Costco hopes to strike gold again — this time with silver.
The big box retailer — which said it sold more than $100 million worth of gold bars in its most recent quarter — said has begun selling 25-count tubes of an ounce of Canada Maple Leaf Silver Coins for $675 apiece on its web site.
The front of the coin shows an image depicting a maple leaf while the back displays a likeness of King Charles III.
Costco members are permitted to purchase a maximum of five. All purchases are non-refundable.
The price works out to $27 per coin — a premium to the spot price of $24.46 where silver futures were trading mid-morning Friday.
The move is the latest attempt by the retail chain to appeal to precious metal collectors who have been snapping up Costco’s $2,000 gold bars online.
In the most recent quarter, Costco sold more than $100 million worth of gold bars — prompting the company to double down on precious metals, according to CNN.
Those who have invested in precious metals would have seen a nice return over the course of the last 12 months.
Gold has risen 18% from a year ago while silver is up 21%.
Experts attribute the rise in value of precious metals to anticipated interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Since precious metals don’t pay out interest unlike other assets such as Treasury bonds, demand for gold and silver rises when rates are expected to drop.
Gold and silver are also thought to be safe hedges against inflation since investors expect precious metals to hold their value.
Costco fell short of Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales on Thursday due to tepid demand for higher margin goods, pulling its shares down 5% in extended trading.
With elevated day-to-day costs hammering household budgets, customers have kept a tight lid on their spending, particularly for big-ticket non-essential purchases such as home furnishings, sporting goods and garden supplies.
In January, US retail sales fell by the most in 10 months with decreases in sales of electronics and appliances as well as clothing, health and personal care products.
However, demand for Costco’s consumables and groceries held steady and helped the company’s comparable sales, excluding the impact of fuel and currency fluctuations, jump 5.8% in the second quarter.
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[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
