Controversy in the World of Bullion

By its very nature, bullion is a valuable and more expensive commodity than standard commemorative coins comprised of nickel, copper or zinc, for example. This can lead to greater scrutiny of the items produced and their provenance.

Below are a couple of recent news items that illustrate what can happen when bullion production and trading go awry.

$146 million penalty for missing bullion coins

A US court has ordered a $146 million penalty to be paid by two companies, precious metals dealer Argent Asset Group and First State Depository Company, following hundreds of thousands of bullion coins going missing.

Investigators alleged that tens of millions of dollars’ worth of the coins were misappropriated, with 500,000 American Eagle silver coins and 9,000 gold coins going missing from customers’ accounts. Upon entering the vaults designated for storing the coins, they found ‘‘IOU’ slips in empty boxes marked to indicate a customer’s account, yet containing no assets’.