World's Biggest Gold Coin Minted In Australia

First time accepted submitter shocking writes "The Perth Mint has created a gold coin that is just over one tonne in weight and worth over 50 million AUD. From the article: 'A team of a dozen people have worked since late last year to create the coin which measures 80 centimeters wide and 12 centimeters deep, featuring a kangaroo on one side and the Queen's motif on the other.' Ron Paul eat your heart out!"

Comments

Gold coins are so last century

[SharkLaser]

Now we mine BitCoins!

Re:Gold coins are so last century

[bloodhawk]

because the suckers that use it are gold mines for others?

Re:Gold coins are so last century

[jpapon]

Because while you are producing the coins, you're not really "minting" them. Rather, you're searching for them in a heap of worthless other stuff... i.e. mining. At least that's my take on it. Honestly it's just pointless metaphor semantics.

Re:Gold coins are so last century

[impaledsunset]

i minted a bitcoin that's 80 centimetres wide and 12 centimetres deep, but it told me there wasn't enough space on my 31" reel :(

Re:Gold coins are so last century

[genjix]

The term mining comes from the fact that bitcoins are analogous to gold. When creating a new bitcoin, it isn't something you can mint out of the air- it's more apt to say you're searching for the bitcoin that already exists from a mathematical problem set (i.e you're mining for a bitcoin that already exists).

Another term is coinbase generation. Unfortunately these terms give a lot of confusion wrt mining and are a misnomer. It's more apt to call it validation. These validators (miners) are processing and confirming transactions. For this valuable service of securing the network they are awarded a reward- the generated/mined bitcoins.

Re:Gold coins are so last century

[maxwell demon]

You may "mine" for some numbers with certain mathematical properties, but those numbers by themselves are not bitcoins. You must convert them into a special form recognized by the BitCoin system. In other words, you must "mint" them. The numbers are the material from which the bitcoins are minted.

Re:Gold coins are so last century

[maxwell demon]

Coins are never minted out of air. They are always minted out of some material (which previously has been mined).
With bitcoins, you mine for numbers fulfilling certain mathematical properties. But then, you have to put those numbers into a special form, the bitcoins. In other words, you have to mint the bitcoins.

Re:Gold coins are so last century

[nedlohs]

Because mine implies doing some work to find something that already exists. Wheras mint implies doing something with something you've already got.

Re:Gold coins are so last century

[supremebob]

Unlike a bitcoin, this is probably worth more than $3.

Now they need to...

[Anonymous Coward]

...build the world's biggest couch so it can fall between the cushions.

Re:Now they need to...

[FriendlyLurker]

...build the world's biggest couch so it can fall between the cushions.

...because that is where the extremely profitable Australian mining companies (lack of) tax obligations to the land they are raping, seem to have gone...

Actually, Aussie taxpayers are even giving handouts to profitable mining companies...

Currency

[Zaldarr]

These will be in public circulation next year. All Australians are advised to purchase a flatbed truck for the currency switch.

Re:Currency

[Guy Harris]

Since it is made of gold, this coin is actually money and not the fiat currency like the US dollar which is on the way to collapse in the near future.

What is it that people have against Fiats? There are also some other fine vehicles from the Fiat Group....

Re:Currency

[maxwell demon]

While energy cannot be destroyed, it can be rendered useless.

Re:Currency

[GaryOlson]

Fiats are so hard to attach a value; their use as currency would never work. "I'll give you 50 Fiats for that house; and one Fiat to the real estate agent for commission"?? When the agent already has a luxury car, the Fiat would be unused.
Although each individual Fiat is (trans)portable, porting a number of them around for purchases would require logistical managerial skills most people don't have.

Re:Currency

[GameboyRMH]

Reminded me of this:

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2005/09/yapping_about_m.html

Re:Currency

[Mindcontrolled]

While energy cannot be destroyed, it can be rendered useless.

And why is that, maxwell demon? I'll tell you why - because you ain't doing your bloody work! Back in that box and sort those damn molecules!

Only available ...

[neonv]

Only available on Goldline!!! ... but for $60 million, because gold is only going up ....

Well shit...

[moozey]

Are they at least going to do something cool with it?

Explains a lot about the economy

[SmallFurryCreature]

The coin has a "worth" of 1 million AUD but contains 50 million AUD of gold...

And you wonder why the economy is down the crapper. Also... 50 million worth of gold. Perhaps some better use could be found for it then a vanity piece to show just how much Australia bows before its British superiors?

