Portfolio Diversity: Platinum Investment Coins

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Having a diverse investment portfolio helps spread risk while take advantage of the growth potential across different asset classes. A balanced portfolio is typically comprised of a mix of stocks, bond, cash, real estate, commodities and tangible assets.

While stocks like Nvidia are doing well, most have been down in recent months. Companies have been laying off left and right. If that wasn’t enough, we are still dealing with record high inflation and the highest interest rates in decades.

In his testimony before Congress, Fed Chairman Powell said that he believes there will be bank failures caused by the looming commercial real estate crisis.

With recent news that BRICS is creating a payment system based on blockchain and digital currencies, a growing number of affiliated countries including China and Russia have been boosting their Central Bank gold reserves.

Many investors may have some exposure to silver and gold, maybe through investments in mining stocks, ETFs or via direct investment in physical coins such as the American Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, and Great Britain Britannia.

Given that the global economy is dedollarizing and speeding like a freight train in the direction of a commodity backed currency for trade, it may be a good time to consider diversifying into other precious metals.

Why Platinum?

Platinum is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. It is one of the rarest elements in the Earth’s crust and is known for its remarkable resistance to corrosion, even at high temperatures. It is a vital industrial metal as well as a highly valued precious metal for investment and jewelry.

The largest platinum deposits in the world are located in South Africa and Russia. These two resource rich countries combined are responsible for producing over 80% of the world’s platinum.

A diverse precious metals portfolio is constructed to mitigate risk while aiming for growth by investing across various types of metals and investment vehicles within the precious metals category.

During the 2008 Financial Crisis, the price of platinum reached its current all time of $2176.30 per troy ounce. Since 2018, the price has been rising at a stable rate, with some short lived peaks and troughs along the way. In recent months, the price of platinum has been hovering below $900 per ounce, less than half of the current price per ounce of gold.

Some investors have been looking at this as unique opportunity to diversify further by invest some money in platinum 1 oz coins. Investment-grade platinum coins are issued by a variety of trusted and reputable governments mints, including the US Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Royal Mint and the South African Mint.

Great Britain Platinum Britannia

The Platinum Britannia is a trusted investment option from the Royal Mint that offer a low premium, low risk way to diversify your physical holdings. 

The current year 2024 1 oz Platinum Britannia Coin reverse carries the infamous Philip Nathan illustration of Britannia that is shared amongst the other coins in the series.

The design captures a powerful image of the mythical female warrior protecting the southern coast, carrying a trident in her right hand to control the seas. Her left hand rests on a shield bearing the Union Jack, signifying her role in defending the British Isles.

The obverse of 2024 British Platinum Britannia Coins feature a new effigy portrait of His Majesty King Charles III.

American Platinum Eagle

First introduced in 1997, the 1 oz Platinum Eagle is the only investment-grade platinum coin from the U.S. Mint. The obverse of the coin displays the “Portrait of Liberty,” designed by John Mercanti, which symbolizes the American ideals of freedom and democracy.

The reverse features an eagle soaring above America’s landscape, designed by Thomas D. Rogers.

Minted from .9995 pure platinum, the coin is notable for the high-quality minting and legal tender status with a face value of $100 USD.

Maple Leaf Platinum

The Platinum Maple Leaf was first introduced by the Royal Canadian Mint in 1988, following the success of the gold and silver versions. These coins are known for their purity, quality, and the iconic Canadian maple leaf design.

For the current year, 2024 Maple Leaf 1 oz Platinum Coin, the obverse features a portrait of His Majesty King Charles III. While previous issues have shown Queen Elizabeth II, with designs varying over the years as the Queen has aged. The reverse displays the signature maple leaf, a national symbol of Canada, along with the coin’s weight and purity. Each coin carries a $50 face value in Canadian dollars, though the market value of the platinum far exceeds this nominal legal tender value.

Issued by the Royal Canadian Mint, known for its high-quality minting processes and innovative security features, the Platinum Maple Leaf benefits from high liquidity and global recognition.

Philharmonic 1 oz Platinum Coin

The Platinum Philharmonic is produced by the Austrian Mint as part of the Vienna Philharmonic coin series. The series celebrates the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, one of Austria’s most prestigious cultural symbols.

Struck in .9995 fine platinum, the design of the 2024 Philharmonic 1 oz Platinum coin mirrors that of its gold and silver counterparts. The obverse features the great organ found in the Musikverein, the concert hall in Vienna where the orchestra performs. The reverse depicts an array of orchestral instruments, including violins, a viola, a cello, a bassoon, a harp, and a Viennese horn.

South Africa Big 5

The Big 5 platinum coin series from the South African Mint is a testament to the country’s rich wildlife heritage and the mint’s dedication to high-quality numismatic products. The “Big 5” refers to five of Africa’s most famous animals: the elephant, lion, buffalo, rhinoceros, and leopard. These animals are each renowned for their majesty, strength, and the challenge they posed to hunters, making them symbols of Africa’s rich wildlife heritage.

The 2023 1 oz Elephant Platinum coin is available with a bullion finish and the obverse displays a single elephant front profile, while the reverse shows two elephant profiles facing each other.

The South African Mint is known for its exceptional craftsmanship, and each coin in the series is struck from .9995 fine platinum with each featuring detailed and lifelike representations of the Big 5 animals.

How to Verify a PAMP Suisse Gold Bar? 

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PAMP Suisse has made it easy to verify the authenticity of their products with the Veriscan app that is available for the App Store for iPhones and iPads.

