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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 1975
REMINT OF ROYAL VISIT GOLD COIN NOT POSSIBLE
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THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, THE HON. PHILIP HADDON-CAVE, TODAY RULED OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF MINTING MORE GOLD COINS COMMEMORATING THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO HONG KONG LAST MONTH.
SINCE THE GOVERNMENT HAD ADVERTISED WORLDWIDE THAT THE ISSUE WOWOULD BE LIMITED TO 20,000 IT WOULD BE A CLEAR BREACH OF FAITH TO RESTRIKE THE COIN IN ORDER TO SATISFY DISAPPOINTED APPLICANTS, HE EXPLAINED.
MR. HADDON-CAVE WAS REPLYING TO A QUESTION FROM DR. THE HON. CHUNG SZE-YUEN WHO HAD ASKED WHETHER THERE WAS A WAY OPEN FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO SATISFY THOSE APPLICANTS WHO WOULD NOT BE RECEIVING A COIN BECAUSE OF THE HEAVY DEMAND.
SAID MR. HADDON-CAVE +THERE IS NO WAY OPEN TO THIS GOVERNMENT TO KEEP ITS WORD ON THE NUMBER OF COINS THAT WOULD BE STRUCK AND, AT THE SAME TIME, SATISFY THOSE APPLICANTS WHO HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED.+
HE SAID THAT 18,000 HONG KONG RESIDENTS HAD APPLIED FOR A TOTAL OF 29,993 ROYAL VISIT COINS AND IT HAD BEEN DECIDED THAT NO APPLICANT WOULD RECEIVE MORE THAN ONE.
A TOTAL OF 10,530 COINS HAD OR WOULD BE ISSUED, HE SAID, +AND IT FOLLOWS THAT ROUGHLY 52 PER CENT OF HONG KONG RESIDENTS WHO APPLIED WILL NOT RECEIVE AN ALLOCATION.+
MR. HADDON-CAVE FURTHER EXPLAINED THAT THE DECISION TO LIMIT THE ISSUE TO 20,000 WAS TAKEN ON THE ADVICE OF THE ROYAL MINT WHICH HAS HAD LONG EXPERIENCE OF SELLING LIMITED ISSUE COINS WORLDWIDE.
THE DECISION ALSO TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THE FACT THAT APPLICANTS EXPECTED DELIVERY OF THE COINS ABOUT THE TIME OF THE ROYAL VISIT AND THE NUMBER OF COINS WAS LIMITED TO THAT WHICH COULD BE MINTED UP TO THAT DATE.
IN REPLY TO A SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION, MR. HADDON-CAVE SAID HE WOULD CERTAINLY TRY TO BRING BACK SOME OF THE COINS ALLOCATED FOR SALES OUTSIDE HONG KONG IF THERE SHOULD BE SURPLUS OF SUPPLY OVER DEMAND IN THE OTHER MARKETS.
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