I would have shaped in the form of a blade and put it in a guillotine. Some might scoff at the sharpness of such a blade but with that weight it will do the job. Just more messily, mad max style.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[imroy]

Your economy is in the crapper, Australia's isn't. We're doing pretty well, partly thanks to our mining sector selling raw materials to China. We also had a recession back in 1987 due (from what I'm hearing now) to bad assets. It had the result of (eventually) clearing out all of those bad assets and leaving our banks stronger than before. So when the GFC hit everyone, we were able to weather it rather well. You guys haven't, and you haven't gotten rid of the toxic assets that caused it in the first place! We're all in for more pain...

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[JasterBobaMereel]

In what way is this "bowing before its British superiors" ? So it has a picture of your head of state on it ...who is about as British as Angela Merkel

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[sjwt]

This would be an urban legend based off the original round 50 cent piece, that a short while after minting became worth more then its face value in silver, and hence why we don't put such base metals in coins these days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_round_fifty-cent_coin

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[WindBourne]

Actually, things are going to be a LOT worse for you guys. Your mostly single customer that is buying no just your material, but your mines, is about to have multiple bubbles pop. It is expected that it will make what just happened in America look positively MINOR.
And actually, I think that America got rid of most of ours, and parts of EU have as well. EU has some issues with the PIGS. Hopefully that was taken care of over the last couple of days.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[alphatel]

Due to fluctuations in the economy, the gold coin can be valued anywhere from $100m to $5. As it has two sides, when flipped int he air, we invoke quantum mechanics. We can see that the coin has both sides at any given times until it lands on one side, with an indeterminate value. Taking the derivative of that, the queen will surely be slain by the Kangaroo for a mere nickel.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[craznar]

The Australian economy is far from down the crapper ... this isn't the US or Europe over here.

The GFC barely even scratched us.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[sqldr]

to show just how much Australia bows before its British superiors?

We don't really see Australians as inferior here in Britain. America on the other hand. My rating for a country's population is usually based on the number of elected politicians who believe that the earth is 6000 years old.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[SJ]

Wow... way to show your total lack of understanding.

Firstly, the Australian economy is in pretty good shape comparatively. (Mostly held together by Western Australia and Queensland)

Secondly, the Mint is required by law to hold a certain amount of gold. What difference does it make if that gold is in house-brick size blocks or moulded into this coin?

The Mint isn't selling this coin, they just made it for funzies.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[Now15]

Swings and roundabouts -- if the mining boom collapses, our dollar will crash and exports will pick up some of the slack. On one hand, we'll have more expensive imports and perhaps less tax revenue, on the other hand, we'll see an upturn in manufacturing and local services.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[mister_playboy]

She was born in London, which makes her British last time I checked.

He's referring to this: The House of Windsor is the current royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during World War I.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Windsor

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[rolfwind]

The coin has a "worth" of 1 million AUD but contains 50 million AUD of gold...

A $20 US Gold Coin weighs 0.96oz. An ounce being, what, $1700 per ounce these days? Doesn't mean that's what the mint sells it for.

And you wonder why the economy is down the crapper. Also... 50 million worth of gold. Perhaps some better use could be found for it then a vanity piece to show just how much Australia bows before its British superiors?

If there is a better use for gold, someone will buy it at the gold price, melt it, and use it. It's not forever lost.

My assumption that this was made was, yes for show, but also to relatively easily transport a lot of gold, and have enough detail on the surface and sides (like the ridges on the coin) to tell at a glance is someone is skimming off of it. Gold is soft, and I assume it's rather easy to skim off of blank blocks without a close inspection, and having a bunch of coins is hard to keep track of.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[cgenman]

Most coins are actually more expensive to mint than their stated face value. The value from a coin comes from the repeated re-use in transactions, rather than in the creation of value.

Not to say that this is a practical example of that, mind you. Just that most coins follow the same model on a more practical scale.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[mmontour]

The Mint isn't selling this coin, they just made it for funzies.

Anyone wanting to actually buy a huge gold coin will have to settle for a $1 million Canadian Maple Leaf.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[Bucky24]

So that would mean the more politicians that believe that the higher the rating? Or the other way around?

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[complete loony]

Bahahahaha. No.

Before the crisis our economy was mainly fuelled by increases to our total level of debt. We were borrowing $20 billion dollars more every month, while our GDP was only climbing by $60 billion every year. When the level of debt growth started to stall it had a massive impact on the economy. In response to that we did 2 things differently to most of the rest of the world;

1. We gave $1,000 to every tax payer and encouraged them to spend it. This had an immediate, though temporary effect, and helped way more than giving money directly to the banking sector.

