《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Ma commemorative coin set first to lose value: collectors

By Lu Kuan-chen and Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The gold coins commemorating the inauguration of President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） and Vice President Wu Den-yih （吳敦義） in 2012 have recorded the fewest sales and the largest deprecation, with just about 2,000 of the 10,000 coins sold and a minus-33 percent investment return rate, coin collectors said.

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Yesterday marked the seventh anniversary of Ma’s inauguration.

About 8,000 coins celebrating his second-term presidency have remained at Bank of Taiwan, the sales agent of such coins, with unsold ones to be melted when Ma leaves office.

The bank has issued 1oz （28.3g） gold coins for each presidential election since 1996.

The 1996 coin commemorating then-president Lee Teng-hui （李登輝） and then-vice president Lien Chan （連戰） remains the best-seller, with 48,000 units sold, while the best investment and return ratio was for the 2000 coin for then-president Chen Shui-bian （陳水扁） and then-vice president Annette Lu （呂秀蓮）, which has an investment return rate of 140 percent.

About 2,000 coins have been sold featuring Ma and Wu, which are the only set to make a loss, on the back of falling gold prices.

People who bought the coins have lost NT$18,000 （US$576.00） on their purchase, coin collectors said.

The price per 2012 commemoration coin was NT$54,000, factoring the international price of gold at the time of about US$1,700 per ounce, the NT$2,000 in the coin’s face value, production costs and a commission paid to Bank of Taiwan, they said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES