Germany Reduces Silver Content in Its Euro Collector Coins
Germany would know a thing or two about debasing currency. You would think they'd learn, but apparently not. Or, to play devil's advocate, maybe they do know what they're doing?
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On Tuesday, the German government announced it would be reducing the silver content in their 35 and 50-Euro coins in their Euro Collector series. Most places are throwing out a figure of a 46% reduction in silver content. What they don't tell you until the end is this is reducing the silver content from 18 grams to... 17 grams. One whole whopping gram. (Source)
The German government said this was done in an effort to avoid people purchasing these for speculation because of the price volatility in precious metals. If that didn't raise an eyebrow like it did when I read it, let me go into the math on this. There are 31.1 grams in a troy ounce of silver. The spot price of silver is currently hovering around $75/ounce. That means that extra gram of silver is only costing an extra $2.41. At silver's highest price of $121.60, that's still only a $3.91 difference.
So, what are they replacing that extra gram with instead? Copper, which is going for about $0.13 per gram. (Source) This isn't about speculation. This is about the German mint being cheap. I'll bet you money they don't reduce the cost in any significant amount and pocket the extra $2.39. It may not seem like a lot of money, but if you figure the average person isn't aware of the change and buys it anyway, the mint stands to make a large profit by counting on most people's ignorance.
I could be way off on this, but a $3-5 difference in a coin is pretty insignificant for collectors or even speculators. To me, this just smacks of greed disguised as a cost saving measure.
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Nothing surprises me these days…
Fair point. It's nothing we haven't seen before.
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Well, let us not buy Euros then (JK only), !LOL
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Whatever they use to replace that gram other than silver, it's still debasement.
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It is. I really think this is a cash grab disguised as caring about the consumer.
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You could be right.
Volkswagen and Porsche needs silver for their cars too.
Very true. Silver is inescapable. 🤑
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I'd think they would pick something less desirable. Copper isn't really very cheap in the grand scheme of things. Or plentiful for that matter.
I'm guessing it's because the other cheaper options are aluminum, lead and zinc, which are probably worse alternatives.
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I agree, just plain being cheap. It will reduce demand for their commemorative coinage as a result, and eventually they will probably change it back...
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Yeah, it's sad. If cost was a concern, I'd just reduce the mintage for it to stay within budget.
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