I'm fairly new in the numismatic world, definitely not new enough to know about Olympic commems. For the Beijing Olympics, when would commemoratives be available/who would they be available through?

that really depends on the issuing country. which issues did you have in mind?

I think the question is ...What countries are issuing Olympic coins for this summers games?

I would think China is. Anyone know?

Yes they are.

(BEIJING, April 26) -- The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) and the People's Bank of China signed an agreement in Beijing on Wednesday, officially kicking off the Beijing 2008 Olympic Numismatic Program.

According to the agreement, the Bank will issue Olympic commemorative banknotes and coins in the next three years, including nine gold coins, 14 silver coins, eight base metal coins and one banknote.

http://en.beijing2008.com/80/95/article212029580.shtml

Heres a link to the official distributor. I hope you have lots of cash.

http://www.pandaamerica.com/Beijing_Oly_Co...p;sortby=entrec

Aww isn't that cute, they're charging 2008 dollars.

Maybe one can get American copies cheaper.

When I was in China in 2006 they were already selling Beijing 2008 merchandise, even numismatic stuff. The one item I kind of regret not buying was a 50 gramme gold bar that was selling for slightly less than melt when exchange rates were factored. I bought gold coins, but mostly like the 1998-2000 issues that were just plain interesting because of the designs, or square holes in the centre etc.

The Chinese love gold, which explains why gold is so popular for Panda coins etc, and it is possible to get coins in kilogrammes etc.

$20000 for one coin?

Granted it does weigh 5 oz but even if gold hits $1000/oz that means they are charging $15000 for the coin itself...

Didn't you hear? Paying $15,000 over spot is all the rage. Only the coolest people do it. If only I were that cool.

You're pretty cool Kris!

Maybe I spend $20000 every 5-6 years on coins. And I wind up with probably 150-250 coins instead of one for my money.

Also, it's the thrill of the hunt for me.

(I wish I had spent $5000 on platinum coins back in 2002 when platinum was cheap. I thought about it... )

I am ta cheap for that nonsense. I think the markups on all the Kilogramme coins are ridiculous. Bars are cheaper.