PAMP Suisse Veriscan Instant Authentication Mobile App

The surface of all precious metals have microscopic topographic features that are as unique as human fingerprints. Using the app, you can scan the front surface of the bar, allowing the app to interpret the surface topography of the bar, which is then compared against the data stored in the PAMP VERISCAN database. The app will display an affirmative result for authentic products and issue a failing result for products that it suspects may be counterfeit. 

The PAMP Suisse Veriscan Mobile Application can be used to authenticate gold, silver and platinum bars that are issued by PAMP Suisse, along with bullion coins and bars that are issued by a handful of other established mints that include the Royal Australian Mint, Bank of China, Lombard Bank Malta and UBS.

Larger silver bars and gold bars can be scanned from any of the six sides of the bar.

All PAMP Suisse Veriscan enabled products are issued with a unique QR code, when scanned with the app, allows the lookup of the specific bar’s topographic features that were scanned during the manufacturing process.

After scanning, the Veriscan app will open a corresponding page that contains all of the details of the bar, including its weight, purity, mint mark, and serial number. 

This allows you to compare this information from the mint with the information from the packaging of your PAMP Suisse product. If they match, you have a genuine PAMP Suisse product. Having the application verify PAMP Suisse products allows greater confidence in the authenticity of your gold bar. If they do not match, verify that the you’ve followed the provided instruction to determine if your product is counterfeit.

Instruction for scanning larger size PAMP Suisse Silver Bars and Gold Bars are available in the application’s menu. When scanning larger size bars, the Veriscan application provides options to choose which sides of the product will be scanned. Authenticating larger PAMP gold and silver bars is easy with the enhanced authentication option, which can scan any of the six sides of a gold, silver, or platinum bar. 

The PAMP Suisse Veriscan App can be downloaded from the Apple App Store directly to your iPhone or iPad for easy verification and authentication at home.

CombiBars for Every Budget

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1 ounce Combibar gold bar

The CombiBar from Valcambi is probably the single most most practical bullion investment.

The CombiBar is a unique bullion bar that is designed to be easily divisible into smaller, fractional bars that are simple and easy to break apart with your hands.

These bars are precision manufactured in Switzerland and available in all of the major precious metals categories such as silver, gold, platinum and palladium.

Silver Combibars are available in two variations, both contain 100 grams of .999 fine silver. The 10×10 gram Combibar is easily divisible into up to ten 1/10 oz fraction of an ounce. While the 100×1 gram splits into one hundred one gram fractional bars.

The dealer premiums for silver Combibars are higher than comparable weight generic bullion. However, the overall markup and out-the-door price is generally lower than buying separate fractional pieces of similar weight. On occasion, some dealers have been known to offer discounted premiums on combibars beyond the normally offered quantity savings.

Gold Combibars are minted in a few additional sizes that are ideal for stacking. Each of the various weights in gold combibar series are just slightly thicker than a credit card at only 0.85mm thick and can be stored safely practically anywhere.

The largest gold Combibar contains 100 grams of .9999 fine gold and is designed to be easily divided into one hundred 1 gram gold bars. Premiums for 100 gram gold Combibars are comparable to similar sized sovereign mint solid gold bars.

Each comes encapsulated into a protective case that includes a printed assay card with matching signature. The tamper-proof plastic assay holder is designed to be durable and provides protection through uncertain conditions.

The other sizes that are available are the 50 gram and 20 gram weights.

The newest edition to product lineup is the 1 oz gold combibar. This divisible gold bar is perfect if you prefer measuring with this metric and is easy to split into up to ten fractional gold bars in any tenth of an ounce.

The smallest of the gold Combibars is minted in limited quantities as is uniquely shaped like a 5-point star gold bar.

For PGM investors, the platinum and palladium have all of the same design characteristics are the others in the series.

Valcambi Suisse is a large Swiss-based refinery and private mint offers a one-of-a-kind product line that is tailored to investors preparing for uncertain economic conditions.

It’s safe to say that with the economy heading in the wrong direction buying Combibars of any size makes for a practical investment to help with some financial security for when you need it most.

South Africa Economy on Verge of Collapse, Brink of Civil War Resulting from Ongoing Blackouts

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An energy crisis has led to recurring power outages throughout South Africa as Eskom, the government owned electricity provider, continues to intentionally cut power to customers resulting from breakdowns of multiple power generating plants.

The ongoing rolling blackouts are some of the worst the country has experienced in many years causing factories, refineries, mines and other businesses to remain closed. The country’s president declared a state of disaster earlier this month.

The blackouts are effecting everything from traffic lights, water purification, internet connectivity and food availability.

Government officials are concerned that additional failures of the power grid could lead to widespread rioting and outbreaks of violence which could lead to a civil war.

Residents are concerned for their safety even at home as thieves and looters target homes without power.

The US Embassy in Pretoria has issued an advisory for Americans living in South Africa to “maintain 72 hours’ worth of supplies at home by stockpiling non-perishable food, three litres of drinking water per person per day, and medicines and first aid supplies”.

The ongoing blackouts have been ongoing for weeks and have created a SHTF scenario for many people even though the country is very rich in natural resources.

Roughly 77% of South Africas electricity is generated by coal generators.

The RAND refinery, the largest in the country, is reportedly operating at only 75% due to shutdowns of mines resulting from the power outages.

The largest exports are precious metals, particularly gold and platinum and other PGMs, which account for upwards of $25 billion. Reports from Reuters suggest that Platinum Group Metal exports, which includes rhodium and palladium, could be down as much as 15% or more this year.

South Africa is the largest producer of platinum group metals to the world, followed closely by Russia. The reduction in output will impact global supplies and markets as demand for these metals remains high.