higher to earn some profit, a bullion coin that doesn’t have a mintage cap might be a better choice as it tends to have lower premiums. If you prefer something different and you have contacts to someone who is interested with numismatic or semi-numismatic coin, then it might be a good idea to consider semi-numismatic or numismatic coins.
Our retail store will be open from 19th June onwards, but will be by appointments only. This would allow us to better serve you and prevent a queue outside our store during peak hours. Please kindly be on time if you do have an appointment with us as we might have clients who have an appointment after you, thus can only serve you at our next available slot.
Hand sanitizers will be placed around our store for clients, please feel free to use them. We do have disposable masks too and if you require one, please feel free to approach any of our staff and they will be more than happy to pass one to you. All high contact surfaces will be cleaned and disinfected daily. Counters that are open to serve clients are arranged to be at least 1 meters apart.
Please do not be alarmed as all our staff that will be serving you will don a face mask and a face shield. This is to protect our clients and staff to ensure a safe environment for everyone.
Thank you and stay safe everyone!
When clients purchase bullion from GSC, they can be assured that they are buying genuine bullion as GSC acquires their bullion directly from the mints / refineries and reputable international dealers. We will then do random checks on each shipment with our various devices to confirm the authenticity.
In the very unlikely event that the bullion purchased from us is counterfeit or significantly lower purity / weight as stated on the product, we will be more than happy to provide a one to one exchange or full refund. Allow us to share with you the 3 devices we use to authenticate bullion and gold jewellery.
Densimeter
A densimeter evaluates the purity of precious metals (Gold, Silver and Platinum) by measuring the specific gravity of the sample and distinguish the precious metal from the other base material. Simply by measuring the weight in air and the weight in water, the programmed device will analyse and display the content of precious metals in terms of karats, purity and density. As it tests the average purity of the sample, it provides more accurate result for solid items for instance gold coins and bars.
Magnetic Bullion Tester
The Magnetic Bullion Tester is a magnetic scale and measures the attraction or repulsion of the bullion to magnet in the device. A metal’s magnetism cannot be manipulated, and every metal reacts in its own way to a magnetic field. Precious metals like gold and silver are not magnetic, it is weakly repulsed by a magnetic field. Bullion can remain in their packaging during testing and this is non-destructive. Multiple objects can be tested simultaneously with this tester, for example coins in a tube and if one is counterfeit, it will be picked up immediately by the magnetic bullion tester.
XRF Analyzer
XRF stands for X-ray fluorescence. XRF Analyzer is a powerful, non-destructive device for measuring a wide range of elemental composition from magnesium (Mg) to uranium (U), from parts per million to 100%. It emits X-rays that hit the sample, causes the elements in the sample to fluoresce and travel back to the analyzer’s X-ray detector. The analyzer will then count them and make mathematical calculations to generate a result. Results are available immediately
The above methods are different from some traditional methods you might have heard of, for example fire assay or using a stone and acid which are somewhat destructive. The devices that GSC utilises are non-destructive, accurate and instant. You need not worry about stains or scratches left on your precious metals after testing and are definitely more accurate and transparent.
Dear valued Clients,
Hope you all have been well and have stayed safe and stayed home during the Circuit Breaker in Singapore and similar measures all over the world. GoldSilver Central will be allowed to resume operations on June 2nd albeit not all our services as it seems. According to the guidelines provided by the Government, our retail store will remain closed to walk ins and browsing. We are seeking clarifications with the authorities if self pick up of orders and the selling back of bullion/scrap jewellery by appointments are allowed. We will update again when we receive a reply.
Both of our SSIC (Singapore Standard Industrial Classification) codes allow us to open but there are other guidelines that we might need to adhere to hence we needed clarifications. Please refer below for the guidelines provided by Enterprise Singapore and Ministry of Trade and Industry.
https://www.enterprisesg.gov.sg/covid-19/safe-distance#RE
https://covid.gobusiness.gov.sg/permittedlist/
Thank you for your kind patience and support during this period. Stay home and stay safe! We will keep you updated!
Best regards,
Brian Lan
Managing Director
