Yahoo Finance Rare $2 coin ballot gets ‘overwhelming’ response - how to know if you’re a chance to score sets valued at $1,400
There are currently online listings for the sets at $1,400 and $949.
Australians have pounced on the opportunity to snag one of the remaining highly coveted 35th anniversary $2 coin sets after the Royal Australian Mint opened up its very first ballot.
Aussies hoping to collect or make a tidy profit on the $235 sets - which at one point were being offered for sale at $1,500 - had been stopped in their tracks when the mint stopped selling them after being plagued with issues online and over the phone last year.
The very first ballot kicked off on Wednesday, with the mint telling Yahoo Finance it had been “overwhelmed” but could not reveal how many people threw their hat in the ring for the chance to buy one of the limited-edition sets, which include the very first coloured coin that coin expert Matt Thompson said - even damaged - retails for up to $200.
Have you made money from collectables? Tell your story to belinda.grantgeary@yahooinc.com.
There are currently online listings for the sets at $1,400 and $949, but others for more realistic prices between between $300 and $600.
The ballot, launched with e-commerce platform EQL, closed yesterday and the mint said those who were successful would have received an email advising so by 8.30am today.
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A spokesperson for EQL said the move to a more robust digital system would keep coin collecting relevant, and made the process fairer for those who could not make it to the mint in Canberra, where thousands lined up, some even camping out overnight on the eve of the first release.
“The interest in this set was going to be strong but it really blew them away, which points to a bigger consumer trend around collecting and the resurgence of it,” they told Yahoo Finance.
Winners will be advised by email and their 14-coin set will be issued within seven to 10 business days.
Why did the mint need to change how it was selling collectable coins?
The mint has been accused of distributing collectors items unfairly because those who don’t live near the mint, or can’t make the journey, are forced to buy through the call centre, with some making thousands of calls over several hours without connecting.
The online store was closed after repeatedly crashing during popular events and the mint acknowledged the “need for a better, fairer system to make our products available to the Australian community” when it announced the ballot system.
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