Gold & South Asian People

[coinory]

Hey guys, I wanted to share an observation, Or something I realised after I got into flipping gold coins etc, That is south Asians as a community and the Importance of gold. 

In countries like India, Pakistan & Bangladesh etc., people don't trust banks or have access to banking ( Govts are pushing people to deposit their funds into banks ), but still, they refuse to do so. 

Reason? People are used to using gold as a form of investment, which has been going for centuries. For example, when south Asian's get married, guess what are the most valuables present newlyweds get? Gold jewellery and that is passed on from one generation to another... 

I  was born in South Asia. Since my childhood, I have seen people using gold as an investment portfolio. And it is mind-boggling. People with no financial education, No market knowledge or access to any resources, Yet are sage investors.

[KevinFlynn]

Yes  I'm always in awe when I'm looking at brides wearing more than my net worth in gold 😙

And it does not look like low carat, I'm guessing 750 at least. How close to spot might those pieces be traded? My girlfriend is from SEA and she says gold jewelry is not traded by weight but by perceived thickness 😗 Ah, well...

I am regularly thumping my nose at turkish jewelry shops here.

(light version)

[TommyTwoShots]

Massive premiums though

[MancunianStacker]

Thailand do some lovely 22-23k jewellery at close to spot. Of course the newer the jewellery the higher the premium but because it is mainly sold as an investment / secure cash equivalent it is generally very good value and low premium compared to our Western 18k or lower tat.

If you want some across borders gold then the Thai necklaces and bracelets etc are great to get. Also countries like Laos, Burma and Vietnam.

Get yourselves some sun and buy some discount gold jewellery at the same time 👌 

[Abyss]

One of the reasons why I decided to diversify my investments into physical Gold was because my family already had Indian Gold jewellery and we were already paying for a safety deposit box. Owning gold jewellery is probably one of the worst forms of investments not only because of the significantly higher premiums but if you wanted to liquidate you will only get back scrap metal value. Look at GBP per Oz Baird paying for scrap metal gold price depending on the carat . Screwed at both ends when buying Jewellery in the form of Gold (buying and selling).

https://www.bairdmint.com/live-metals-pricing

 

[MancunianStacker]

1 hour ago, Abyss said:

One of the reasons why I decided to diversify my investments into physical Gold was because my family already had Indian Gold jewellery and we were already paying for a safety deposit box. Owning gold jewellery is probably one of the worst forms of investments not only because of the significantly higher premiums but if you wanted to liquidate you will only get back scrap metal value. Look at GBP per Oz Baird paying for scrap metal gold price depending on the carat . Screwed at both ends when buying Jewellery in the form of Gold (buying and selling).

https://www.bairdmint.com/live-metals-pricing

 

True but in SE Asia it is so widely used as an alternative to cash savings that the premiums are very low and the margins are squeezed. I posted some prices on another thread ages ago. A search under Thai gold should find it. 

[MancunianStacker]

https://thailand505.com/ultimate-guide-to-buying-gold-in-thailand/
 

Found this if anyone finds it useful

[Bars]

6 hours ago, Abyss said:

One of the reasons why I decided to diversify my investments into physical Gold was because my family already had Indian Gold jewellery and we were already paying for a safety deposit box. Owning gold jewellery is probably one of the worst forms of investments not only because of the significantly higher premiums but if you wanted to liquidate you will only get back scrap metal value. Look at GBP per Oz Baird paying for scrap metal gold price depending on the carat . Screwed at both ends when buying Jewellery in the form of Gold (buying and selling).

https://www.bairdmint.com/live-metals-pricing

 

This is true, but in some cases when the gold does get sold it is after many years and the returns are decent because of the change in spot price. This is the case for people who were gifted it as a wedding gift, would be wiser to buy coins/bars as an investment now of course

[coinory]

2 hours ago, Bars said:

This is true, but in some cases when the gold does get sold it is after many years and the returns are decent because of the change in spot price. This is the case for people who were gifted it as a wedding gift, would be wiser to buy coins/bars as an investment now of course

This is true usually when people sell jewellery etc it's after decades and in some cases after generations its usually intended as last resort to raise funds...

[Happypanda88]

As I keep saying, people in Asia understands and value gold far more than people in West. 

