Post offices (PO) in India have started selling gold coins, collaborating with the World Gold Council (WGC) and Reliance Money Limited.
Here are the details of the new scheme.
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There is good news – the post offices in India now sell 24-Carat gold coins. This scheme is being launched in phases. In the first (or pilot) phase that started on 15th October 2008, 102 post offices in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu and Delhi started selling gold coins. |
The response from the public was overwhelming – the post offices were able to sell 20 kg of gold in just 15 days!
Owing to the tremendous response, the scheme is now expanded to other states – post offices in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka would also sell gold coins going forward.
Here are the features of the scheme:
Purity
The gold coins would be made from 24-Carat gold. (24-Carat is the purest form of gold. Jewellery is made from 18-Carat to 22-Carat gold).
Certification
The gold coins would be certified. They would be sold in sealed packages, and would come with a certificate from the precious metals refiner Valcambi of Switzerland. This certificate from Valcambi is internationally recognized.
Weight
The coins would be available in weighs of 0.5 gram, 1 gram, 5 grams and 8 grams.
(The 5 gram gold coins have proved to be the most popular so far).
Price / Rate
The price would not be fixed – it would fluctuate from day to day, and would depend on the price of gold prevailing in the market.
Indications so far suggest that the gold coins from post offices are priced lower than the gold coins from banks, which are sold at 8-10% premium to the prevailing market prices.
Advantages
1. Selling gold coins through post offices would mean that these coins would reach even the smallest corner of India, especially when the scheme is extended to the whole country. Therefore, more people would be able to purchase pure gold.
2. The weigh of the gold coins is very convenient – this would enable people from a lower economic background as well to buy gold in small quantities.
3. Another advantage is purity – just like the gold coins / bars sold by banks, these would be certified. These gold coins would come with an assayer certificate.
4. There is also a price advantage – the price of gold sold through post offices would be lower than the price of gold sold by banks.
Other articles you might be interested in:
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- “RaagVamdatt.com – Financial Planning Demystified” Completes One Year
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Hi Rakesh,
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Hoping to live up to your expectations going forward as well…
HI,
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take the example of Post office MIS scheme, I was searching for the bonus which they are giving right now on new accounts.
I have gone through no of sites and blogs and even also the official site of post I could not find the information which I sought.
But same thing is very clearly mentioned on your site.
I really appreciate your site and thanks for that.
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with best regards and happy Christmas.
Rakesh, Canada
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