2. We gave every first home buyer $14,000, which they took to the bank at 95% LVR to borrow $50,000 more than they could otherwise afford. This also encouraged some buyers to enter the market who otherwise couldn't afford the deposit. This had the effect of adding about $100 billion more debt to fuel the economy.

Both of these actions helped us to turn the economy around and avoid a technical recession. But (and this is a very big but) you don't help an alcoholic by giving them more alcohol. Sure things will return to "normal" for a while longer. But if "normal" is unsustainable, all you are doing is delaying the inevitable.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[daver00]

China takes a roughly similar quantity of our exports as Japan, and is by no means our only customer. The mining sector in Australia accounts for roughly 6-7% of GDP, not exactly the dominant industry. The truth is Australia's economy is fairly diversified and our financial sector is well regulated, our government has comparatively low levels of debt. We also benefit from a close proximity to the worlds growth regions, not just China but all of Asia. It will be difficult for us if China slows, but people have been predicting that for ten years or so now. The truth is we are simply in a strong position.

Re:Explains a lot about the economy

[ista]

So it has a picture of your head of state on it ...who is about as British as Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel was born in Hamburg back in 1954, though their parents did move to East Germany a few weeks later.
From 1945 on, Hamburg was part of the British Occupation Zone. East and West Germany were founded in 1949 and most people believe occupation zones ceased to exist in 1949 as well, but the occupation officially ended in 1955 with enforcement of the General Treaty.

So even Angela Merkel wasn't born in the UK and neither lived there, but there are at least some British things in her life.
Maybe her birth certificate has been issued by some british agency ...

Will I get any change after filling the Holden?

[linatux]

and getting a pie n coke

Re:Will I get any change after filling the Holden?

[sjwt]

Depends if you are buying a few grams of coke or a few kgs!

Re:Will I get any change after filling the Holden?

[Dracophile]

Depends. Diesel, yes. Petrol, well the Coke's extra.

Love the reeded edge

[Anonymous Coward]

You could still file a few kilograms of gold from this coin without anybody noticing. Basically, the whole design is crude and ugly IMHO.

Re:Featuring...what ???

[Warwick Allison]

All Australian coins have Her Majesty's Royal Jowls on the Heads side. What's is conspicuously missing is the denomination (5 billion cents) on the Tails. I guess they didn't have the guts to speculate on its intrinsic value. So is it really a coin then, or just a medallion?

Change you REALLY can believe in!

[rts008]

*fumbles change in pocket*
"How do you get THIS in the vending machine?!?"

*cue 'Crocodile Dundee'* "No, THIS is a coin, mate!"
(My sincere apologies to Australians, but I just could not help myself. I developed a healthy respect for Aussie troops during my stint in the US Army:-)

Re:Change you REALLY can believe in!

[JasterBobaMereel]

Try getting a bank to accept it ... They will probably say "the don't deal in fiddling small change"

Interesting statistic

[coldmist]

From what I've read, all the gold in the world that has been mined could fill something like 2 olympic swimming pools, or something like that.

Considering this is like 32 inches x 5 inches, think of that sitting in the bottom of an olympic pool. Not too big, but still pretty impressive considering the relative size.

Re:Interesting statistic

[stjobe]

From what I've read, all the gold in the world that has been mined could fill something like 2 olympic swimming pools, or something like that.

From Wikipedia:

A total of 165,000 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history, as of 2009. This is roughly equivalent to 5.3 billion troy ounces or, in terms of volume, about 8500 m3, or a cube 20.4 m on a side.

An Olympic-size swimming pool has a minimum volume requirement of 2500 m3, so 3.4 of them would be needed to hold all the gold ever mined.

Re:Interesting statistic

[zippthorne]

What's the maximum allowed volume for an olympic-size pool? 3.4 would seem to be the upper bound on the number of olympic pools needed.

Re:Interesting statistic

[Bob the Super Hamste]

Interesting fact I found out that is somewhat related to this. A few years ago I wondered how big a cube of gold would be that weighted 1 ton (short ton for you in the metric world) and came up with an answer of slightly under 1 cubic foot. A few months later I saw an article in the local paper pointing out that approximately 1 ton of lead fishing tackle is lost in Minnesota lakes each year. This value I am sure shocked lots of people as 1 ton sounds like a lot of material, but when put in the perspective that this is only about 1 cubic foot spread across all the 15,000+ lakes in the state it is really a trivial amount. I do my part and use bismuth or tungsten tackle as I don't want to add to the problem.

