(Monday, July 30, Irvine, California) - The most valuable coin ever offered in an online-only auction will be available in the Teletrade® Premier Plus auction #2409 on August 16, 2007. It will be the first auction of the world's largest gold coin, a 100 kilogram $1 million (Canadian) denomination coin recently produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.
"This is an exciting, two-fold event for us and the entire numismatic community," said Ian Russell, President of Teletrade of Irvine, California, a division of Spectrum Numismatics International.
"This is the first 100 kilo coin that is available for sale to the public. It contains more than $2 million of gold bullion. It will be the most valuable coin ever offered in an online-only auction. And we're launching TeletradeDirect®, a new service for collectors and investors who want to purchase gold, silver or platinum bullion coins."
An example of the 100 kilo gold coin will be exhibited by the Royal Canadian Mint during the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money® convention in Milwaukee, August 8 – 12. The huge coin is over 20 inches in diameter, an inch thick and weighs a little over 220 pounds (3,215 troy ounces) of .99999 fine gold.
A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc., also a division of Spectrum, purchased the first three 100 kilo coins. "A-Mark is one of the world's largest traders of gold, silver and platinum, and we've had an outstanding relationship with the Royal Canadian Mint and their impressive products for 20 years. Because of the historic significance and the amazing quality of these 100 kilo coins, we eagerly purchased the first three produced and have now consigned the first one to the August 16 Teletrade auction," said Greg Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of A-Mark.
Officials from A-Mark were VIP guests when one of the huge gold coins recently was displayed by the Royal Canadian Mint at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
According to a May 3 announcement from the Royal Canadian Mint, creation of the 100 kilo coins presented "an imposing challenge" to Mint engineers with each step along the way requiring great care, skill and meticulous testing.
"This is truly an unprecedented coin with a combination of spectacular artistic craftsmanship and brilliant technical talent. Nothing of this caliber has ever been offered previously in an online-only auction," said Russell.
source:teletrade.com
