New U.S. Mint Buffalo Coins’ Packaging A Nightmare

22
Jul
0

When the U.S. Mint announced it was adding a .9999 gold bullion coin to its line of gold coins, it looked like a “golden opportunity” for the Mint to capture a big chunk of 24-karat gold coin industry. When legislation was passed mandating that the new coin bear James Earle Fraser’s designs that graced the legendary Buffalo/Indian Head nickels from 1913 via 1938, the new coin’s future looked even brighter.

 

Nonetheless, on release from the new Buffalo gold coin, the Mint’s golden opportunity has turned into a nightmare at the retail level. While the coin itself is quite striking, having a matte finish and completely capturing the Fraser designs, the packaging makes the coins a nightmare.

 

Despite the fact that the bulk of the blame can be laid on Congress for attempting to “micro-manage” production and distribution with the coins, the Mint should accept its share from the blame for the choice of packaging, having not considered, the retail aspects of the packaging.

 

Congress mandated that the coins be individually encapsulated to protect them from damage, apparently to avoid problems that have risen with 1-oz Canadian Maple Leafs. Further, Congress mandated that the Mint have the coins ready for distribution by the end of June. To meet the deadline, the Mint had to choose a method of packaging that was readily available and that would accommodate anticipated large volume sales.

 

The Mint chose a semi-rigid Mylar packaging, five coins horizontally with four coins down, making twenty coins to a sheet. With wide spacing between the coins, a “sheet of Buffalos” measures twelve inches by sixteen inches. The packaging causes several problems.

 

Because from the rigidity from the Mylar, a sheet cannot be folded into a tall bundle. Orders for less than twenty coins have to cut out from the sheets for the coins to be packed compactly, which is desired—and expected—for gold bullion coins.

 

Undoubtedly, the semi-rigid packaging for the Buffalos was meant to supply durable protection. Nonetheless, the Mylar is so rigid that an original sheet of twenty Buffaloes cannot be conveniently stored. A sheet of twenty may be rolled like a magazine and then rubber-banded, but then storage would take a lot of space. Whereas the smallest of safe deposit boxes will hold hundreds of 1-oz Gold Eagles because they come in compact tubes, perhaps only sixty or so Gold Buffalos would fill a small safe deposit box.

 

Another problem that has surfaced: The coins readily come out of their protective sheets when handled. This means the coins then have to be transferred to a tube or to individual plastic sleeves, which are used so often for single coin purchases. Or, the Mylar may be mended with Scotch tape, hardly an attractive solution.

Because of the problems that have arisen while using packaging, Buffalos will not appeal to numerous large bullion buyers but to collectors, who may want only a few coins. Investors who ordered Buffalos without understanding of the packaging have been disappointed. Using the present packaging, it is unlikely the Mint will capture a lot from the .9999 fine bullion coin market.

 

While the Mint may point to early robust sales, new coins nearly always enjoy powerful early sales. And, using the popular Buffalo/Indian Head design, undoubtedly Buffalos will remain favorites of collectors and people looking for gifts. Nevertheless, the Buffalos were introduced to go after the .9999 fine gold bullion coin market, where investors make repeated orders. So, the test for the Buffalos will come within the months ahead when we learn if investors make second and third orders for Buffalos.

 

It is the opinion of this 32-year veteran from the gold bullion coin industry that if the U.S. Mint does not make changes in Buffalo packaging, sales will erode over time, and the Mint will miss a golden opportunity to capture a big piece from the pure gold coin market, which is now dominated by the Royal Canadian Mint’s Gold Maple Leafs.

 

The solution towards the problem is for the Mint to change the packaging as soon as possible, taking into consideration how large investors are likely to store the coins—in safe deposit boxes. For investors who do not store in safe deposit boxes, compactness becomes even more important, as the coins must be easy to conceal. The Mint seems to have completely ignored this aspect from the market.

Additionally, the Mint needs to keep in mind that the coins have to be handled by bullion coin dealers who ship the coins towards the final investors. The present packaging causes twenty-coin or larger orders to be shipped in large boxes, adding to shipping costs. The large boxes may also require more trips towards the Post Office. It also increases the cost of handling for orders less than twenty coins, as they have to be cut out from the sheets.

Since Congress mandated that the coins be individually encapsulated, the Mint should go with hard plastic capsules such as those used by The Perth Mint. Then the capsulated coins should be put ten to a tube, providing compactness for ease of storage. That would also facilitate handling by coin dealers.

 

To correct the problem—and really go after the .9999 bullion coin market—the Mint should encapsulate the coins individually and put them in tubes of ten. Then ten tubes should be put in small, sealed, and durable boxes. And, finally, five small boxes of 100 coins should be put in a larger box of 500, which is how the Mint ships its best-selling Gold Eagles. Boxes of 500 are popular with large investors, and the boxes of 100 would be attractive to medium-size investors.

Packaging the new Buffalos this way would facilitate storage and handling both for investors and for retail dealers. The Mint needs to think retail with its packaging, to take into consideration how investors store, and to think about the bullion dealers who handle the new Gold Buffalos in delivering them to pure bullion coin investors.

 

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Annuity Retirement Comes Down to Security

6
Sep
0

When you choose to invest in annuity retirement is secure. No matter how long you live, there’s always income coming in. Annuity is truly a sound investment. While you had once been stuck with any annuity until you retired, selling annuity has become more common. Indeed, the market always as a high demand for annuities.

