Return of the gold coin – Finance – Kommersant
[ad_1]
Expectations of a slower increase in the Fed’s key rate spurred investors’ interest in gold, returning the price above $1,900 per troy ounce on the world market. The cost of metal is steadily growing on the Russian market, reaching 4.3 thousand rubles per year. You can participate in the growth of the value of the precious metal by purchasing investment coins. This year, the Central Bank is going to resume the issuance of gold coins. However, in such investments, one should take into account the low liquidity of the instrument, wide spreads for buying and selling, and also take a responsible approach to storing such coins.
Golden slides
In the outgoing week, the price of gold on the global spot market for the first time since the spring of 2022 rose above $1.9 thousand per troy ounce. On Thursday, January 19, according to Investing.com, quotes reached $1,935 an ounce, the highest since April 22, 2022. At the end of the week, the price stopped at around $1928 per ounce, having added 5.7% since the beginning of the year. On the Russian exchange market, the precious metal rose by 3.6% to 4,190 rubles per year. A weaker increase was due to the strengthening of the ruble – since the beginning of the year, the dollar exchange rate on the Moscow Exchange has fallen by 1.8% to 68.7 rubles / $.
You can participate in the growth of the precious metal price by opening an unallocated metal account in a bank, by purchasing a share of a BPIF that invests in gold, or by buying the metal itself at exchange auctions.
If you want to become the owner of physical metal, then you should purchase ingots and coins. The latter can be divided into two main classes – memorable and investment.
In the first case, the main value of the coin lies in the limited edition of the issue and the quality of workmanship. A distinctive feature of the high-quality coating (Proof) is the mirror field and matte relief on the coin. In the second, the value of the coin is close to the value of the metal from which it is made. In this case (Uncirculated quality, UC) is a smooth matte metallic sheen without a mirror surface.
noble ounces
Investment coins are issued by central banks from precious metals: more often from gold and silver, less often from platinum and palladium. Such coins, as a rule, are minted with a relief image, as well as indicating the mass of the pure precious metal contained in them. Often, central banks also print the nominal value, which differs many times from the real value. In Russia, the Central Bank is responsible for issuing investment coins. Russian coins are issued from gold and silver, they are minted by the Moscow and St. Petersburg mints.
The most massive circulation, up to 1 million copies per year, are made coins “George the Victorious”. In gold version, they have a face value of 25 rubles. (3.11 g of gold), 50 rubles. (7.78 g), 100 rubles. (15.55 g) and 200 rubles. (31.1 g).
In 2023, the Central Bank will start issuing Golden Chervonets with a face value of 10 rubles. (7.89 g).
Earlier, in 1975-1982, over 6.5 million gold coins “Chervonets” with a pure metal content of 7.742 g were issued in the USSR, which are still in circulation. Private investors have access to investment coins with the official talismans of the XXII Olympic Winter Games 2014 (leopard, bunny and bear), as well as the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Issued gold coins with a face value of 50 rubles. (weight 7.78 g) and 100 rubles. (weight 28 g) with a total circulation of up to 1.3 million pieces. In addition, silver coins are in circulation – “Sable” (1 million pieces), “George the Victorious” (about 2.2 million pieces) and with Olympic talismans (up to 1.2 million pieces). All of them have the same denomination (3 rubles) and weight (31.1 g).
“The investment coins “George the Victorious” and “Golden Chervonets” are the most popular among our clients,” the Otkritie FC bank said. However, there is also customer interest in silver bullion coins, they noted.
Wholesale is cheaper
The cost of coins depends on the price of the metal, as well as on the seller’s bank. For example, on January 20, 2023, the gold “George the Victorious” with a face value of 50 rubles. could be bought in banks for 38.6–43.9 thousand rubles.
That is, the price of 1 gram of gold was 4.96–5.64 thousand rubles. at the exchange price of the metal 4.2 thousand rubles / year. But the higher the weight of the coin, the lower the value of the metal in it.
In addition, some banks give a 5-7% discount to wholesale buyers.
At the same time, the sale price of coins minted by the St. Petersburg Mint is lower than coins minted by the Moscow Mint. In particular, in the RSHB, a 100-ruble gold “George the Victorious” will cost 73.5 thousand rubles. and 74 thousand rubles. respectively. But the redemption price of such coins will also differ in favor of the Moscow Mint.
Rare branches
With such investments, it should be borne in mind that coins are not a very liquid financial product. On website of the Bank of Russia almost 120 credit institutions are indicated with which an agreement has been concluded on the distribution of commemorative and investment coins, but even among the systemic banks, not all of them have access to such products for wide retail. And in those banks where coins are sold, you can buy them only in a few branches. For example, on the Alfa-Bank website it is indicated that you can buy such coins in Moscow only in seven branches.
At the same time, banks are reluctant to redeem investment coins, and the number of branches where this operation is carried out is even smaller.
For example, in Sberbank, the 50-ruble “George the Victorious” is redeemed only in ten branches of Moscow, in the MKB, coins are redeemed in two branches.
In addition, it should be borne in mind that the buyout price, depending on the bank, may differ from the purchase price by 5–30%. Valery Emelyanov, an expert on the BCS World of Investments stock market, notes that in the case of less popular investment coins, as a rule, banks set a wider spread between the purchase and sale prices. “They are less liquid, but relatively rare, so you can try to sell them to someone’s collection for more than the cost of the metal they are made of,” notes Mr. Yemelyanov.
The width of the spread can be affected by the presence of visible defects: scratches, stains, traces of oxidation, fingerprints and more. Therefore, Sberbank on its website advises owners of coins made of precious metals to store them in plastic capsules, do not touch them with their hands, do not wash or wipe them if the capsule is opened, and keep certificates for it.
Gold is for a long time
All things considered, it could take years to capitalize on rising precious metals prices.
For example, over the past 12 months, losses from such an investment amounted to about 33%, but over a five-year horizon they brought a profit of 24%.
Arina Kostryukova, Head of Precious Metals Department at MKB, notes that the precious metal protects against inflation and is a good alternative to investing in foreign currency. Therefore, he expects demand for gold to continue in 2023. But, as Valery Yemelyanov notes, “precious metal is a form of psychological protection, the population has a belief that you will not be lost with gold coins, no matter what happens in the country.”
[ad_2]
Source link