what do you make of this, page-27

"Just for general information I just got back from the Perth Mint. They are completely sold out of silver, expected waiting times are as much as 3 months, they just don't know, they seem really on the back foot.

I was asking why even cast bars can't be produced without a potential 3 month wait (which is just absurd for a mint that claims plenty of metal). She mentioned one 'machine' was being replaced but other than that she didn't know."

Silver bar production capacity is restricted as we are in the process of building an extension and installing new (and moving existing) equipment into it, which should be done by July. Unfortunate timing but these things are planned well in advance.

"There will be no more Kookaburras available for the rest of the year, they have hit their 500,000 maximum mintage (due to them being a currency they have a strict limit). All you can get is whatever is sold back to them, they had all of 2 coins and she seemed rather chuffed to have even that. You can however order Koalas which have no face value."

The mintage limit has nothing to do with them being currency, it is set by us to give the coin some collectability. The Koala silver coin has a face value, but no mintage limit, so they will always be available.

Regarding the discussion about eBay premiums, if you can acquire physical from a coin dealer or the Perth Mint, then one should not pay more. Ebay prices usually reflect ignorance and perceived desperation rather than rational prices.