Overseas buyers start new gold rush ---- One US buyer had bought $1 million in gold coins

Hello

On the story below.

Check out how much some of the buyers are paying
out.

--------------------------------------------------

FROM:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4834781a11.html

Overseas buyers start new gold rush

By KAREN ARNOLD - Sunday Star Times
Sunday, 01 February 2009

New Zealand is poised for another gold rush but
it's unlikely anyone will be digging for their
fortunes.

As gold prices hit record levels, it's overseas
buyers with money to spare who are turning their
dollars into Kiwi gold.

(NEWS STORY IMAGE)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/789321.jpg
GOLD RUSH: New Zealand is poised for another
gold rush but it's unlikely anyone will be digging for
their fortunes. Pictured is $100,000 worth of Kiwi gold.

New Zealand Mint head bullion trader Mike O'Kane
said as the world recession deepened, more people
wanted to safeguard their cash and saw the
precious metal as an insurance policy.

The price of gold has doubled in the past two
years and last week hit an all-time high, reaching
$1745 an ounce.

O'Kane said that with the failures of large US
investment banks, such as Bear Stearns and Lehman
Brothers, demand for New Zealand gold increased.
The failures coincided with NZ Mint doing a month's
worth of transactions each day.

"We've just started to see another surge in demand
through fear and worry."

During the past two weeks one US buyer had bought
$1 million in gold - about 570 coins - and was
contracted to buy another $1m during the next
fortnight.

"There's an Asian couple flying over to buy
$500,000 worth," said O'Kane. "They're going to
take that away with them."

There have been two other recent $1m gold
transactions one by a New Zealander. NZ Mint
would not reveal that buyer's identity for
privacy reasons. As well, there had been five
$100,000-plus gold transactions in the last
month. As the gold price rose last year, there
were even more big transactions 14
$100,000-plus transactions in October, and 11
in September.

Fifty-four gold coins equals $100,000 worth of
gold, and stacked on top of each other they are
13.5cm high about the length of a ballpoint
pen. And while $1m in notes would be the size
of a pallet, the same sum of gold would fit
in a shoebox.

O'Kane said New Zealand was regarded as a place
where gold would be kept safe.

About half the gold bought at NZ Mint was kept
there in secure storage; the rest was taken away
by the owners, he said.

Not all countries manufactured gold bullion and
some made it difficult to buy. NZ Mint, a
privately owned company, tried to make the
process as simple as possible. O'Kane said once a
trader placed an order, it was confirmed within
24 hours and delivered to the client within one
to four weeks.

The number of Kiwi gold buyers was also
increasing. A year ago the average gold purchase
was about $25,000 a time, he said. "We are seeing
more and more new smaller buyers buying one or
two coins at a time and some bigger purchases of
around $200,000 to $300,000."

O'Kane said the drop in the NZ dollar and the
ever-steady demand for gold was driving the
price up.

MINT'S MOMENTS

* Fifty-four gold coins equals $100,000 worth of
gold, and stacked they are 13.5cm high - about
the length of a ballpoint pen.

* $1m in notes would be the size of a pallet,
the same amount of gold coins would fit in a
shoebox.

* NZ Mint buys refined gold from reputable
suppliers throughout the world including
Australia, Europe and Asia

* Once it arrives in New Zealand it is melted
down and made into rough bars

* The bars are pressed repeatedly until they
reach the desired coin thickness then discs
are cut out and softened in an oven at
temperatures of between 500 and 600degC.

* They are then "stamped" with a Kiwi on the
top and map of New Zealand on the bottom of
the coin

* A pure NZ Mint gold coin is the size of the
old 50c piece.

* It weighs one troy-ounce = 31.1gms.

...

"Arizona Coin Collector" wrote in message
...
Hello

On the story below.

Check out how much some of the buyers are paying out.

But do note that $1745 NZ dollars/ounce = $888.82 US dollars/ounce.
The NZD is roughly half the value of the USD.

--------------------------------------------------

FROM:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4834781a11.html

Overseas buyers start new gold rush

By KAREN ARNOLD - Sunday Star Times
Sunday, 01 February 2009

New Zealand is poised for another gold rush but
it's unlikely anyone will be digging for their fortunes.

As gold prices hit record levels, it's overseas
buyers with money to spare who are turning their
dollars into Kiwi gold.

(NEWS STORY IMAGE)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/images/789321.jpg
GOLD RUSH: New Zealand is poised for another
gold rush but it's unlikely anyone will be digging for
their fortunes. Pictured is $100,000 worth of Kiwi gold.

New Zealand Mint head bullion trader Mike O'Kane
said as the world recession deepened, more people
wanted to safeguard their cash and saw the
precious metal as an insurance policy.

The price of gold has doubled in the past two
years and last week hit an all-time high, reaching
$1745 an ounce.

O'Kane said that with the failures of large US
investment banks, such as Bear Stearns and Lehman
Brothers, demand for New Zealand gold increased.
The failures coincided with NZ Mint doing a month's
worth of transactions each day.

"We've just started to see another surge in demand
through fear and worry."

During the past two weeks one US buyer had bought
$1 million in gold - about 570 coins - and was
contracted to buy another $1m during the next
fortnight.

"There's an Asian couple flying over to buy
$500,000 worth," said O'Kane. "They're going to
take that away with them."

There have been two other recent $1m gold
transactions one by a New Zealander. NZ Mint
would not reveal that buyer's identity for
privacy reasons. As well, there had been five
$100,000-plus gold transactions in the last
month. As the gold price rose last year, there
were even more big transactions 14
$100,000-plus transactions in October, and 11
in September.

Fifty-four gold coins equals $100,000 worth of
gold, and stacked on top of each other they are
13.5cm high about the length of a ballpoint
pen. And while $1m in notes would be the size
of a pallet, the same sum of gold would fit
in a shoebox.

O'Kane said New Zealand was regarded as a place
where gold would be kept safe.

About half the gold bought at NZ Mint was kept
there in secure storage; the rest was taken away
by the owners, he said.

Not all countries manufactured gold bullion and
some made it difficult to buy. NZ Mint, a
privately owned company, tried to make the
process as simple as possible. O'Kane said once a
trader placed an order, it was confirmed within
24 hours and delivered to the client within one
to four weeks.

The number of Kiwi gold buyers was also
increasing. A year ago the average gold purchase
was about $25,000 a time, he said. "We are seeing
more and more new smaller buyers buying one or
two coins at a time and some bigger purchases of
around $200,000 to $300,000."

O'Kane said the drop in the NZ dollar and the
ever-steady demand for gold was driving the
price up.

MINT'S MOMENTS

* Fifty-four gold coins equals $100,000 worth of
gold, and stacked they are 13.5cm high - about
the length of a ballpoint pen.

* $1m in notes would be the size of a pallet,
the same amount of gold coins would fit in a
shoebox.

* NZ Mint buys refined gold from reputable
suppliers throughout the world including
Australia, Europe and Asia

* Once it arrives in New Zealand it is melted
down and made into rough bars

* The bars are pressed repeatedly until they
reach the desired coin thickness then discs
are cut out and softened in an oven at
temperatures of between 500 and 600degC.

* They are then "stamped" with a Kiwi on the
top and map of New Zealand on the bottom of
the coin

* A pure NZ Mint gold coin is the size of the
old 50c piece.

* It weighs one troy-ounce = 31.1gms.