: offering launched in “1979 and

Pe evs

Bye ghee abe ge ree pe Ss

The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced a anew series ofprecious metal Investment coins in pur platinum
(above) and pure silver, which will join the Gold Maple Leaf on the market i in 1989. .

_ New platinum and silver coins
_ join Mint’s famous gold series

The Royal Canadian Mint: Aas |
entered 1989 with a new’ series of
Precious. metal investment coins in
‘pure platinum and pure silver. The
new Maple Leaf coins ‘join the
highly successful Gold Maple Leaf

responsible for some$5:;5 billion in
export sales since then,

“The Platinum Maple Leaf: bears
- the familiar maple leaf symbol and
js struck in 9995‘fine platinum in
‘sizes of one. Troy: ounce and one-
“half, one-quarter’ and . one-tenth
_ ‘Troy ounce. They are legal tender
~ and bear nominal values of $50,

‘$20, $10: and $5 respectively. -
The new Silver Maple Leaf coins

are similar. in design. They are

struck in 9999 fine silver and are
available in the industry | standard
size of one Troy ounce, with a

~ nominal value of $5.

At the Jaunch of the new coins in

November, Mint president Maurice
Lafontaine said, “Canada is a sig- *;

nificant. producer of platinum and ~

one of the world’s largest producers J

— all with the quality and liquidity
the Maple Leaf has come to stand
for.”

Anvestors will be able to o purchase
-and sell the new coins as easily as
_ the Gold Maple Leaf. Large,
wholesale level firms have been ap-

pointed as distributors in North

“America, Europe and Asia, all
“known for. the international ex-
perience in'precious metals, -

of silvers It is a natural extension of ~«Platipum. and silver coin sales tar-.

‘Our expertise in marketing bullion
‘investment coins to now offer a ;

-choice of gold, silver and platinum

LEAVE TO THE PROS

_ gets are 100, 000 and 800,000 Troy
ounces respectively in the first year,

dhe Mint tsays.

Art investments. are. risky

~ By Harry L. Mardon

Let's face ita lust for instant
wealth lurks in the hearts of many
_ Canadians. How else to explain the
- millions poured into lotteries, pari-
_ Mutuels and the like? :

- These can hardly be dignified as

“investments. But what about art as

an investment? Every now and

- again the news services will report

how a painting purchased for a few
"dollars at arummage sale turned out
to be a valuable masterpiece.

. Such stories have whetted the ap-
petite of some Canadians to seek
out paintings or etchings at art
' “dealerships and estate auctions, in
- the hope their investment will result

in a handsome capital gain.. “

In fact, there is only an extreme
‘outside chance an art purchase will

- pay off. It will be sheer luck if you

ever geta really good work of art at

a price where you’ll make a lot of
_ money. During the Dirty Thirties

Timely tax tips”

Aclaim for a deduction or credit
‘that i is not supported by the required
- receipt, certificate or form may be
disallowed. A photocopy of a

receipt is not acceptable unless the

issuer has certified it as a Lrue copy.

“it you bought bonds through : your
payroll savings plan, you may claim
the interest charges you paid to pur-
~ chase the bonds as a deduction.

ee

if ‘you are self-employed, you may
“be. required to make Canada Pen-
‘gion Plan contributions on your
_ earnings, See the tax guide.

. you might have been able to buy a.
Group of Seven work for a.couple
of hundred dollars which would be

worth: thousands now. But the -

public is generally more sophisti-_
cated today, and one consequence is

that sellers are not likely to under-
‘value art works.

Not for

amateurs

Some investment advice-givers
recommend buying works of art as
medium to long term investments. -
However, a veteran.art collector in
Winnipeg told this writer that pur-
chasing art as an investment “is
definitely not for the dilettante, IF
you want to own some art, that’s

fine. But you must always remem- -
ber that you don’t make money -

buying art, Youmake money selling
art — and how much you make...

depends upon whom you're selling |

to. If it’s a dealer, he is looking for
his profit, so he'd buy al well below
the current market value of the art
work.”

The collector said art investing is

nota field for amatcurs. Would-be -
investors should first undertake a:

great deal of serious study of artand
of market conditions, and keep up

_ todate onart prices. Healso warned

that there are a fair number of fakes
floating around in the art markets of
the world, Some of these are so well
crafted that they even deceive the
so-called experts in major art
houses and dealerships.

