Gold and silver have become the new toilet paper in Australia as investors pile into coins and bullion as a safe haven during the coronavirus panic.

'Everyone is going bananas for gold and silver and we've seen a lot of excitement around rare coins, too,' said Numismatist Matthew Thompson of Downies Coins andCollectables in Melbourne.

Demand has surged with a 200 percent increase in inquiries for both bullion and rare coins, he said.

Buyers have cleared out most of the shop's stock of gold and silver coins and bullion.

'Normally these display cases are full,' he said, holding up a large black display case with just three coins.

'It's crazy at the moment, many dealers are completely cleaned out of physical stock.

Retail investors are turning to precious metals seeking a store of value as the Australian dollar drops below US60c.

Because bullion is in short supply- with silver almost unobtainable by some dealers - retail customers are turning to collectibles instead.

Mr Thompson said there was a lot of excitement around high-end rarities like the 1930 penny, with the shop having one specimen for sale at $27,500.

'A lot of our clients are also diving into the rare coins, as many people like the idea of having a diversified portfolio,' Mr Thompson said.

To read the complete article, see:
Gold becomes the new toilet paper:Coin dealers report a huge increase in people buying bullion during the coronavirus pandemic(https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8153433/Coin-dealers-report-huge-increase-people-buying-bullion-coronavirus-pandemic.html)

As swathes of the world economy go into lockdown from the U.K. to India, some businesses are ramping up, not down: one of the world's leading mints is adding shifts to boostproduction of refined precious metals including silver after worried investors depleted stock.

The Perth Mint -- Australia's largest, which has been in business for more than a century -- is diverting production resources into the popular 1 ounce Silver Kangaroo coin tomeet a backlog of orders. An extra 7.5 hour shift has been added. Stocks of cast and minted-bar products have been cleared out.

"We're as busy we can possibly be, and we're seeing a lot of this stock going both into the U.S. and into Europe, where demand has just gone through the roof,"Richard Hayes, the mint's chief executive officer, said in an interview. "We're working to catch up with those backlogs as rapidly as possible."

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered turmoil in precious metals markets, forcing the Royal Canadian Mint to suspend production and roiling prices. Some investors had to sellprecious metals to meet margin calls and that, combined with a stronger dollar and lower industrial demand, dragged silver prices to the lowest level in 11 years. People areseeing the slump as a buying opportunity, especially in the U.S. and Germany, according to Hayes.

"Having been in this business for 25 years now, what I can say is that generally, there are more-than-adequate supplies of the underlying metal, but it may be in 1,000ounce bar form, or a form other than what customers are wanting," Hayes said. "At this stage, they're wanting 1 ounce silver coins."

To read the complete article, see:
Top Mint Ramps Up Silver Coin Output After DemandSurges (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-24/top-mint-says-demand-has-gone-through-the-roof-amid-turmoil)