§ Mrs. Thatcherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice he has given to authorised dealers in gold to secure the 213W implementation of Statutory Instrument 1966, No. 438.
§ Mr. MacDermotAuthorised banks and other Authorised Dealers in Gold were sent detailed instructions on 27th April, 1966.
§ Mrs. Thatcherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated loss to the reserves from the import of gold coins and medals in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. MacDermotThe figures for imports of gold coins in the period are as follows:
Value (£) 1961 152,000 1962 7,682,000 1963 5,757,000 1964 6,400,000 1965 8,582,000 The figures include a substantial amount, not easily identifiable, of imports on behalf of non-residents, which would not have been reflected in the balance of payments. It is estimated, however, that imports by residents have averaged £1.5 million a year since 1962.
Separate figures for the import of gold medals are not available.
§ Mrs. Thatcherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an estimate of the value of gold used for the manufacture of medals and medallions in the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. MacDermotNo separate figures are available for the value of gold used for these purposes over this period. Gold sales to industry amounted to £10.2 million in 1965; a reasonable estimate is that about £1½ to £2 million of this was used for making medals and medallions.
§ Mrs. Thatcherasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will issue an explanatory leaflet describing what action people who are not coin collectors but who hold more than four gold coins minted after 1837 should take as a result of Statutory Instrument 1966, No. 438.
§ Mr. MacDermotA leaflet explaining the provisions of the Order and the action which should be taken to comply with it is available from any bank.
§ Mr. Higginsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether non-coin collectors 214W holding more than four sovereigns minted since 1837 are required to surrender them; and by what date, to whom, and at what price they should do so.
§ Mr. MacDermotUnless the holder wishes to apply for exemption as a collector, any holdings at 27th April, 1966 of gold coins minted since 1837 in excess of four should be offered for sale immediately at the current London market price to an Authorised Dealer in Gold or to a Trader in coin or to a coin dealer specifically authorised by the Bank of England.
§ Mr. Higginsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the number of sovereigns minted by the Royal Mint in each of the last 20 years, and the aver age price at which they have been sold in each year.
§ Mr. MacDermotSovereigns were minted in only eight of the last 20 years, as follows:
Sales of sovereigns are made from the Exchange Equalisation Account at cur rent market prices, for dollars or other convertible currency; it is not the practice to give details of the transactions on this account.
1949 138,000 1951 318,000 1952 430,000 1957 2,072,000 1958 8,700,000 1959 1,385,368 1963 10,405,090 1965 5,400,000
§ Mr. Higginsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total value of hoardings of gold coins in the United Kingdom; and what proportion he anticipates will be surrendered as a result of Statutory Instrument 1966, No. 438.
§ Mr. MacDermotNo estimate is possible, but there is evidence that hoarding of gold coins was developing on a substantial scale.