Coiners - $10 Rememberance Day Coin from Macquarie Mint

[*crikey*mate*]

I don't have the coin - but I got a letter from Maquarie Mint today for "selected households" offering me an "official 2013 $10 Silver Commemorative coin which pays homage to the courage, selflessness, and spirit of every Australian Digger"

It's a limited edition release I saw somewhere 150,000 of them

and you get a $2 commemorative coin as well.

You do have to pay $10 for the $10 coin.

If you want it - let me know and the form is yours as I don't collect coins

or it does say "order online today" and gives a web address (I don't think I'm allowed to post those here) so maybe you don't even need the form

[5877craig]

First the word ANZAC was used but as they were threatened with a $51000 fine by the dept of Veterans affairs they removed it. People say it's a scam, it's not. It's a true coin even if in unusable currency. It's Gets it's value by limited number and collector appeal (supply and demand) so they are true and legit. Any aussie with an interest in war would get one if could afford the cost. I see people comment about a $10 coin researching it's silver percentage and true value as currency; for starters it's only $10 and if you put the same effort in your job as you do the coin you too would probably earn enough to buy some just because they look nice. I know I have.

[numismatichemist]

It's not an outright scam, in the sense of promising to sell you a coin, taking your money and never sending you anything. Yes, they will send you a "$10 coin".

It is deceptive, to the point of being dishonest, in several other matters.

- The wording on the advertisement, using phrases such as "no risk" and "$10 coin for $10", implies that obtaining the "face value" of $10 for the coin is as simple as walking into a bank and depositing or exchanging it. It is not. Banks in Australia will not accept them. I seriously doubt the banks in Kiribati will accept them either. Coin dealers will only give you a fraction of the $10 you paid for them. Only the original purchaser can get their $10 back, and only by mailing the coin back to them. Accepting a return and offering a refund on unwanted goods is what Macquarie MInt is required to do under Australia law; it is nothing really worth boasting about.

- The clear use of Australian imagery, on a coin that is not a legal tender Australian coin. While the two "real" Australian mints (RAM and Perth) also use such flag-of-convenience countries for some of their coins, the fact that it is not actually an Australian coin is easy to miss, buried in the fine print. It is particularly noteworthy that theseMacquarie Mint "Anzac day" coins all prominently feature a portrait of the Queen; Kiribati is a Republic and actual Kiribati circulation coins do not include the Queen's portrait on them. The only possible reason for including the portrait on these coins is to maximize the potential for confusing it with an Australian coin.

- I seriously doubt that anyone in Kiribati is aware of the existence of these coins. There is a reason why these shadowy "mints" issue coins in the name of remote islands, or countries such as Somalia that have no recognized government: it makes it very, very difficult for anyone to attempt to verify the "legal tender" claims given. Do not be surprised if you are never able to find these coins listed in the mainstream coin catalogues. I'm certainly not holding my breath.

- The flyer does not make it clear that the $10 coin they will receive is actually rather small, and only made of .500 fine silver. The assumption which is all to easy to make from the design of the flyers that the coin they will receive is rather large, and made of pure or nearly-pure silver.

- The entire purpose of these coins is a recruitment gimmick: the goal of Macquarie Mint is to extract much, much more than $10 off of your credit card. Nowhere on the flyer does it say (you have to go to the website and read the fine print there to discover it) that when you purchase one of these coins (and you cannot buy "some" of them, they will only sell you just one) what you are actually agreeing to do is to sign up for one of their "coin of the month" programmes where, a month after they send you the $10 for $10 coin, they start sending you additional coins (charging you much more than $10 each for them) that you did not order and did not choose - the Macquarie Mint chooses for you, from whatever they happen to have lying around. They then charge your credit card for them. If you want them to stop, you have to ask them to and if you don't want to keep the coins, you have to pay to return them. Their target market are the people who are too shy or embarrassed to request a cancellation.

