New $2 coin skyrockets in value to $1,200
A coin expert has shared how a brand new $2 coin has soared in value just 10 days after its release.
The accredited numismatist from Perth, Joel Kandiah, revealed the Royal Australian Mint’s latest Vietnam Silver $2 is now in high demand.
Kandiah, known online as @TheHistoryOf_Money has attracted a large following on his Instagram and TikTok with his insights on the value of multiple coin and bank notes.
Speaking to 7News.com.au, he said the coveted coin is selling for up to $1,200 online with an increase of 1,400 per cent on the retail value.
Kandiah shared that the shocking price hike, “has never been witnessed before on the numismatic market”.
He added that the Royal Australian Mint released two brand new Vietnam War commemorative $2 coins on April 6, 2023.
The first coin was an uncirculated C mintmark that has a retail value of $15 and a mintage value of 80,000.
The second coin was a silver version of that same coin, but was proof finished, meaning it had been struck multiple times and hand polished for a shiny, spot-free finish. That coin had a retail value of $80, and a lowly mintage of just 5,000.
Both coins were initially in demand, however the silver $2 commemorative coin has seen a remarkable price increase.
Kandiah said there were two reasons behind the massive interest in the silver coin.
“The first reason for the hype of this coin is that it is the first silver version of a coloured two coin and will most likely the only version that will feature the Queen’s effigy,” he told 7News.com.au.
“It has a lower mintage than the most valuable coloured $2 coin, the Mars $2 coin from the 2018 Planetary Series collection, which is currently valued at around $4000.
“The combination of these two factors have led to this price spiral which has never been witnessed before on the numismatic market.”
Kandiah also revealed the release of the sought-after coin has stirred up a heated debate among coin collectors in Australia.
“Within minutes of release, dealers across the country sold out of their allocations,” he explained.
“Meanwhile, people were on the mint’s online store, call centre and in person in Canberra. Silver coins were completely sold out by the afternoon and the uncirculated coins were sold out by midnight.
“People were waiting up to 16 hours in the Mint’s online queue system to try and get their hands on the coin.
“Many collectors who were purchasing online had to compete with people from the ’sneaker bot’ community, who used sophisticated software to buy up new releases - only to release them on eBay at a significantly higher markup hours later.
“By mid-afternoon, prices had gone up to $100 for the uncirculated coin and $300 for the silver coin.
“Since then, the price of the uncirculated coin has fallen down to around $60 as ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) dies down.
“However, the silver coin has continued to spike in price, which has now increased 15-fold to $1200 by April 16.”
Kandiah said time will tell whether the silver coin will continue to increase in value.
“Whether the value is due to FOMO, is too early to determine,” he told 7News.com.au.
“Once we find more people get hands on their orders from the Mint, it is likely that they will sell their coins to cash in on the price rise but the relative rarity of the coin could be a long-lasting factor in its valuation.
“The coin collector market has changed considerably over the last few years and it is in a new space where the buying and selling are done with each other through Facebook groups and eBay rather than through dealers.
“The democratisation and accessibility of this process has led to improved liquidity within the market and hence we will continue to see rapid fluctuations in the Australian coin collector market in the future.”
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