Showing posts with label philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label philippines. Show all posts

Obama coins failed to capture the taste of local collectors


The "Obama Fever" has failed to capture the taste of local coin collectors unlike of that when the "Harry Potter" coin series and commemorative medals appeared at the local market.

The United States and the rest of world (particularly the African country, Kenya where Obama traces his roots) recently have their own versions of celebrations to welcome the first African-American President on his first official day at the White House as the 44th President of the United States.

Local Ebay sellers, bargain seekers, collectors, and speculators have their own respective opinions why buying or selling Obama memorabilia and mementos is a definite one of a lifetime opportunity.

"One local Ebayer explained that, Obama's charismatic appeal and popularity are two special aspects why collectors rush toward Obama Mania."

"Most known personalities and celebrities made their mark in our history using these equities (trademarks)."

This official Obama coin depicts Barack Obama's bust over the nation's capital and is encircled by the legend "Barack Obama" along the upper rim. (See picture for details)

The Democratic Party placed an order with the Winston Elizabeth & Windsor mint in England for about £100,000 ($156,000) worth of silver Obama coins to be used as gifts for Party supporters. The silver Obama coins, which were made from specially-designed dies, were issued in a numbered limited edition of 300 coins. If you were lucky enough to have received one of these official Obama coins, you just might have a collectible with some potential to increase in value over the years!

The colorized and the silver plate Barack coins that are selling on Ebay are not the same as the official Obama coin. Don't be mistaken that this coin is the real deal, "one collector says". The Obama coins which use a Presidential Dollar for the host coin are colorized through the application of a decal, which is permanently fused to the coin's surface using a hot glue process. In doing so, these marketers are wiping out the faces of our nation's Founding Fathers and placing their garish colorized designs on our U.S. legal tender coinage. The result is a coin that is numismatically worthless; in other words, these colorized Obama coins will never have any value to coin collectors as collectible Presidential Dollars because the original surfaces of the coins have been destroyed by the colorization process, as one Obama collector commented.

These Obama coins are being sold for prices ranging from $9.95 plus shipping (total: $14.90) to nearly $30 each, and all they really are is defaced Presidential Dollars that you can get for $1 at the bank comapred to the official silver Obama coins, which were made from specially-designed dies, and were issued only in a numbered limited edition of 300 coins.

The news regarding this fraud spread into the local numismatic clubs thus, most local collectors have restrained from buying any of these coins to discourage counterfeiting and forgeries which has already plagued the local coin market.

"Besides, being a limited edition, numbering only in 300 to 500 pieces. It can be comparable to a lottery win if a local collector could even acquire one!" One numismatist explained.

Philippine Bullion Report: Precious Metals alongside Energy & other Commodities Gain


Precious Metals: Gold, Silver, & Platinum

Precious metals and grains gain alongside energy prices last Friday trading, after a nine-day plunge in oil that shifted investors position to buy back into the ailing commodities market.

But so far, there is doubt that crude oil or other battered commodities are in for a consistent rebound. The labor market remains bleak, international trade is plummeting, and holiday retail sales were lower than forcasted. All these signs point to lower demand around the globe.

Gold has been performing better than other commodities. On Friday, gold for February delivery $23.00 to settle at $871.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

Precious metals and grains gains alongside energy prices last Friday trading, after a nine-day plunge in oil that shifted investors position to buy back into the ailing commodities market.

But so far, there is doubt that crude oil or other battered commodities are in for a consistent rebound. The labor market remains bleak, international trade is plummeting, and holiday retail sales were lower than forcasted. All these signs point to lower demand around the globe.

Gold has been performing better than other commodities. On Friday, gold for February delivery $23.00 to settle at $871.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

The precious metal is traditionally viewed as a safe investment in turbulent times. Its price plummeted as hedge funds and other large investors were forced to sell assets to raise cash, but the metal has been recovering from its mid-November lows as the economy and US dollar fall.

On Friday, the dollar slipped against the euro, but gained against the British pound.

Grain prices have also been advancing over the past few weeks on the Chicago Board of Trade, and extended their gains on Friday.

March wheat futures rose 17 cents to finish at $5.9925 a bushel, while March corn futures rose 14.25 cents to close at $3.98 a bushel. March soybeans rose 37.5 cents to settle at $9.565 a bushel.

Energy and industrial metals were not far behind. But they gained on Friday, despite news from Japan that industrial production sank by 8.1 percent in November — the worst monthly drop in more than 50 years.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery advanced $2.36, or more than 6 percent, to settle at $37.71 a barrel. US markets were closed on Thursday, and on Wednesday, crude prices had fallen for the ninth straight day.

In other Nymex trading Friday, gasoline futures rose 5.17 cents to settle at 88.4 cents a gallon, while heating oil rose 4.67 cents to settle at $1.245 a gallon.

March copper futures added 2.95 cents to close at $1.3035 a pound.

March silver gained 18 cents to close at $10.53 an ounce.