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A Case for Buying Some Platinum Bullion

After selling all of my Platinum back in March, I never thought I would buy another ever again.

But here I am yesterday buying (10) $25 2008 W Unc units @ $319.95 from the US Mint. I think of it as a 30 Day Call Option as the generous Return Policy is always there ;>

They are about to go "Dark" at the Mint, BTW.

There is a numismatic component for the units in that the US Treasuary will not mint anymore units this year. Based on my experience with the 2006 W Mintage, chances are they only did a few dies worth of production. These burnished proof planchets take 4-5 Die hits to produce a good coin. (A proof plat takes 5-6 hits). Good possibility that these will beat the 2006 W Unc's for scarcity and rarity. I will add that the Platinum Collection Base, in my humble opinion, has been decimated this Summer. That said, even the pre-2006 W Unc Collector Base should be sufficent to support the numismatic value of the units at these price levels.

This works out to $1,279 / Ounce w/ KitCo showing $908/Ounce. I will note that the larger 1 ounce coin does not get as much numismatic value as the $50 and $25 Coins. The $25 Coins are much harder to find in a MS70 than the $50's. Right now, on EBay, most all $25 units for ANY year have been bought and sold at $400 to $599 in the last 2-3 weeks. So even with the MS Rebate dropping to 25%, these $25 units are holding up nice.

Here is the Bullion Component of the deal:

That’s the view of Credit Suisse Standard Securities (CSSS) precious metals analyst David Davis, who had warned in a report published on September 18 that pgm prices had reached “industry breakeven” levels. He calculated breakeven prices for platinum companies at about $1,100 per ounce for platinum; $300/oz for palladium and $4,200/oz for rhodium. Currently, platinum sits at $867/oz while palladium has dropped to $187/oz and rhodium has collapsed to about $1,700/oz.

Breakeven Price to Get Platinum out of the Ground? = $1,100 per Ounce

The 2008 Johnson-Matthey Platinum Report can be found Here

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Comments

  • They are now listed as backordered.

    I was going to buy one based on your post.

    Just what does backordered mean exactly?

    Am I out of luck?

    *Edit* OK, it says shipping will available on Nov. 5th.
    "Lenin is certainly right. There is no subtler or more severe means of overturning the existing basis of society(destroy capitalism) than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and it does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose."
    John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
  • Give it a try, usually it will go dark the next day.

    What's nice is that you may get delayed in getting the coin, but you will get it + the 30 days to return it, thus a longer period on that "Call Option"


  • << <i>Give it a try, usually it will go dark the next day.

    What's nice is that you may get delayed in getting the coin, but you will get it + the 30 days to return it, thus a longer period on that "Call Option" >>




    I went ahead and ordered it, got the confirmation email with a later delivery date by a few days.

    Hard to go far wrong on just a quarter ounce. Plus the 2008 may end up with a premium as you said.

    I hope I do get it. I haven't ordered from the Mint in a long time now.
    "Lenin is certainly right. There is no subtler or more severe means of overturning the existing basis of society(destroy capitalism) than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and it does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose."
    John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
  • OverdateOverdate Posts: 7,016 ✭✭✭✭✭

    A palladium mine is reported to be suspending production due to the low metal price:

    Link

    I would guess that at some point (who knows when), a decline in new supply would have a favorable impact on price.

    My Adolph A. Weinman signature :)

  • I can see a paladium mine suspending production, but try to find the products out already there for under 100 bucks over spot. They are getting a minimum 50% premium over spot when I checked last week. I was actually thinking about buying an ounce for the simple fact I could sell it to come close to breaking even with the High Relief Saints are released next year, in case of a spike in paladium. I would like to get one of each, the gold and paladium issue, if they are both in fact made as has been reported.

    I did grab one of the quarter ounce uncircs of the platinium and it was on backorder when I ordered also. image
    imageQuid pro quo. Yes or no?
  • ttownttown Posts: 4,472 ✭✭✭
    Well one thing for sure the mint is selling Platinum coins cheaper than I can find on Ebay. The 1/4 ouncers were $300+ for several years, way before the peak.
  • jmski52jmski52 Posts: 22,899 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What's nice is that you may get delayed in getting the coin, but you will get it + the 30 days to return it, thus a longer period on that "Call Option"

    Coinboy, a call option entails some risk. Ordering platinum from the Mint with a 30 day return period entails no risk, and allows for examination of the product for coins which will sell at a premium.

    It's really the closest thing to the old days, when you could go to the bank to buy rolls, search them, and return them at no cost other than your time.

    Even though the Mint's pricing includes a premium, that premium is probably less than what you could buy platinum coins for anywhere else. A 30 day-free trial to play the platinum market ain't all bad.
    Q: Are You Printing Money? Bernanke: Not Literally

    I knew it would happen.
  • 57loaded57loaded Posts: 4,967 ✭✭✭
    were these pulled and then put back on this year? or did they just come out? i don't follow platinum, yet i did buy and sell two sets last year, Miss Liberty is not very attractive in reverse proof...IMHO

    seems like a reasonable price. but i think platinum will be priced and traded as an industrial metal during this economic period of six months or so. atm it is priced below production costs. when inflation kicks into overdrive, you might be sitting pretty.

    i like your reasoning, a lot, but i'm all into gold and silver now, with everything but the kitchen sink and i don't think that will bring much....lol

    image
  • jmski52jmski52 Posts: 22,899 ✭✭✭✭✭
    were these pulled and then put back on this year? or did they just come out?

    57loaded, in a nutshell - the 2008 burnished uncs and proofs (both) were pulled from the Mint website after platinum prices took a dive. Amidst much speculation about whether or not they would return, they remained frozen at very low mintages for months, until last Friday when the Mint put them back on sale, at about 1/2 the original price.

    Since the year is long in the tooth, it appears that the Mint is done with production for the year although that is certainly no guarantee. However, they did make a statement a couple weeks ago to the effect that all fractional eagles, both gold and platinum were done for the year, in terms of production - so that the Mint could focus on filling orders for 1 oz. coins.

    The 2008-W burnished unc Plats might have very low numbers, in spite of being put back on sale. The proof Plats might also fall into that category. As some of these categories go dark, we will be in a better position to judge whether or not these speculations have merit.
    Q: Are You Printing Money? Bernanke: Not Literally

    I knew it would happen.
  • CASE CLOSED, BOYS!

    All sent back to Mint, not even worthy of holding for the 30 day period!


  • << <i>CASE CLOSED, BOYS!

    All sent back to Mint, not even worthy of holding for the 30 day period! >>




    My shipping date was kust pushed back to 11-18, I hope I don't get a reject from someone else.

    Sounds like that might be the case, though.
    "Lenin is certainly right. There is no subtler or more severe means of overturning the existing basis of society(destroy capitalism) than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and it does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose."
    John Marnard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 1920, page 235ff
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