Living out your savings is a nightmare facing many seniors right now. Many who depended on the successs of the stock market for their retirement now have very little to work with. Stock markets crash, while annuities are secure. It’s truly a sound investment, rather you’re interested in saving for retirement or selling annuity. Annuities give you the retirement security you depend on.

Chance are that you’ve grown used to a luxurious lifestyle, one you’d like to maintain well into retirement. Annuity investment makes it a possibility.  Why not? You’ve worked hard for it. If you want to live elegantly through your retirement, however, it will take investing. While IRAs and employer share programs are nice, they have their limits. Luckily, you can buy as much annuity as you require. There are no limits, yet it’s still a tax free way to invest your money.

If it turns out you have more annuity than you need, you can always sell the annuity. There’s a wide market with high demand, making annuity a resource that can quickly be turned back into money. This allows you a lump sum to remodel the house, take a cruise, or deal with a financial crisis. Annuities have gotten very flexible over the years with more options than ever before.

That’s a security that’s worth more than gold. Why worry about outlasting your savings or having to cut your lifestyle? Live the elegance you’ve enjoyed for years with an investment in annuity. There’s never been a better time tobuild your future. You need security and elegance. Buy annuities and build your future retirement.

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Let The Right Investment Advisor Show You How To Be Your Own Personal Banker

27
Jun
0

An investment advisor can be your best resource or a total nightmare. It really depends on how much they really know about the reality of the world we currently live in. Some investment advisors are working off premises that are decades old, and probably have no interest in tackling the challenges most people currently face. How do you know the level of street smart education your advisor has?

One way is to quiz him or her about some of the most current thoughts on ways to save money by being your own personal banker.

About 30 years ago, various studies started to surface that explored some revolutionary ideas about linking some of the regulatory benefits of whole life insurance. By combining the unique characteristics of whole life insurance policies there evolved some proactive strategies to use it to handle the debt side of your life and the way you handle the inevitable expenses that come up.

In essence, most of us are financing the needs of our life, such as houses, cars, college educations etc. There is often a debt and the related interest expense to acquire those needs. But even if a person is a cash paying, financially conservative, oriented consumer, paying cash for these items incurs a cost.

The cost being: the lost opportunity of that money to make money. If you had not used those funds to buy something, they could have been making you more money.

The right investment advisor can you teach you how to, in essence, be your own banker. There are ways to borrow money without paying interest. There are ways to invest money without having to give a large portion of it to the taxman.

All of it has to do with some of the wonderful rules surrounding simple whole life insurance policies. So, if you have read this far, you might want to check in with your investment advisor and see what he knows about being your own personal banker.

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Let The Right Investment Advisor Show You How To Be Your Own Personal Banker

27
Jun
0

An investment advisor can be your best resource or a total nightmare. It really depends on how much they really know about the reality of the world we currently live in. Some investment advisors are working off premises that are decades old, and probably have no interest in tackling the challenges most people currently face. How do you know the level of street smart education your advisor has?

One way is to quiz him or her about some of the most current thoughts on ways to save money by being your own personal banker.

About 30 years ago, various studies started to surface that explored some revolutionary ideas about linking some of the regulatory benefits of whole life insurance. By combining the unique characteristics of whole life insurance policies there evolved some proactive strategies to use it to handle the debt side of your life and the way you handle the inevitable expenses that come up.

In essence, most of us are financing the needs of our life, such as houses, cars, college educations etc. There is often a debt and the related interest expense to acquire those needs. But even if a person is a cash paying, financially conservative, oriented consumer, paying cash for these items incurs a cost.

The cost being: the lost opportunity of that money to make money. If you had not used those funds to buy something, they could have been making you more money.

The right investment advisor can you teach you how to, in essence, be your own banker. There are ways to borrow money without paying interest. There are ways to invest money without having to give a large portion of it to the taxman.

All of it has to do with some of the wonderful rules surrounding simple whole life insurance policies. So, if you have read this far, you might want to check in with your investment advisor and see what he knows about being your own personal banker.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

Let The Right Investment Advisor Show You How To Be Your Own Personal Banker

26
Jun
0

An investment advisor can be your best resource or a total nightmare. It really depends on how much they really know about the reality of the world we currently live in. Some investment advisors are working off premises that are decades old, and probably have no interest in tackling the challenges most people currently face. How do you know the level of street smart education your advisor has?

One way is to quiz him or her about some of the most current thoughts on ways to save money by being your own personal banker.

About 30 years ago, various studies started to surface that explored some revolutionary ideas about linking some of the regulatory benefits of whole life insurance. By combining the unique characteristics of whole life insurance policies there evolved some proactive strategies to use it to handle the debt side of your life and the way you handle the inevitable expenses that come up.

In essence, most of us are financing the needs of our life, such as houses, cars, college educations etc. There is often a debt and the related interest expense to acquire those needs. But even if a person is a cash paying, financially conservative, oriented consumer, paying cash for these items incurs a cost.

The cost being: the lost opportunity of that money to make money. If you had not used those funds to buy something, they could have been making you more money.

The right investment advisor can you teach you how to, in essence, be your own banker. There are ways to borrow money without paying interest. There are ways to invest money without having to give a large portion of it to the taxman.

All of it has to do with some of the wonderful rules surrounding simple whole life insurance policies. So, if you have read this far, you might want to check in with your investment advisor and see what he knows about being your own personal banker.

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