Good deals ©

are rare
“If you happen to go toasmall, out

of the way auction, and if you know
a great deal about art, you may just
get a good deal,” the collector said.
“But if there's somebody there who
knows more than you, and certain-
ly most art dealers are in this
category, then forget about it. Even
if you really knéw quite a lot, you
could be buying garbage.”

Of course, there are always excep-
tions. For example, arare edition of
Edgar Allan Poe's first book of
poetry (“Tamerlane”) was pur-
" chased for $15 fast February at a
barn sale. of antiques, The sharp-
eyed buyer is putting. it up for auc-
tion at Sotheby* sin New York early
in June, and itis expected to be sold
_ for about $300,000.

There are all sorts of other collec- .

tibles which can command very
good prices, such as old furniture,
“ancient maps, antique jewelry and
carvings. As long as people have
the money to indulge in collecting
rare and beautiful objects, the
global market for works of art will
continue to thrive. But it’s a. risk-
laden ficld, particularly for amateur
investors.

The Winnipeg collector’s closing
advice is sound: “The smart thing to
do is not to look on an art purchase
as an investment. You should buy
something you'll be happy with, if
you keep it. And spend only as
much as you'd spend for any other
good decoration feature for your
house.”

(Harry Mardon is manager of corporate
communications for Investors Group Iné.,
the Winnipeg -based financial planning ser-

vices company.)

THE MONEY SUPPLEMENT, PAGE?

‘The “Loonie” will Teepe the dollar bill completely after June =
1989. - ,

Make way for

the Loonie July 1

. Canada’s new. $1: coin — the -

“Loonie” — finally ‘comes into its
own July 1, 1989. That’s when the
Bank of Canada willcease distribu-
tion of new $1 bills.

The Loonie has been around since
July 1, 1987 and 112,000,000 were
distributed i in that ycar alons. But it
has been issucd in conjunction with

‘new $1 bills and Canadians have

tended to hoard the good-looking
new coin, sO not too many Loonies

‘have been seen in general clreula-

won,

But from mid-'89 onwards, we'll
see the bill begin to disappear as the
Loonie comes into its own. It’s con-
sidered a spetial ‘benefit for users
and operators:of coin merchandis-.
ing machineg and is supposed to

ease the perennial shortage of
quarters,

‘It’s ‘Hendecagonal’

“In case you've been. wondering,
the Loonie is officially. “hen-
decagonal” — or 11-sided, to you.
Struck by the Royal Canadian Mint,
the Loonie is golden in color “and
utilizes Canada’s finest natural
resources,” the Bank of Canada
says.

“It is produced from nickel
electroplated with bronze which
makes it both light and durable and
of the finest quality. In selecting this
composition for the new currency,
Canada further enhances her excel-
lent reputation as the world’s
foremost nickel producer.”

The design, like those of Catiada’s 8
nickel and quarter, is inspired by.
our fauna; It depicts the common
loon, “that true and lasting symbol

of the Canadian wildermess, in a

magnificent design. created by
Canadian artist Robert-Ralf Car-
michael. It is therefore, with much
pride that the new Canadian dollar
coin makes its historical entrance,”
the central Bank said, .

40 ‘ones’ for $50 | oT
Meanwhile, if you're a collector

‘or just sentimental about the old

green bill, the bank has a special
deal, You can buy 40 $1 bills for
$50, plus tax, insingle, uncut sheets
suitable for framing.

The Full sheet of 40 notes

_ Measures approximately 26.5 by 22

inches (76.2 by” 55:8 centimeters)

_- and is on sale a¢ross the counter at
the Bank ‘of Canada’s’ nine agen-

cics. The price is $50 per sheet, plus
provincial sales tax and “each sheet

. will have been inspected, rolled and

placed in a protective tube.”

Premium explained a

Why the $10 premium — — $50 for
$40 worth of bills? Spokesman
Gordon May explained the bank
won't make. a profit because the
cost of individually inspecting and
packaging the shects works out to
just over $10 cach.

But you'll always be able to get -
the face value of the bills — $40,

that is — if you ever run short, the

spokesman promises.

BRIAN G. PERRY.

‘Certified General Accountant
‘| 9. 4644 Lazelle Avenue :
7 ; Terrace, B.C. V8G 4A6

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