2016-04-06 Wed

A 100kg gold coin is being sold to British and Irish investors with an estimated price of £3.8m. It is one of the 6 such coins ever struck featuring maple leaves on one side and a portrait of the Queen on the other. It has a face value of one million Canadian dollars.

Buyers will have to pay a premium of 40 percent over the value of the metal it contains since the coin is rare. Apart from the premium, the buyer would also have to shell out US$25,000 to ship this huge coin from Ottawa, Ontario, to a safe location in London.

Such coins are generally bought by investment institution, such as a fund or charity. Others buy it because they fear social, political or other crises. Some experts say that in cases of war, natural disaster or social breakdown, physical gold is often useless if you have it on your person. Dipping share market numbers has caused the price of gold to rise again. Major mints like the Royal Mint produce Gold in bar form and in coins specifically aimed at investors like these.