Gold Maple Leafs and Silver Maple Leafs receiving packaging makeovers, changes clearly mandated by investor disfavor with packaging that the Royal Canadian Mint has used since the coins were introduced. Gold Maple Leafs debuted in 1979, Silver Maple Leafs in 1988. The changes seem good movement, whose sales of Silver Maple Leafs should increase and help to Gold Maple Leafs the preferred pure (.9999 fine) gold bullion coins.
Since its inception, 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs are packaged ten to a tube. Because Maple Leafs are 24-karat, pure gold, they are 'soft', compared to alloy gold coins like the American Gold Eagles and Krugerrands. Furthermore, because the design of the coins and the tight pipes, it is difficult to remove, inspect, and place 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs in their tubes without scratching the coins.
Actually, reinserting Gold Maple Leafs without at least some scratching is almost impossible. Further, if the persons inspecting the coins do not know how easy the Gold Maple Leafs are damaged, unnecessary damage often occurs while the coins of their tubes.
Gold Maple Leafs bear the image of Queen Elizabeth II on the front, with a flat, clear field next to the picture. The backs are the outline of a maple leaf, so took the coins. The problem stems from really sharp milled (fine grain) edges of the coins. When the coins are returned to their tubes, the milled edges often scratch the fields.
Then there is the problem with investors who like to "raise" their currencies there "to get. Sense of them" If they are four or five Gold Maple Leafs in the palms of their hands and "clang" them, the damage can be very serious. Should a Gold Maple Leaf be dropped, rim damage is almost guaranteed.
If Gold Maple Leafs are sold in the secondary market, have such a problem that damaged coins have become lost with investors. Gold Maple Leafs popularity The problem is so widespread that many wholesalers bid only "melt" for Gold Maple Leafs, regardless of their condition become. By paying only "melt", wholesalers can profitably sell the coins for industrial or jewelry purposes if no buyers are found for the coins.
Gold Maple Leafs, as the Golden Eagles and Krugerrands are gold coins, which trade on the value of their gold content, plus small premiums. Damaged Gold Maple Leafs do not mean a loss of gold, they contain an ounce of gold, regardless of scratches or nicks rim. However, buyers like can not receive. Damaged coins This means that the Gold Maple Leafs sold in the secondary market should be monitored for the degree of damage.
Some wholesalers refuse to take the time to individually inspect Gold Maple Leafs and separate them according to their condition them. These are the wholesalers who usually pays only "melt" for the 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs, regardless of condition. Fortunately, the free market is what it is, there are still some wholesalers who will buy based on condition.
Nevertheless, the handwriting is on the wall: 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs will continue in popularity to lose and probably will join in tubes Krugerrands, Mexican 50 Pesos, and Austrian 100 Coronas as basic gold coins, which carry the smallest premiums in the bullion coin market. However, the packaging makeover selling new Gold Maple Leafs Fillip.
With the new packaging, will each 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf are encased in plastic and hung in the middle of a plastic card, somewhat packed. As 1-oz gold bars However, the plastic protection of the Gold Maple Leafs are heavier and more durable than the plastic used with 1-oz gold bars. The new packaging is to keep from being easily damaged. Coins
With the new packaging, the Royal Canadian Mint made another big change: 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs is now 25 a box, while the old packaging is ten to a tube. This change may further increase sales 20 coins are often ordering units for gold bullion coins, because the world's most popular gold bullion coins - American Gold Eagles - come 20 to a tube. As a result of the change, investors who "complete original packaging" up to 25 grams.
However, orders for small quantities mean the coins will have to be removed from their coin boxes - but still individually encapsulated - and in other containers. The new packaging will also have more storage space for Gold Maple Leafs than for one-ounce gold coins that come in tubes needed.
Although 1-oz Gold Maple Leafs will cumbersome to handle a bit more of a large part of the gold coin gold market prefer pure gold coins. Gold Maple Leafs are the most popular 1-oz pure long time (or .9999 fine 24-karat) gold bullion coins on the market, and the new packaging should keep as the preferred 24-karat gold bullion coins Gold Maple Leafs . (The market for pure gold bullion coins is estimated at $ 2.4 billion per year.) The new packaging is expected to debut sometime in August.
New packaging for 1-oz Silver Maple Leafs is already entered. However, Silver Maple Leafs in their old packaging are still available. Because Silver Maple Leafs were introduced in 1988, they are packaged twenty coins to a sheet, 200 coins in a box. Each coin was individually enclosed in plastic. The new packaging will be similar to the U.S. Mint's Silver Eagles packaging.
Silver Maple Leafs is now 20 with a tube, 25 tubes in a container, and 500 coins to a "mint box." The new box is made of durable heavy plastic, while 200 are cardboard boxes. The new packaging should make Silver Maple Leafs more competitive with American Silver Eagles, currently sold the most popular 1-oz modern silver bullion coins.
Bill Haynes heads CMI Gold & Silver Inc., one of America's oldest precious metals dealers. See CMIGS 'website at
Friday, 28 February 2014
Saturday, 15 February 2014
The Basics of Tax-Free UK Financial Spread Betting
Financial Spread Betting (or Trading) offers a tax-free method of speculating on the financial markets.
Quite simply, if you think a particular index, share, commodity, currency or sector will rise, you place a bet UP. This is also referred to as a Long position or a buy.
On the other hand, if you think that the specific market will fall you place a bet DOWN (commonly referred to as a short position or a sell).