- The very name of the company itself is deceptive. Macquarie Mint is not an actual mint - they have no factory, no coin presses, no building where coins are made. They are the mass-marketing arm of Downies, a coin dealership. These Anzac Day coins are made in an unknown location overseas - probably China. There's a reason why the cons themselves have never said "ANZAC" on them: Australian customs laws prohibit the importation of any goods bearing the word "ANZAC" (so all "Anzac"-stamped things must be Australian-made).

Much of what Macquarie MInt does falls under the cateogry of "I can't believe it's legal for them to do that in Australia". I for one am glad someone is prepared to throw the book at them for any actually illegal things they do.

[siddieswans]

I am not a coin person but that is all very interesting. Sounds like the equivalent of Readers Digest Book of the Month, , or those "collector" plates. Like anything then, buy if you think they are attractive or interesting, but don't expect any "investment" value. And watch your credit card for any future withdrawals. Thanks for taking the time.

[2276231]

The scam has started again before this Anzac day. How dare they try this con once again. The DVA, Department of Defence, The state branch of the RSl & the Australian Federal Police need  to contact these conmen & shut them down especially using the words Symbolising the determination, courage, self-sacrifice and mateship of the Aussie Digger in their promotional material. They have never served & all Ex-Service Personnel need to be aware of the scam. Macquarie Mint are only coin dealers their Certificate Of Authenticity regarding this new $10.00 coin is worthless.

[numismatichemist]

They've been doing it every Anzac Day since 2011. They do it because (a) it's not technically illegal and (b) because it works - every year, Macquarie Mint rakes in a fresh batch of suckers, which lets them spend even more money on advertising the next one the following year.

As far as the "investment potential" of these coins is concerned, perhaps my personal experience with them might shed some light: I went to a coin show in February 2015, where a coin dealer had a couple of the 2013 Kiribati coins for sale. For $9 each. I bought one. Now, that coin dealer would have paid the poor sucker who originally bought it from Macquarie Mint a lot less than $9 - probably only $4, which seems to have been the current going rate for them judging from discussions I've had with several coin dealers about them. The sucker would have accepted the $4 with reluctance, because it's all anyone is prepared to pay for them; they'd already have been laughed out of the banks and Macquarie Mint doesn't pay refunds after the six month expiry date. That $4 price would have been based purely on the silver content price, since there is virtually zero collector demand for these things... and the price of silver has gone down since February 2015.

Now, it should be theoretically possible for someone to acquire several hundred of these $10 coins on the bullion market for $4 each, take the suitcase-full of coins to Kiribati and "redeem" them there at the local bank for $10 each. Take enough coins with you and you'll make enough profit to pay for the trip, so you'd get a nice holiday to a tropical island for free. Assuming, that is, that these coins actually are legal tender in Kiribati, and that (if they are actually legal tender) the Kiribati government has not revoked or restricted their legal tender status. Several Pacific island states such as the Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands have already been stung by people pulling off this particular trick and been forced to revoke the legal tender status of some of their own coins. I'd want to make extra-certain that the coins really are legit before doing this.

[timirgyani]

People should take care before spending their money.

They say refund only if claimed beore specific date and that too you have to produce proof of purchase, what do they mea? its simple they know there will be hardly anyone who will preserve the receipt after receiving the coin itself. If they are so genuine they know that the coin is issued by them so why they should ask such proof?

Clearly its a scam. Fortunately due to this information I am now safe.

Dont waste your time or money just throw their glossy letters in waste paper basket........ your basket is better than these coins...

[collect247]

Macquarie mint isn't even a real mint,they get their coins minted from another country and the coins are always going to be worthless.

[cmcoins2000]

Yep, received that one in the mail.

No idea how I even got on their mailing list.

Unless through - Downies - The Macquarie Mint is an arm of theirs to my understanding.

From my point of view - a total rip off - look at the size of the coin - read further - only 50% silver - how much is silver an ounce at present.

Anyone falls for it - the Mint is making a Mint.

[nyleva07]

Its a con

[johnnoglenda]

I came across an ad for this same coin and it took about 3 seconds to realise it was dodgy just by the poor grammar (like a chinese dude with limited english wrote it)