Re:Interesting statistic

[cowboy76Spain]

A few months later I saw an article in the local paper pointing out that approximately 1 ton of lead fishing tackle is lost in Minnesota lakes each year. This value I am sure shocked lots of people as 1 ton sounds like a lot of material, but when put in the perspective that this is only about 1 cubic foot spread across all the 15,000+ lakes in the state it is really a trivial amount. I do my part and use bismuth or tungsten tackle as I don't want to add to the problem.

The issue is not only amount, but location and form (v.g., a few grams of lead going straight to your heart is a big problem), and the fact that heavy metal poisoning is cumulative (once it gets in your organism it remains there forever, because your body has no ways of dealing with it). It is not a problem in the sense that it is so much that there will be shortage of lead for other users or that you will see lead everywhere, but it is really a problem worth informing about (that I am not saying that everyone is going to die out of lead poisoning) so people can do something about that (as you do).

To put an analogy, someone could say that a CO concentration of 0,084% is trivial. But at that concentration, your available oxygen drops to half the usual levels (even if in the air the O2 is at the usual 21% concentration). Magnitudes for poisons are just... different.

Comprehending public debt

[PolygamousRanchKid]

I hope this is put on public display. Take one lot at that, and then you will really understand what it means for your country to have debts of trillions.

Display boards with lots of digits just don't get the message across.

"See that there big 'ole coin? That's what a Wall Street Banker got as a bonus, after the 'guvment bailed out his bank.

Re:Comprehending public debt

[The Immutable]

Because intragovernmental debt (which is what he's talking about) is different than intergovernmental debt, which DOES have to be repaid and what everyone was panicking about a couple months ago.

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Dunbal]

Unlike private debt, government debt doesn't really have to be repaid

It does have to be repaid when its owed to other governments and they want to collect. Otherwise they usually send an army or better yet a coalition of armies to collect for them, like has happened many times in history. It's the debt to the "people" that doesn't have to be repaid because - the bonds are junk and what exactly are you gonna do about it, pal? Get too snotty and we throw you in jail. We're the government.

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Wildclaw]

Tell that to the Greek.

Is Greece the owner (monopoly issuer) of a fiat currency?
Does Greece have all its debts nominated in that fiat currency.?

If you answered no to either of the two above questions, then government debt has to be repaid or defaulted on.

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Jeng]

Not a bad idea if you happen to have $50 million laying around, which I am assuming Australia did.

This publicity stunt has only cost them the labor used to create the coin and they can melt it back down at any time.

Doubt they will melt it down though since turning the gold into a coin increased the value of the gold.

Re:Comprehending public debt

[cgenman]

Take that ridiculous, oversized, mind-bendingly overpriced coin.

Mint a field of 250 thousand of them. That's the US debt.

Launch a comically supervillian plot to steal every bit of gold ever mined in the lifespan of humanity, stealing from fort knox, buckingham palace, motherboards, every wedding ring, etc. If you took all 10 billion oz of gold in the world, and sold it all at current market rates, you'd barely pay off the federal debt.

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Prune]

Dunbal, read the link I posted. Government doesn't have to borrow from other countries or the public in order to spend. It simply credits bank accounts, but that money doesn't have to be borrowed from anywhere (it is accounted for in the central bank, but see http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=11218 as to why this doesn't matter, as well as, again, the link I had posted). The problem with quantitative easing and why it didn't do anything has in part to do with the fact that the way it was carried out, liabilities were created that offset the credits, and no net money was created in the system. Also, why was I modded Troll?

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Prune]

Giving up one's ability to issue currency is giving up a significant chunk of one's rights as a sovereign. The effective result of the Euro is that Germany has economically subjugated swathes of Europe with its massive trade surplus, and the countries in the monetary union cannot fight back with monetary means. Germany's modus operandi seems to be "beggar thy neighbor".

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Prune]

The Greeks are not a fully sovereign country, since they do not have their own currency. Your comment further strengthens mine; thank you.

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Prune]

TheImmutable, don't forget that the government doesn't need to do public and intergovernmental borrowing in order to "fund" its spending. There's little reason for government borrowing, other than the inertia of neoliberal economics thinking still mired in the pre-Nixon days of commodity-based currency. http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=5098

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Prune]

Due to the fallacy of composition, many politicians fail to realize that macroeconomic debt is completely unlike private sector debt. So they freak out about debt and impose austerity measures, which is the worst thing you can do in an economic slump.

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Prune]

Why was I modded Troll?

