India Post is now selling gold medal-coins.

[BC Numismatics]

Some of you,especially those in India,will be very pleased to know that India Post is now selling gold medal-coins across the post office counter.

Have a read here; http://www.indiapost.gov.in .

Aidan.

[asm]

Aidan, I believe that these are not medal coins but are small weight gold coins issued by a lot of banks for small investors who would like to pick up small amounts of gold phisically and not in paper form (bonds etc). These are bullion coins. This way they are assured of the purity (since it comes form the government or authorised banks) and they can collect or save small amounts at a time and also get benifits if price of bullion increases. These may be similar to the gold bars and bullion gold coins with bank stamps which are available in the market today.
Amit

[BC Numismatics]

Aidan, I believe that these are not medal coins but are small weight gold coins issued by a lot of banks for small investors who would like to pick up small amounts of gold phisically and not in paper form (bonds etc). These are bullion coins. This way they are assured of the purity (since it comes form the government or authorised banks) and they can collect or save small amounts at a time and also get benifits if price of bullion increases. These may be similar to the gold bars and bullion gold coins with bank stamps which are available in the market today.
Amit

Amit,
  If they are being sold for more than the face value inscribed on them,then they are medal-coins.For example,if they are 1,000 Rupees denomination,& are being sold for 1,100 Rupees,then they are a medal-coin.

Aidan.

[asm]

Aidan, the coins are to be sold on weight and prices will vary on dayily basis as per the rate of gold on that perticular day. They will not be denominated in Value. I reproduce the details on the web site.
Quote
Now you can get 24 carat Gold coins from your Post Office of the denomination 0.5 g, 1 g, 5 g and 8 g. The gold coins will be packed in a sealed cover with the certification from Valcambi, Switzerland.
Unquote
Amit

[BC Numismatics]

Aidan, the coins are to be sold on weight and prices will vary on dayily basis as per the rate of gold on that perticular day. They will not be denominated in Value. I reproduce the details on the web site.
Quote
Now you can get 24 carat Gold coins from your Post Office of the denomination 0.5 g, 1 g, 5 g and 8 g. The gold coins will be packed in a sealed cover with the certification from Valcambi, Switzerland.
Unquote
Amit

Amit,
  I had a look on there myself.It's a shame that they aren't denominated or pictured.I hope that they will be legal tender & recognised as official by the Reserve Bank of India.

Did you get the email I sent you back last night?

Aidan.

[asm]

Aidan, these are not legal tender nor are they intended for this. It is only a source for helping small investers with a guarantee of purity and small values - traders normally do not sell less than 10g. and that too the purity is not guaranteed. Here atleast the buyer knows and is assured of the purity. As I said, a lot of banks have started this business.
Amit

[Bimat]

Hi Aidan,
As said by Amit,these gold coins have no numismatic value.These are not "medals" too.This is just an investment in gold.This coin has no design as such.(I saw an advertisement related to this.)

[BC Numismatics]

Aditya,
  Isn't it false advertising to label these pieces of gold as being coins? It seems strange that India Post would even advertise them as being coins when they are not.

I wouldn't be too surprised if someone reported India Post to the Indian equivilant of the Commerce Commission & to the Reserve Bank of India regarding this.

I have heard of the Valcambi Mint.They struck New Zealand's $5 Cormorant medal-coin (including the 'Solomon Islands' mules) back in 2000.

Aidan.

[asm]

Aidan,
It has been a long standing practice in India to issue small weight "coins" in 5g, 10g, etc of silver of almost the same size of the old silver rupee, with one side depicting the name of the issuer (could be a silver smelter or the person who has had them made - even if I want, I can have some made with my name - if I pay for the cost of the die) and the otherside - the obverse dipicting a God or Godess, to be distributed as gifts or to be used for 'Puja' (prayer).
These are sold as coins. In fact if you go to a jeweler (silversmith) and ask for silver coins, 99.9 times out of 100 he would give you these. Hence in India the gold 'coins' are also sold as such. Mind you, nither Indiapost nor the other banks have ever advertised that these "coins" are designated in value - they are always sold on weight and at the price of gold + premium at the time or day of sale. I do not see any wrong in the offer for sale of these 'coins' - at least as per current Indian customs.
Amit

[shariqkhan]

I think instead of naming those metal pieces of gold as coins, it would be better to called them as gold discs or bars.
But in India tradtionaly since hundreds of years the metal used in coins considered to be purest and term "coin" in this case refers to purity. For example in Indian Metal Market "Chandi Sikka" i.e Silver used for coins usually sold at heigher rate than other type of Silver (i.e Silver Tunch) 

So the meaning of "Coin" is Sikka . This "sikka" term is also used synonymously for "Seals" used on Official Documents.

[Bimat]

Hi Aidan,
They are called 'coins' just because they are circular.(However not all coins are circular ).It is neither a coin nor a medal.Reliance Industries is one of the issuing party of these "So called" coins.Since a private company can not issue coins,these should not be considered as coins 

[Bimat]

Hi Aidan,
There is one advertisement in today's local news paper regarding these "coins" by Indian Post.First time I saw the image of this issue,where there is a logo of Reliance Industries.They have a special scheme for people where they are giving 1/2 gram gold free for each purchase of 10 gram gold  I think it is quite a good offer,and safe too,since it is being issued by Government  

Aditya

[Figleaf]

The offer amounts to a 5% discount. The offer is good only if you think current gold prices will not decrease beyond 5%. In view of past price movements, you may be disappointed.

In addition, the medal's value is melt value, the price of the gold minus the price of melting. You will pay the price of gold minus the discount, but plus the cost of minting, distribution, marketing and the profit of the seller. The price of gold must rise beyond those cost items first before you can make any profit. On top of that requirement, it must also rise faster than inflation once the cost are recouped, or you wil not maintain the purchasing power of your money because gold carries no interest. Actually, the rise in the price of gold should also compensate you for the risk you are taking ...

Peter

[Bimat]

Hi Aidan,
There was a letter in local news paper by a reader,telling how Government is cheating people.He says that these coins are being sold for more than 15,000 INR for 10 Grams,when the actual gold price is about 13,500 INR! So,they should not say that 1/2 gram of gold is being given free of cost !
I was shocked to read this-it must be an idea by Reliance Industries ( a private partner for this scheme) 
Government should clarify what exactly is the reason for this issue,I suppose.

Aditya

[Figleaf]

Investing in gold is neither for the poor, nor for the nervous. The issue price may have been correct at the time it was fixed and hopelessly overtaken by events now, but this illustrates what I said in my previous post: buying gold now, you have to expect that gold will rise much more, which I personally find highly unlikely. If you are interested in metal prices an trading, look at this page for data. Click on the Indian flag for local news, click on "data mining" for historical prices.

Peter