Slabbed panda

[Leo 91]

When I saw this first I thought: Why would anybody slab an ugly bullion coin with no numismatic value?

http://auction.catawiki.com/kavels/7225477-china-10-yuan-1995-small-twig-small-date-panda-silver-in-slab-pcgs

But then I searched and apparently some pandas have little variations and small mintages and therefore command high prices. There are collectors for anything out there, definitively 

[PWA 1967 2,142]

 PCGS and NGC have graded approximately 70 million coins between them.

So you could probably say most coins regardless of taste or denomination have been put in a slab 

[Stuntman 264]

Slabbed Panda would be a good name for a punk or metal band I think.

[Leo 91]

[azda 979]

On 2 September 2016 at 1:25 AM, Leo said:

When I saw this first I thought: Why would anybody slab an ugly bullion coin with no numismatic value?

http://auction.catawiki.com/kavels/7225477-china-10-yuan-1995-small-twig-small-date-panda-silver-in-slab-pcgs

But then I searched and apparently some pandas have little variations and small mintages and therefore command high prices. There are collectors for anything out there, definitively 

Chinese Panda coins are quite popular, Gold or Silver, maybe not in the UK, but certainly around other parts of the world

[Leo 91]

Certainly they must have a following.

It still looks odd to me that somebody would spend money certifying uncirculated bullion.

[Rob 3,152]

They are buying the label. It matters to some that the genuine Chinese non-circulating bullion is what you have compared to the Chinese bullion copy of the Chinese bullion

[Paulus 1,975]

This is something I don't understand at all! If you are buying bullion why pay way over BV? In this case the cost of slabbing alone would have been more than BV!

I must be / may be missing something ...

[Rob 3,152]

Marketing. We all complain about costs relative to intrinsic value, but who is to say that our collections have any premium to this either. There is a market amongst some who feel they are worth more than bullion. The cost of manufacture dictates that the initial retail price must exceed spot. In fact, everything you buy costs more than the spot price of the raw materials.

[Paulus 1,975]

Very true Rob, I guess in essence I am questioning the use of the term 'bullion coins'. If they become collectable then they deserve a place alongside any other numismatic item, but to me the word 'bullion' then becomes almost irrelevant, except to indicate why they were struck in the first place!

Maybe I have answered my own question ...

[azda 979]

A friend of mine buys the Britannias and recently paid £170 for an PF70  cameo, so there is a market out there for such things...........And yes i have pleaded with him about buying these types, but again, it's his money to spend how he wishes, same as everyone else, each to their own