Well it looks like the latest HOT product that is stirring up a feeding frenzy on eBay are the 2014 Mob of Roos Dollar rolls that we mentioned in this entry. Dealers could buy the rolls at face value at various RAM product launches and now that they have reached the secondary market the price has soared on the expectation of a limited release of this type of roll. The rolls are selling for $120+ on eBay right now (3 July 2014) and some are nearly reaching $140 in auctions. One enterprising member of the Australian Coin Forum contacted the RAM directly about how the rolls were made and what the numbers released were. Here’s the answer he got:
The Royal Australian Mint did roll these coins in-house and made them available to attendees on the basis that they would be able to pay and take them upon participation in the forums.
The Contact Centre staff said you also rang to ask how many rolled coins were produced. The Royal Australian Mint prepared a sufficient amount to meet the forecasted demand. The final amount can’t be disclosed as this number may vary depending on final demand.
Regards
Customer Service Team
Royal Australian Mint
There’s two things of interest here. First, the RAM did actually roll the coins themselves which they did not do with their last official roll releases. And second, the number of rolls released could increase to meet forecasted demand. And I strongly suspect that once the RAM and their dealers catch a whiff of the heat in the secondary market for these rolls that demand will certainly increase and the RAM will roll more. I advise caution before spending up big on these rolls because the “limited” release is very likely to become much less limited very soon.
Update 20 July 2014
In the last couple of weeks the number of these rolls available via the primary market (that is, direct from dealers) has increased considerably. They have been available in numbers from big dealers like Downies Australia for $36.50 per roll and as we write this we are aware of one seller who has 20 rolls available for sale at $40 each. A quick browse around eBay shows rolls available as BINs (buy it now) for anywhere between $45 and $60. Our previous advice to not spend up big on these rolls (when they were getting $120+ per roll) has proven to be exactly accurate as the rolls are now available at 1/2 to 1/3 of the peak prices. They may be worth accumulating long term (think in terms of years) at $40-$50 a roll but we wouldn’t advise spending any more than that on them while supplies appear relatively plentiful.