Re:Comprehending public debt

[Carnildo]

Dunbal, read the link I posted. Government doesn't have to borrow from other countries or the public in order to spend. It simply credits bank accounts, but that money doesn't have to be borrowed from anywhere

You might want to read this, about the last time a government decided to pay its bills by creating money out of thin air.

Not the biggest coins...

[Bysshe]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones

stone coins weighing up to 4 tons and up to 2000 years old.

Re:Not the biggest coins...

[OverZealous.com]

Not to be rude, but the title, summary, and article specifically say biggest gold coin. Nothing actually says biggest coin outright.

Re:Not the biggest coins...

[GargamelSpaceman]

I always seem to see huge round stones on people's lawns used as decoration. The stones have a hole in the center and grooves cut sort of spiral like eminating therefrom. I believe in ancient times these were called milstones and used by a primitive race of Giants for currency because of their roundness and convenient hole through which a rope might be threaded .

Re:Featuring...what ???

[sjwt]

Its on the reverse for some reason, put on your best Dr. Evil voice..
"One million dollars!"

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/238345/20111026/gold-coin-perth-mint.htm#page4

Douglas Adams saw this coming

[Alioth]

It's funny how Hitch-hiker stuff seems to have a bearing on real life so often...

"...and the Triganic Pu has its own very special problems. Its exchange rate of eight Ningis to one Pu is simple enough, but since a Ningi is a triangular rubber coin six thousand eight hundred miles along each side, no one has ever collected enough to own one Pu. Ningis are not negotiable currency, because the Galactibanks refuse to deal in fiddling small change"

And I bet the banks would refuse to deal with this gigantic gold coin.

Negotiable curerncy?

[jandersen]

This being petty cash, like the Triganic Ningi, it isn't worth hanging on to, since the banks wont exchange them.

Density

[Pence128]

It's about the size of a garbage can lid. Gives you a bit of perspective on the density of gold.

Re:Density

[Bob the Super Hamste]

Most people would probably be more familiar with the unit of measure that it is about a 1 cubic foot of gold.

Re:Density

[daid303]

Except for the fact that most people use metric measurements. USA being the only real imperial country, having 250M people of the 7B in the world makes your definition of "most" awkward.

So about a 30x30x30cm cube.

Re:Density

[Bob the Super Hamste]

Well I meant most on this site, but a cube 30cm on edge works as well for this crowd.

Re:Density

[Coren22]

30 cm is about a foot right? :)

Sigh, fails to understand Australian economy

[mjwx]

And you wonder why the economy is down the crapper.

As an Australian, I don't wonder this, I have never had to wonder this as we recovered from the effects of the GFC within six months.

Australia's economy is doing quite well right now thank you very much. The high price of minerals, energy and agri products are benefiting Australia right now because minerals, energy and agri are our three biggest exports. The AUD buys 1.06 USD at the moment as a sign of just how strong the Australian economy is. Unemployment is at 5%, which is quite normal for Oz and our debt is decreasing (despite what the Murdoch rags say, 2009/2010 budget was in the black).

Whoever modded the parent post up needs to be melted down and minted into the worlds dumbest coin.

Re:Sigh, fails to understand Australian economy

[bloodhawk]

while I agree our economy has done quite well throughout the GFC on the back of the mining boom, you may want to recheck your debt numbers as while they are not so bad, 2009/2010 was not in the black, it was over 50 billion in the red, I believe the 2009/2010 deficit was our largest ever on record as well.

Ron Paul?

[HyperQuantum]

Will someone please explain to n00bs like myself how Ron Paul is relevant to this story?

Re:Ron Paul?

[Dunbal]

Because Ron Paul has been pushing for the US to go back on the gold standard for many decades. Maybe if you read up a little bit on potential election candidates, America wouldn't keep electing complete idiots.

Re:Ron Paul?

[Anonymous Coward]

He wants to go back to the gold standard -- basing the US currency against gold.

Re:Ron Paul?

[HyperQuantum]

That's why I asked. I am not an American.

Re:Ron Paul?

[Dunbal]

My bad - neither am I, so I assumed that at least one of us was.

Re:Ron Paul?

[Vaphell]

Afaik 'return to the gold standard' is a simplification of his stance. As a libertarian he wants people to be free to choose the currency they want to do business in. The US can issue paper money all they want but should not disallow competition.
He stands for competing currencies, including commodity backed ones (gold and silver being explicitly mentioned as a legal tender in the constitution which he follows).
Gold standard doesn't necessarily mean 'the state issues gold backed money' but 'there is at least one legit currency that is backed by this particular commodity called gold'. When a single body has the right to issue money with no backing it has everybody by the balls and can steal purchasing power at a whim as there is no physical constaint to prevent that (especially when it has the authority to use force like governments do). He thinks that given choice, people would flock to the ones that preserve accumulated wealth best, which fiat money doesn't do as it has inflation built in - the de facto gold standard is simply the end result of this choice.

Re:Ron Paul?

[GargamelSpaceman]

As a libertarian he wants people to be free to choose the
              currency they want to do business in.

They are. They can do business in any currency they wish to. They CHOOSE to do business in dollars.

Legal tender for all debts is no imposition at all since the dollar does not represent a fixed quantity of any other good. If I owe you one ounce of gold, then I can give you the current market value of that gold in dollars and my debt is settled. You are free to use those dollars to buy the gold, or not.

Re:Ron Paul?

[Bob the Super Hamste]

Representative Ron Paul has long pushed for the US to return to a commodity backed currency usually gold or possibly a bi-metallic standard of gold and silver. Also he has long pushed for a comprehensive auditing of the US gold stockpiles to be done all at once as the current auditing procedure is always done in bits so it is possible for the gold to be moved from one vault to another to make it appear that we have reserves greater than we currently have. Ron Paul has never liked the fed and the audit that representative Dennis Kucinich managed to get pushed through revealed various games they played, but both Kucinich and Paul would like to see a more through audit of the Federal Reserve bank done although for completely different reasons. Also these guys are basically polar opposites of the political spectrum Kucinich is a very liberal democrat where as Paul is a very libertarian republican (he even ran as the Libertarian presidential candidate a few election cycles ago) so when the come to the same conclusion from very different perspectives it is probably a good thing for the country. Also for some kicks you can go onto ebay and do a search for "liberty dollar norfed" or "Ron Paul Dollar" and see the results as Ron Paul has also pushed for competing currencies. The Norfed tokens have an MSRP, not a face value and some even feature Ron Paul on them. The tokens themselves have a bit of history which I found rather an interesting read on Wikipedia if you are into currency and money.

Re:Ron Paul?

[Vaphell]

dollar is the only first class citizen in the US. Try minting gold or silver coins... you can count on the feds investigating you, or even knocking on your door to arrest you for counterfeiting.
The dollar is a preferred currency only because you need it to pay taxes. Barter with your neighbor - the IRS will want dollars and only dollars. End the privileged position of the dollar and then see how competitors do.

Re:Ron Paul?

[GargamelSpaceman]

You can always exchange your gold to get dollars with which to pay the IRS.

Also, I wonder if gold lovers understand that the first thing that will happen should a gold standard be adopted is that gold's buying power would drop. This is because gold in banks would be lent out under the fractional reserve system creating perhaps 10 times as many chits redeemable for gold as actual gold in existence.

Frankly because of gold's 'quality' as a money and the fact that it can't be printed by a government as easily as a fiat currency I would not want to owe anybody gold. That is probably why you don't see gold banks prevalent nowadays. Gresham's law means I want to spend ( and get loans in ) the crappiest money.

If you don't like the dollar, then you can only knock it off it's spot by coming up with a crappier, yet competitively convenient, currency. Then people will use that instead.

Re:Ron Paul?

[Bucky24]

And yet sadly you both probably know more about US potential election candidates than most Americans...

nah, not a problem

[WindBourne]

They will sell it for a time in bulk to China expecting to make it up in volume. Then China will swoop in and buy the company and the mine. Then shut it down, move the operation to CHina and sell it at a lower cost, while keeping the coin the same.

Future Archaeologists.

[WindBourne]

I wonder if a future archaeologists digs that up, what they will wonder? They will probably assume that we had a new race of 50' women take over the world, but that it was so few, that only a few of these coins were found. Then upon finding 'attack of the 50' woman' movie, they will know that man was wiped by that race.

Re:Future Archaeologists.

[Dunbal]

You are surprisingly optimistic to think that this much gold is going to a) be forgotten about and/or b) last that long intact.

Standard pratice?

[hAckz0r]

The US mint often creates "collectable" coins that are sold for much more than face value. The collectors seem to be willing to spend money on coins that are double struck to give it a very glossy shine, not to mention coins with unusual face artwork. It seems some people have more money than good cents.

Re:Standard pratice?

