Listed Mining Companies
ADD A COMMENT PRINT 
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A South African precious coin distributor, the South African Gold Coin Exchange, reported on Friday that sales of Krugerrands were “at an all-time high”.
Executive chairperson Alan Demby said that domestic demand appeared to be underpinned by prevailing concern about the safety of banks.
Investors were also resorting to physical-gold purchasing as a way to protect their assets, as well as to stave off the threat of a possible surge in inflationary pressures as trillions of dollars were pumped into the global economy in a bid to deal with a global recession.
A recent World Gold Council report found that retail demand for gold bullion in the fourth quarter of 2008, was almost five times what it was in the same period of 2007.
Demby noted that a Krugerrand bought for £200 or so in 2005 was now worth more than £700.
“And the appreciation for South African investors over this period has been considerably more owing to the rand’s loss in value against major currencies,” he added.
“Especially interesting at the current juncture is the number of investors who are placing regular monthly orders for Krugerrands.
“For those who find affordability of one of the coins an issue, there are the half, quarter and tenth Krugerrands,” Demby concluded.
