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 Replies: 23 / Views: 2,596 |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
Poll Question
These bullion coins cost the same amount to buy, they are the same year and have the same silver content. They also came from the same dealer. Which one would you prefer to have?    
Edited by trout1105
07/07/2012 05:45 am
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
I think the Koalas are cute. The Maple leaf isn't cute.  |
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Moderator
Australia
16826 Posts |
My background in analytical chemistry is telling me to get the Maple leaf, because extra-pure chemicals always cost more. With the maple leaf, you're getting an extra "9" of purity, for no extra money.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
 Australia
7096 Posts |
Quote:
My background in analytical chemistry is telling me to get the Maple leaf, because extra-pure chemicals always cost more. With the maple leaf, you're getting an extra "9" of purity, for no extra money.
I have to disagree with you on this one Sap. These Maple bullion rounds are marked with the extra"9" but are prone to "milk spots" which in my layman's knowledge have to be an impurity. I consider the extra "9" as purely a marketing strategy and not a true assay of the silver in the coin. If the silver was 99.99% pure then what are the milk spots  If they are part of the minting process that is left behind on the coin then the silver has to be contaminated. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
I believe the milk spots are caused by the rinse process. Correct me if I'm wrong.
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Moderator
Australia
16826 Posts |
Then you can label me as someone easily swayed by slick marketing claims.  I'd consider milk spots to be a surface contaminant, as a result of poor quality control. They're not an impurity of the silver itself, no more than the plastic wrapping is. If you were using the silver for some chemical or industrial purpose that actually needed four nines of purity, you'd be pre-washing off the surface with acid to remove contaminants, anyway, whether you saw visible milk spots or not. Still, it might be an interesting experiment, to do a chemical analysis of the two coins and see if there really is a discernible difference in impurity levels. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
Quote:
Then you can label me as someone easily swayed by slick marketing claims I very much doubt that , I think you are far too astute to fall for that sort of BS.  I do think however the extra "9" is a marketing ploy by the RCM. It would be quite interesting to see a chemical assay of the 2 coins. Is there any way of assessing these coins, I am quite happy to provide the coins for an assessment of their silver content. I would assume that a lot of people would like to see exactly what is in the bullion that they are buying |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1391 Posts |
I would pick the Koala but that is because I live in the States and see ASE and Maples all the time. I get foreign stuff when ever I can. But as the Koala isn't really foreign to you, you might have the same feelings towards the Maple.  |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
allranger I am an avid collector of both US and Canadian coins as well as the Aussie coins. However The maple doesn't appeal to me aesthetically as the ASE or the Roo do for example. The maple is such a Boring design, a leaf on one side and a pic of a cleaning lady on the other  I suppose they could put a chunk of glass on it to try and make it more appealing |
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Valued Member
United States
492 Posts |
Isn't the same cleaning lady on both coins? Anyway, I have to cast my vote for the Koala because of the aesthetics and because of the bigger rarity here in the US. However, I do have to give credit to our northern cousins for putting a higher denomination on their bullion than most countries, even if they don't honor the denomination on NCLT at banks https://goccf.com/t/123347. BTW, the extra nine means nothing to me. Edited by TJB17
07/07/2012 09:40 am
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
Quote:
Isn't the same cleaning lady on both coins? Not at all , the old bugger we have on ours wears a crown |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
561 Posts |
Count me in the Koala crowd.
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Valued Member
United States
492 Posts |
For all those 4 nines enthusiasts out there:
I couldn't help it. I love doing math problems, so I looked up the spec values of the coins and calculated the silver content.
The Koala is spec'd at 31.135g and is .999 pure.
The Maple Leaf is spec'd at 31.104g and is .999"9" pure.
That comes out to 31.103865 - 31.1008896 = 0.0029754g in favor of the Koala.
I would call that close enough for government work. You're getting the same silver content either way.
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Valued Member
United States
492 Posts |
Also, the American Silver Eagles are spec'd at 31.103g and are .999 pure. Double loser! But I still love them best of all. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1432 Posts |
TJB . . thanks for the math Trout . . likewise for the cleaning lady humor After 60 years of cleaning up after others she deserves the crown. I'm with the majority of the voters and picked the Koala even if the Maple Leaf shown didn't have the milk spots. I like them more due to the fact that they change the design yearly. It would have been a tougher decision if you compared the Koalas to the Canadian Wildlife Series. |
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Valued Member
Canada
178 Posts |
I like the higher face value of $5 instead of $1.
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Replies: 23 / Views: 2,596 |
Posted 07/07/2012 07:07 am
