BUSINESSMAN Stamp Ong waited nearly 10 hours to get his Coloured Silver Commemorative Coin issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in conjunction with the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2016.

Ong, 40, waited opposite the bank's Penang branch in Lebuh Light from 11pm on Sunday, so that he could be first in line when the bank's doors opened at 8.45am.

An avid coin collector, Ong's effort paid off when he managed to buy 11 pieces of the Coloured Silver edition, available on a first-come-first-served basis.

Only 500 pieces of the Coloured Silver coins are available in the whole country.

"I heard there are only 30 pieces available at this branch. It is priced at RM212 inclusive of GST, but can fetch up to RM500 in resale value," said Ong, who also bought 10 Nordic Gold Brilliant Uncirculated (B.U) Commemo-rative Coins when met outside the bank in Penang on Monday.

BNM has issued three specifications of the commemorative coins, namely Coloured Silver Commemorative Coin, Copper Commemorative Coin and Nordic Gold Brilliant Uncirculated (B.U) Commemo-rative Coin.

The Coloured Silver is proof-coloured coin made of fine silver with 99.9 purity and weighs 31gm each.

The Copper Commemorative is made of pure copper with 99.9 purity and weighs 130gm each, while the Nordic Gold is sold at RM10 each.

"The commemorative sets are also sold in a set of two, which consists of the Coloured Silver and Nordic Gold coins.

"There are 2,000 sets of the pair of two coins, sold at RM250 each," said BNM in their official website.

Suhaime Sahak, 48, from the Customs Department managed to grab two sets of the Coloured Silver and Nordic Gold combination sets, but missed out on the Coloured Silver coins.

"I rushed here immediately after the ferry reached the island at 7am.

"Unfortunately, the Coloured Silver coins were sold out by 9.30am," he said.

To read the complete article, see:
Special coins snapped up (www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2016/03/03/special-coins-snapped-up-avid-collectors-make-beeline-for-keepsakes-issued-to-mark-world-table-tenni/)