Canadian $20 for $20, $50 for $50, $100 for $100

[JadeDragon]

What do you think of the Canadian silver for face value program?

Pros:
convert paper cash into cash with intrinsic value
Some of coins are pretty, some like Santa, not so much
Some have increased in value, some not

[Saabman]

I haven't heard of this program. Is there a link you could share?

[barrytrot]

I love them! Whenever I can get them for $x for $x or very close I take all I can get!

[jaybird]

Hmmm. I had not heard of this.

http://www.mint.ca/store/buy/20-for-20_coins-cat610001

So, for $20 Canadian you get a $20 FV coin with 7.96 grams of silver

for $50 you get a 50FV coin with 15.87 grams of silver

and for $100 you get a 100FV coin with 31.6 grams of silver.

Interesting, but you certainly get more silver value not using this program. I guess it carries less 'risk' as your investment can always be worth the FV of the coin as long as Canada accepts it, but you get less reward since it will never appreciate much in silver value nor FV. Possibly collector value I guess though.

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

I was not aware of it. I will have to check this out!

[chant1970]

I bought 3 of the canoe with free shipping to the U.S., and thought it was a no louse situation. Didn’t know there was a foreign transaction free by my credit card company. The fee was around $5, don’t know if I will ever break even on them.
Nice looking coin though.

[TwoPenniesEarned]

Banks don't redeem them. So in practical use they are not currency.

One fellow tried to spend the coin which was refused, and then tried to deposit it and was surprised that the bank also told him to pound sand. Evidently while it might be " legal tender", no one is legally forced to take it if you tender it.

You are better off just buying silver by weight.

[kiwiman]

Seems like a really neat idea. I would love to have my cash in this if they did it for US dollars and it was accepted by banks.

[kiwiman]

7.96g/31.1034768g/oz t = .25592 troy ounces of silver

.25592ozt times $22.15 CAD/ozt

So for $20 CAD you get a silver coin with $20 CAD face value and $5.668 CAD in silver.

[jaybird]

Banks don't redeem them. So in practical use they are not currency.

One fellow tried to spend the coin which was refused, and then tried to deposit it and was surprised that the bank also told him to pound sand. Evidently while it might be " legal tender", no one is legally forced to take it if you tender it.

You are better off just buying silver by weight.

Well that makes it much less appealing imo.

If the FV is just for show, and is not redeemable anywhere, than this doesnt make much sense.

[JadeDragon]

I have a hard time believing a person can mot spend them or deposit them. Sure some clerk or teller might say "no can do" but go to buy something on craigslist, or say $20 worth of service and most people will happily accept this pretty coin over a paper $20 bill.

Heck if you want to buy copper, Ni or junk silver or anything else I have to sell I would accept these at face value.

A reason that the Canadian dollar is now not partially backed by silver is that there are just not enough of these, and no one is really trying to spend them. Gresham's law in action - why would anyone give up a silver $20 coin vs $20 bill?

[Treetop]

If the US mint had these, and banks actually took them Id have a bunch. Certainly not in place of my silver stack, but rather in place of my frn stack.

[hobo finds]

http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/07 ... d_way.html


Good article

[Morsecode]

That was the article I had seen in 2012. That's when we first learned the Royal Ca. Mint had 'coined' a new term: Non-Circulating Legal Tender.

The very idea that the country's own trusted money creators came up with this scam is criminal. It's like they're not even trying to camoflauge the hoax. "$20 for $20"...not quite.

[JadeDragon]

Visited the Mint store in Vancouver. They will buy them back at face. Said some banks will accept them too. I don't know, but it seems you should be able to spend them privately too. Greshems law and all.

[Morsecode]

That's a positive sign then. It might've been nice had they instructed the banks in the beginning that the coins were redeemable at face.