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Is it always the case buying from Royal Mint means being scalped?


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I found this article from the Independent in 2012 complaining about the high prices being charged by the Royal Mint for commemoratives and how little they are actually worth.

Has this situation got better or worse over the last 5 years?

Is the 2017 Sovereign the exception or the new rule.

Interesting quotes and wisdom from Coincraft and Baldwins.

 

The Royal Mint is being accused of exploiting the general public with overpriced commemorative coins that have minimal investment value.

After 38 years as a Royal Mint agent, a leading numismatic dealer with 57 years in the business, is now refusing to trade in any more of its coins because he believes the market has been devalued by the vast numbers of issues and exorbitant prices.

Richard Lobel – the UK's biggest dealer in the secondary market for Royal Mint coins – condemns what he sees as the exploitation of people who pay up to four-figure sums for what they assume are valuable keepsakes.

He said that coins celebrating the 2012 Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee are among issues that are worth far less than the prices paid. The resale value of most non-gold coins is under 50 per cent of the original price.

Mr Lobel, managing director of Coincraft, said: "I'm tired of how many people's hearts we've had to break."

Until a few years ago, the Royal Mint issued commemorative coins for exceptional events. Now, there are dozens of issues – 68 for the Olympics alone. They include a gold £5 coin now selling on the Royal Mint website for £2,880, for which the owner might get £1,400 at most. A dealer would resell it for £1,500 to £1,600, Mr Lobel said.

Other experts echoed his criticisms. Seth Freeman of Baldwin's, numismatic dealers since 1872, said: "Once somebody's bought a set from the Royal Mint, it's worth about a quarter to a third of what you paid for it ... and I've never known anyone to get their money back, even in these days of high gold prices."

Experts believe that the Royal Mint issues too many coins, in too many different metals, while repeatedly raising prices. Mr Lobel said: "In the last four or five months, they've started charging almost £100 for a silver-proof crown. We saw it go to £49.50 and we were shocked. Then it went to £55 and we were stunned. I don't know what word we used for £99.50."

There is no real investment in older issues, he said, citing coins marking the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, sold then for around £39: "Today, we'd sell them for the same price." Those done for a Diana and Prince Charles overseas tour fared even worse, he added: "We melt those."

Peter Jackson, another numismatist dealer, said: "With the economic situation, people are tending to look upon coins as an investment. A lot of people don't really know what they're buying ... I think there'll be a lot of tears shed in a few years' time when people realise. The Royal Mint ... is trading on their name to such an extent that they're pumping out all sorts of things."

Ivan Macquisten, editor of the Antiques Trade Gazette, said: "I think ... the public would have serious cause for complaint if they discovered that they were paying the Royal Mint four times the price... they would pay elsewhere. Not everyone collects ... with an eye to resale ..., but to be so out of pocket the moment you buy something ... just isn't right."

But Shane Bissett, the Royal Mint's director of Commemorative Coin, argues that with sales of £150m last year, demand is strong and prices reflect the craftsmanship involved.

On being asked about the disappointment of owners about resale values, he said: "Commemorative coins are not sold as investments. They're sold to celebrate commemorative events."

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Not surprising to be honest... And poor quality control keeps new would be buyers from purchasing direct from the mint. I did this twice, once for the Queens beasts Lions which all turned Milky and the 2016 Proof Britannia which were far from perfect...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

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ABSOLUTELY !

Charging twice the intrinsic value for a gold coin or 4 times the likely price later for a silver coin is scandalous.
Especially when marketing and advertising leans towards quality and investment.
Many people will be getting conned into buying thinking they are buying something of great value not expecting it to plummet in the future.
The longstanding reputation of the Royal Mint ensures that elderly aunts are buying this stuff for their little nephews and nieces.
The pompous response from Bisett sums things up nicely.

We Brits of course are hardened to being fleeced- we tend to pay over the odds for just about everything and take it on the chin. 
 

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1 hour ago, shortstack68 said:

I have to admit, reading the quote from Richard Lobel made me smile because he also sells quality junk at exorbitant prices, but I would also agree that the RM do sell at extortionate prices, if their product was perfect (which it isn't) it would still be pricey.....

The other point I'd make is that the queens beast series is the first I've EVER collected from the RM, I was never a fan previously.

Couldn't have said it better myself, although I don't have any Queens Beasts!

The Phoenix is always entertaining reading?

ST

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gotta laugh at this. Being the Queen's official mint I guess the RM must feel they are first in the queue for fleecing the next wave of unsuspecting mug punters. It's not exactly hard to churn out a few different coins every year and pretend that they're new and exciting. No better than printing worthless fiat notes and pretending they have face value.

As with all these hot trends, a few lucky ones will make decent money, but the vast majority piling in will lose their shirt.

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This story reminds me of the British Philatelic Bureau/Royal Mail. I used to buy a lot from them for my grandfather when he was still among us. The churn rate was getting silly and I am not even talking about the quality of those designs that celebrated everything and anything every month. In a way stamps are even worse than collectible coins because they are only paper.

I only buy Royal Mint coins as bullion and not even 'from' them mind you. I try not to actually collect, but have fallen, like many, for the Queen's Beasts series.

I could not repress a smile when I read "Those done for a Diana and Prince Charles overseas tour fared even worse, he added: 'We melt those.' "

That being said, technically commemorative should indeed be understood only as commemorative, i.e. something that marks an occasion. For those who really liked Charles and Diana back in the days, they should cherish and enjoy their keepsakes, be they coins or tea-towels for what they are and not dream of finding a mug who would pay them a fortune for what they think they are worth.

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