Minting 999 gold into coins

i was contemplating upon what to do with gold and how to profit from
purchasing scrap it seemed to me one always loses a small percentage
unless you sell bullion coins., bullion coins always sell at least
for spot price even dealers have to pay over spot premium to obtain
this product.

upon this thought the query occured to me where do all those bullion
coins come from someone must be minting or having them minted.
taking this further i addressed myself in a most forward manner ! if
they can do it and make money why can’t i do it . i am posing the
topic to question the the mindfullnes of the list could we not find a
source to have our gold minted ? after all not many of us are making
much of a living these days selling jewelry should we not seek out
options to weather these stormy economic times. could we perhaps pool
our recources to come up with a minted bullion coin to offer
investors searching a haven for thier money?

best regards goo

Hi Gustavo,

I have a friend who is on the other end of this problem. He has a 3
hundred ton press and not enough work at the present. The idea of
coining bullion came up and I brought up the issue of marking /
claiming title to the metal. Surely the market accepts coins/bars
with names like Englehard, Credit Suisse, or Johnson Matthey. The
question is can anyone sell/buy bullion without the recognized names
imprinted on the bar? If you think you would like to pursue this
project further I would be happy to introduce you to my friend.

Cliff Durlacher
Rochoet/Legor

could we perhaps pool our recources to come up with a minted
bullion coin to offer investors searching a haven for thier money? 

What a cool idea, Goo - you supply the gold ;<}… I’s say it’s a
cockamamy idea, except for this: http://custom.nwtmint.com

And others… Of course Krugerands, Maple Leafs and Pandas are the
stuff of government coinage and the metals market and stuff. The
problem with a private coin would be getting the market to accept
them as a viable product, and not just a curiosity. I’m sure it
could be done, I’m not sure it’s a money-maker unless it was large
scale, though. Franklin Mint…

well donivan - if some one pays 50% of spot for thier gold to walk in
customers selling lthen over time collects a an amount equalling 5
pounds of gold at half price or market value only a cockeral sized
brain would think of my idea as " cockamamey " the only thing wrong
with this idea is that you are jealous you didnt think of it first

best
regards goo

i think the 300 ton press is a good start but part of what i
understand is documentation could be an issue and as well as you
mentioned a recognizeable name. wholesale price for american eagles
etc, i think is somewhere in the nieghborhood of $50 USD per ounze.
my gimic is that i have a retail store front and have found that %50%
of spot in exchange for cash money is generous payment for scrap gold
which when dealing with a reputable refiner translates to a
profittable venture. then adding the value of coin on top only makes
the whole thing sweeter it think anyone who spends 30 seconds on this
train of thought will see that it could stop at richistan. problem is
how many thousand ounzes will it take to make the venture worth while
which is why i am coming to the list and suggesting some type of
resource service pool to make the idea work for thse with small
amounts of gold and the guy with the press could make a go at a
living as well

only a cockeral sized brain would think of my idea as " cockamamey
" the only thing wrong with this idea is that you are jealous you
didnt think of it first 

Yep, Goo, you got me all figured out…;<} As you’ve pretty much
said you understand, the only issue I would see would be getting
people to buy it - I don’t mean people in a store buying a gold
curiosity, I mean trading on the metals markets like American Eagles
or Credit Suisse ingots do. I don’t even know how that would be
done… Some sort of certification process, I would think.

Here’s a wonderful September 2008 list of the gold refiner’s marks
accepted by the London Bullion Market Association, and an even more
interesting list of the refiner’s marks not now accepted - for a
variety of reasons.

http://www.lbma.org.uk/delivery/goldlist

With the rising acceptance of laser assay office marking, it may be
possible for 999 coinings - I note they do not imply a value, just a
weight and quality - to be mass-marked without defacing by
mechanical process.

Mark Bingham
http://fourth-axis.com

Ok, if one needs a “sanctioning body” to make the product legit or
for authentication purposes there has to be “someone” that certifies
their legitimacy, couldn’t we do likewise? Or am I nieve (sp) and
missing something. What makes Credit Suisse what it is? Is it name
recognition? I think it’s a wonderful idea. What about “Orchid
Bullion” backed by… Help me to fill in the blanks. And, while were
at it, lets put a point or two back into the “source” to keep it
healthy? Might be the 60’s flower child in me re-emerging… sorry.
My hope springs eternal!

peaceman in Wisconsin where they are talking 3-5, and I don’t mean
years!

I had a conversation a few weeks ago with a local coin and stamp
dealer which touched on a couple of these points. One is that certain
bullion coins sell for a premium, more than $250 above their gold
content for the 1 oz ones, because the demand exceeds the available
supply. So, I mentioned Hooverands, coins minted by our (USA) metal
refiner.

The answer on the private mint coins was no premium- basically,
Eagles, and other government issue. There was a recent price run up
on Credit Swiss bars, that has faded.

He is holding onto his scrap, and feels that with the casual
printing of more dollars, the metals market will rise. Just one
opinion of course, but something to think about.

Rick Hamilton

If one is sitting on a pile of gold and the idea is to get max return
I might just use the stuff to make very marketable jewelry, yes
there’s still market out there. Timing is critical so I’d consider
just to keep stockpiling til sales become easier. If quick cash is
needed now and then, scrap a handful now and then. The idea of
minting coins is interesting and it might fly sometime but in this
skittish market, with trust being the primary sticking point, I
would venture that any gold investors would prefer rock solid
integrity. I’m not casting doubt on the integrity of the new project
but I think investors would.

this is what im saying how can we take our gold to have it minted and
if the govt wont mint it for us how do we develop a prestige market
of minted product for the same content as american eagles. i am
thinking it is certain someone knows someone on this list with the
proper connections thiswould technically be a green industry because
the gold most of us are collecting is not mined out of the ground, it
is recycled scrap jewelry teeth plated computer parts etc. -

goo