The amount of profit you make money or you lose depends on how good or bad you were and how much you risked per point.
At the time of placing the bet you decide how much you want to risk per point. This can be as little as £ 0.01 or a large amount as £ 1,000 +.
Most bets work on a daily, or contract month rolling basis.
A daily commitment is one that is only open during a given trading day. You could trade place at 11 am and, if you do not close, before it will be closed. At the end of the trading day (4:30 in the case of the FTSE 100)
A Rolling bet is one that, unless you indicate otherwise, rolls to the next trading day. This costs a little money and your bookmaker should be able to give you more information.
A trade opened for a particular contract month will end at 3 months in the future. A specific date when the contract ends known as the date or the last trading day.
For example, if you enter a trade on the FTSE 100 September contract opened, the expiry date will be in September, usually the third Friday. The trade will expire at the close of business on that day.
Some bookmakers also run other types of bets, such as weekly and "End of the year".
Day-traders or "scalpers" will tend to use daily or Rolling bets but as a beginner may be wiser to trade over a longer term.
If you decide to day trade, keep in mind that you should be good to profits almost immediately. If you select a longer time scale, you have some breathing room for the trade to run.
An example of a commercial
It's June and the FTSE 100 is trading at about 5000 and you are convinced that it will be higher for September. To comment you decide to use behind a spread bet.
Sign in to your Internet account, the bookmaker quotes you 5010-5020 for the FTSE 100 September contract.
This means that you can buy (go long) at 5020 or sell (go short) in 5010.
Spread betting odds are always displayed as two separate prices. You buy at the higher price and sell at the bottom. The "spread" itself (in this case 10) is a charge added by the bookmakers. Different companies have different spreads, some bigger than others.
If you would you buy £ 1 a point (or as much as you want) in 5020. The back of the market to go higher,
September arrives and you are close to the expiration of the contract.
Instead of waiting for the last trading day you decide to take as the FTSE 100 is now quoted. 5305-5315 on your profits
You close your position by selling £ 1 per point at 5305.
As you rise was correct in thinking the FTSE have now won £ 285:
(5305 - 5020) x £ 1 = £ 285 tax
There is no need to hold on to the end, you can close your position at any time to take your profits or limit your losses.
If the FTSE was trading at 5,500 in July, you could have closed for more than profit. All you have to do is log into your account and place to close. Another trade in the opposite direction for the same amount per point
Of course, if the FTSE had gone down in this example had lost money but you can use stop losses to limit the damage.
Ben Catt is an active financial trader and runs a free website with hints, tips and information about tax-free trading and financial spread betting in the UK. The site can be found at He also runs a business opportunity information site -
Quite simply, if you think a particular index, share, commodity, currency or sector will rise, you place a bet UP. This is also referred to as a Long position or a buy.
On the other hand, if you think that the specific market will fall you place a bet DOWN (commonly referred to as a short position or a sell).
The amount of profit you make money or you lose depends on how good or bad you were and how much you risked per point.
At the time of placing the bet you decide how much you want to risk per point. This can be as little as £ 0.01 or a large amount as £ 1,000 +.
Most bets work on a daily, or contract month rolling basis.
A daily commitment is one that is only open during a given trading day. You could trade place at 11 am and, if you do not close, before it will be closed. At the end of the trading day (4:30 in the case of the FTSE 100)
A Rolling bet is one that, unless you indicate otherwise, rolls to the next trading day. This costs a little money and your bookmaker should be able to give you more information.
A trade opened for a particular contract month will end at 3 months in the future. A specific date when the contract ends known as the date or the last trading day.
For example, if you enter a trade on the FTSE 100 September contract opened, the expiry date will be in September, usually the third Friday. The trade will expire at the close of business on that day.
Some bookmakers also run other types of bets, such as weekly and "End of the year".
Day-traders or "scalpers" will tend to use daily or Rolling bets but as a beginner may be wiser to trade over a longer term.
If you decide to day trade, keep in mind that you should be good to profits almost immediately. If you select a longer time scale, you have some breathing room for the trade to run.
An example of a commercial
It's June and the FTSE 100 is trading at about 5000 and you are convinced that it will be higher for September. To comment you decide to use behind a spread bet.
Sign in to your Internet account, the bookmaker quotes you 5010-5020 for the FTSE 100 September contract.
This means that you can buy (go long) at 5020 or sell (go short) in 5010.
Spread betting odds are always displayed as two separate prices. You buy at the higher price and sell at the bottom. The "spread" itself (in this case 10) is a charge added by the bookmakers. Different companies have different spreads, some bigger than others.
If you would you buy £ 1 a point (or as much as you want) in 5020. The back of the market to go higher,
September arrives and you are close to the expiration of the contract.
Instead of waiting for the last trading day you decide to take as the FTSE 100 is now quoted. 5305-5315 on your profits
You close your position by selling £ 1 per point at 5305.
As you rise was correct in thinking the FTSE have now won £ 285:
(5305 - 5020) x £ 1 = £ 285 tax
There is no need to hold on to the end, you can close your position at any time to take your profits or limit your losses.
If the FTSE was trading at 5,500 in July, you could have closed for more than profit. All you have to do is log into your account and place to close. Another trade in the opposite direction for the same amount per point
Of course, if the FTSE had gone down in this example had lost money but you can use stop losses to limit the damage.
Ben Catt is an active financial trader and runs a free website with hints, tips and information about tax-free trading and financial spread betting in the UK. The site can be found at He also runs a business opportunity information site -
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