[Bob the Super Hamste]

I assume that here you are referring to the various bullion coins that the US mint issues like the gold and silver commemoratives, the American Eagles (silver, gold, or platinum), or the American Buffalo. Now most of these have a face value substantially less than their melt value, but the price they sell at individually is typically near market rates for purchasing a single unit of the metal. Currently with the substantial pull back in in recent months in precious metals they are a bit on the expensive side but then the mint sets its prices before minting begins. Now if you were referring to the standard uncirculated and proof sets that are issued these have a collector value to them that is not justified by their metal contend but is determined by the the premium placed on them by the mint and what the market will pay. As a side note US mint issued American Eagle coins carry the highest premium on the secondary market even though other coins like the Canadian Maple Leaf or American Buffalo with higher purity of 99.99% (the Silver American Eagle is only 99.9% and the Gold American Eagles are 91.67%). This is mostly due to the reputation of the American bullion coins (in original packaging with documentation they are not assayed when selling them) and also the inertia specifically behind the American Eagle coins as these were the first ones issued after the ban on individuals owning bullion was lifted in 1986. Interesting fact is that other countries would get around this ban by issuing bullion coins that were considered official currency in their home country as the ban didn't apply to US individuals owning foreign currency that was legal tender.

So

[Dunbal]

To assay it properly you need to take core samples?

Re:So

[Warwick Allison]

You're clearly still waiting for your Eureka moment.

um, why?

[T-Mckenney]

I like shiny things, but this is a bit ridiculous. We could have used those precious metals for something more productive. Just saying. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold#Electronics

Re:um, why?

[zippthorne]

There are a lot of people who confuse money for wealth, Who will see all the money that has changed hands here, and think that useful economic activity has occurrred.

Anyway, that gold can still be used in electronics, so it might as well spend some time as art until needed. The only thing wasted here is the time of the people who gathered and assembled it and the energy expended, which has a value of far less than $50e6 AUD.

Re:um, why?

[T-Mckenney]

Unfortunately that is where our society has ended up...

Our economy rocks and

[i-reek]

we want everyone to know it.

It's not a coin. Perhaps a medal

[HBI]

Coins are struck on presses with dies and planchets. This is cast. The relief is very high: this item would not stack. It really resembles a medal more than a coin.

I would have been much more impressed if they had constructed a press with sufficient power to strike such a large coin.

Re:Featuring...what ???

[Talderas]

So all the coins have the impression of the current living monarch. What's the policy for outdated coins when the good queen dies?

World's biggest gold coin... for now.

[VoiceOfSanity]

There has been a competition between the Perth Mint (which is separate from the Royal Australian Mint) and the Royal Canadian Mint for some time now. The RCM held the record for the largest gold coin (which was 100kg in weight), beating the European Austrian Mint's 31kg gold coin. The difference is that the RCM coin was actually sold to at least one buyer, while the Perth Mint's coin is more for show than for actual collecting.

And no doubt the RCM folks are already planning to find some way to top the Perth Mint's coin.

[Disclaimer: I do not work for any of the mint's mentioned, I'm just a collector of coins. I find it hard enough to justify to myself buying a 5oz silver coin, much less something in the 1+kg range.]

Re:World's biggest gold coin... for now.

[Bob the Super Hamste]

Have you tried pawn shops. Most of the time they don't know how to price things like collectable coins so usually mark them all the same price maybe with older ones costing more. You can find some hidden gems there if you know what you are looking at, but a lot of what they have is overpriced for what you are getting. Also you can do what I use to do and pick a price per ounce (well below market value) you want to pay and go troll ebay bidding that amount (subtract the shipping price) on all the silver bullion you see and see what you win. I found that when I did that I would win about 1 out of every 200 to 300 auctions. I still have probably close to 100 ounces of silver bullion that I got this way (I had a price of $2/per ounce including shipping and this was years ago when the spot price hung around $5). If I did this now I would probably pick a price in the range of $15 to $20 an ounce.

Economy101 fail

[thegarbz]

I wonder where you get the opinion that the economy is down the crapper? Sure the US is financially imploding and Europe is coming along for the same default swap fueled ride, but Australia on the other hand avoided a recession and on the whole is doing quite well.

What you think is insane is actually good economic policy. The gold coin is not in circulation and as such before this little experiment the government had $50m in gold, after it still has $50m in gold, nothing's changed there.

As for printing a low value on it, the goal here was to make a big frigging coin. If they printed $50m on it then it effectively has 50 times the effect on the value of the currency. $1m is a token number picked low to ensure that this awesome experiment doesn't have an effect on the economy.

As for bowing down? All Australian coins have the queen on the back. You just shitty because we didn't print a picture of a US president? It's not like we're giving this coin to our token figureheads.

Your post show complete ignorance of the economy and of politics.

