More $1 Coins Coming?

Apparently the RAM has decided that participating news agents can SWAP bags of 25 coins for $50 for customers who come into the store? That's great for collectors who can get to an agency that participates and will hand over a bag for $50. I would be happy to hand over $50 for a bag but my nearest participating agent is 300km away. I have to resort to buying from ebay scalpers AGAIN.

I wonder how many news agents are happy to swap a bag of coins for $50 knowing that the bag is probably going to be on ebay within minutes for twice the price?

I also wonder how much longer this nonsense will continue? I have asked a couple of friends and family to see if they can help. They say that their local agents have been bombarded with requests. It seems that people are crazy about the $2 coin but are not overly keen on the (over priced) sets on cardboard. Seems similar to recent releases via ballots where some of those coins are still available for purchase? No one wants the lollipop coins but the circulating $2 coins are the ones that are prized.

Why does the RAM do this? Why make collecting so difficult? Surely if these things are meant to generate interest and profit, why not make it convenient for all parties? I bet the poor cashiers at Woolies, Australia Post and news agents are sick of requests for coins rather than the products they normally sell.

Anyway, I don't want to support ebay scalpers but once again, I have no choice.

Hi Jens coins. I am only really interested in the circulating coins. The other coins in those tubes are of no interest to me.

I am making up sets of coins to pass on to my next of kin so I need several coins to keep my sets complete. Buying several rolls or sets of the other coins is simply too expensive. I also do not like supporting the Mint by buying junk coins that are made only to exploit collectors. Australia Post tried it years ago by issuing excessive amounts of 'wallpaper' stamps and made stamp collecting too expensive. I only keep the very few stamps that turn up in the mail these days - that is, I don't collect anymore. I am almost at the point of giving up on coins too for the same reason.

The nearest participating agent is around a seven hour round trip drive from me and that is simply not an option. There are no other options available to me. I do not like supporting scalpers but the way the Mint releases these coins it leaves me no other option. I am glad that newsXpress are trying to stop exploitation of collectors by calling out the scalpers on ebay but ultimately people will eventually sell bags via auction anyway. If I want to keep my collections complete, what other option am I left with?

Thanks Jens coins. I have looked at that site and while online orders are accepted for some items, the bags of 25 coins can only legally be obtained by exchanging $50 cash for them in person.

This is a recurring problem for me due to me being remote from participating retail outlets and coin swaps. I have no other option than to buy from ebay scalpers (thanks to the RAM and their silly procedures). Sigh...

Ummm... maybe because profit and convenience aren't the same thing. More hype and FOMO means more $$$$ for RAM. Alas, agreements entered into with RAM by Woolies, AP, Anaconda etc are there to generate extra profit for the owners, not make life easy for a lowly cashier. I also would not be surprised if RAM is slowly gearing up to the day when there is no longer any circulating coinage but will still have a loyal fan base of 'collectors'.