In some Far Eastern countries, people prefer their gold jewellery in 999 fine gold. In weddings, giving gold as gifts is very common or even expected from close family members.

When a bride is from an affluent family with nice gifts, this could happen.......... 😂

(....at least she doesn't think her gold will become worthless one day !! 🤣)

 

[HerefordBullyun]

Not Just asians Suckers - I aint getting on no plane!

[kimchi]

1 minute ago, HerefordBullyun said:

Not Just asians Suckers - I aint getting on no plane!

Is that your current squeeze mate?

[HerefordBullyun]

14 minutes ago, kimchi said:

Is that your current squeeze mate?

I wish only got one sov lol! Im balls deep in silver though!

[kimchi]

3 minutes ago, HerefordBullyun said:

I wish only got one sov lol! Im balls deep in silver though!

Best send me pics by the usual channels my good man

[HerefordBullyun]

6 minutes ago, kimchi said:

Best send me pics by the usual channels my good man

On the bottom the sea now - on my holy boat!

[KevinFlynn]

6 hours ago, Happypanda88 said:

...

Okay, would it be wrong if I said I would marry the groom if I got that much gold 😁

[dikefalos]

Gold buying is smart, but sometimes makes holding gold stupid. This news are from 2013

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257209/amp/Wealthy-Indian-Datta-Phuge-spends-14-000-shirt-GOLD-impress-ladies.html

In 2016 someone has beaten him to death.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/16/indian-businessman-famed-for-240000-gold-shirt-beaten-to-death

I never was around there, but if you show over here gold, the rats will come out their holes in a minute

Edited January 1, 2022 by dikefalos

[Happypanda88]

9 minutes ago, dikefalos said:

Gold buying is smart, but sometimes makes holding gold stupid. This news are from 2013

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257209/amp/Wealthy-Indian-Datta-Phuge-spends-14-000-shirt-GOLD-impress-ladies.html

In 2016 someone has beaten him to death.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/16/indian-businessman-famed-for-240000-gold-shirt-beaten-to-death

I never was around there, but if you show over here gold, the rats will come out their holes in a minute

Yes, I remembered reading about this chap with his gold shirt.

Sad to hear he has died.

But was showing his gold that got him beaten to death as you seem to imply.

The article says "police suspected the motive could have been a dispute over a money transaction."

[dikefalos]

1 hour ago, Happypanda88 said:

Yes, I remembered reading about this chap with his gold shirt.

Sad to hear he has died.

But was showing his gold that got him beaten to death as you seem to imply.

The article says "police suspected the motive could have been a dispute over a money transaction."

Really a sad story. But how you can show off like this in a country with large poverty and hunger. In my part of Berlin you see people die in a dispute over 20€. And here is no hunger. Only greed and crazyness. So the golden rule was always not showing what you got, especially if it comes to gold, silver and cash.

[h103efa]

On 31/12/2021 at 03:55, coinory said:

Hey guys, I wanted to share an observation, Or something I realised after I got into flipping gold coins etc, That is south Asians as a community and the Importance of gold. 

In countries like India, Pakistan & Bangladesh etc., people don't trust banks or have access to banking ( Govts are pushing people to deposit their funds into banks ), but still, they refuse to do so. 

Reason? People are used to using gold as a form of investment, which has been going for centuries. For example, when south Asian's get married, guess what are the most valuables present newlyweds get? Gold jewellery and that is passed on from one generation to another... 

I  was born in South Asia. Since my childhood, I have seen people using gold as an investment portfolio. And it is mind-boggling. People with no financial education, No market knowledge or access to any resources, Yet are sage investors.

I so know about this. Unfortunately those very nice family members that gift us gold, give any kind even jewellry sovs. Some time this year i will be converting all my "fake" but real gold sovs & coins to real sovs....

 

[coinory]

On 01/01/2022 at 12:18, dikefalos said:

Really a sad story. But how you can show off like this in a country with large poverty and hunger. In my part of Berlin you see people die in a dispute over 20€. And here is no hunger. Only greed and crazyness. So the golden rule was always not showing what you got, especially if it comes to gold, silver and cash.

Its mind of a social media inspired trend to show off your wealth by wearing massive gold chains and jewellery.