Re:Economy101 fail

[Bob the Super Hamste]

Personally I find foreign coins fascinating along with other historical oddities (invasion, inflationary, fractionals, etc). I have always like coins from the British Commonwealth many of which have the current monarch on them. The monarch isn't what interests me but mostly the other interesting designs on them. Also you are correct about the amount on the coin since it is considered legal tender it needs to be counted in the money supply so they chose a token value that wouldn't have any impact on the valuation of their currency but still be impressive to the general public. Also props to you Aussies for deciding that the cotton rag paper for notes is the wrong way to go and went to the polymer notes. Now I just wish I could get some at some not retarded markup people on e-bay sell them at.

Re:Featuring...what ???

[egamma]

So all the coins have the impression of the current living monarch. What's the policy for outdated coins when the good queen dies?

Cyrostasis?

Re:Featuring...what ???

[nedlohs]

Pennies aren't coins by your made up definition.

Re:Featuring...what ???

[robbak]

They continue circulating until they are scrapped when they become damaged or excessively worn.Which will probably take over a hundred years. (Which adds inflation to the reasons for destruction)
This is well established practice. King george pennies were circulating normally when australia went decimal in '66. Interestingly, most australian wallets contain at least one coin dated 1966.

This coin is useless...

[Oswald McWeany]

This coin is useless unless I can unwrap it and there is chocolate inside.

Knock-knock...

Hello Australia...

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!!

Re:It's not a coin. Perhaps a medal

[Bob the Super Hamste]

That would be really impressive considering the presses that are currently used for minting US coins. That press would be more impressive than the coin itself and personally I would love to know the tonnage of that press especially since coins aren't struck hot. It probably is a real coin as it carries a face value and as such probably is considered legal tender.

Can I get a genuine replica?

[davidwr]

I can see it now:

The Linfrank Mint is proud to offer this unique opportunity to get your one-of-a-kind authorized reproduction of the largest gold coin ever minted. Enjoy showing your friends your very own "Australian Kangaroo 1 Tonne 9999 Gold 2012" life-size gold-plated replica coin.

To order, call toll free 1-800-555-SUKR now, operators are standing by.

This offer Includes in this offer is a complete history of how this coin came to be.

To order, call toll free 1-800-555-SUKR now, operators are standing by.

All products come with a 30-day inspection period with a full refund (excluding shipping and handling) if not satisfied.

To order, call toll free 1-800-555-SUKR now, operators are standing by.

This can be yours for only 3 easy payments of $19.95 plus $499.99 shipping and handling. Please allow 4-6 months for delivery.

Again, call toll free 1-800-555-SUKR now, operators are standing by.

Re:You probably won't be losing that down the sofa

[GameboyRMH]

You might lose your couch under that coin...

Re:Shouldn't a gold coin be...

[GameboyRMH]

It looks like they made it with a rough mold and left the surface unpolished, resulting in the nerf-like texture (like you see on many automotive parts that were made with sand molds). They could sand and polish it to a mirror finish, although they might want to collect the dust...

Decisions, decisions

[PPH]

Heads says I try to think of an "In Soviet Russia" joke.

Tails says I find someone I don't like to mod down.

It's really ugly

[Animats]

Look at the picture. For the amount of work they put in, it's a really ugly design. Couldn't they find a decent artist?

Re:Featuring...what ???

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

It's legal tender, so numismatists would call it a coin. Krugerrands don't have a denomination on them either.

You call that a coin?

[hism]

This, is a coin!

Re:It's not a coin. Perhaps a medal

[Darinbob]

After casting there was some extra bit of carving to create the ridges on the side, and I'm sure they recovered that gold.

More people can measure a foot than a 30cm

[LostMyBeaver]

If you wear a size 43 european shoe which is the most common size mens show sold in Europe or you wear a 42 or 44 (those three sizes together accounting for nearly 80% of all mens shoes sold in Europe) which is close enough to a size 43, then your foot is actually a foot or damn close to it in size.

So, while I appreciate that you are trying to help people visualize things in a way they'll understand, the fact is, while most people in the world would prefer to make precise measurements in the metric system, visualizing the size of a cube of gold relative to a component of ones body especially when estimating is most likely more effective.

And last I checked, most carpenters in europe are still purchasing their lumber in thumb measurements, the approximate with of a common mans thumb. Also know as... wait for it... and inch.

Oh... wait...

[LostMyBeaver]

Please also realize that in areas like Sicily, while not legal tender, prices for most things are still marked in Lira... then when you want to buy it, the shop clerk will break out a calculator and figure out how many euro you owe them if you don't have any lira available.

Just because other standards are set, it doesn't mean they are universally used.