This update hits the nail on the head. Individual buyers of gold coins are buy and hold investors with little need or desire to ever be sellers. I expect this 2013 trend, including increasing interest in silver and platinum, to pick up steam into 2014.
Demand for gold coins shot up 63% to 241.6 metric tons in the first three quarters of 2013, according to the latest figures available from the World Gold Council.
Sales of Gold Maple Leaf coins by theRoyal Canadian Mint surged 82.5% to 876,000 ounces in the first three quarters of 2013 from the same period of 2012. The Perth Mint, Australia’s national coin and bar producer, saw sales rise 41% to 754,635 ounces last year, while the U.S. Mint sold 14% more American Eagle gold coins than it did in 2012, along with a record amount of silver coins.
Coin buyers tend to be small investors who view gold as an insurance policy against financial shocks, said Bart Melek, a senior commodity strategist with TD Securities Inc.
Because these investors intend to hold onto their gold for years or decades, many see the recent drop as an opportunity to buy more at a cheaper price, he added.
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