M_203
01-29-2011, 07:15 AM
I brought over a mint tube of 2010 ASE's to Afghanistan with me, with the intent to handover an ASE to my Afghan brothers I've been working closely with over the past year. Afghanistan really needs American support and I fear what will happen when we decide to pull our Military infrastructure from here. Before I left America, I figured many Afghan's would be happy to see an American Silver Eagle, and it would serve as a reminder of our commitment to their Nation.
After parusing the many bazaar's in the Province, the Afghan equivalent to our shopping malls, I have found a strong market for silver. Although, hoping to find real Afghan silver for cheap, all I have run across has been fake silver coins from Russia and Pakistan. If there is real silver for sale here, I have not seen it yet. Keeping my silver designated FRN's in my pocket until I return to America, urgh. (Did manage to pick up an ATB set from A-mark, over the net, with many thanks to this forum :cool: )
Fortunately, there is quite a considerable market for Afghanistan gemstones here. The gemstones are said to be mined from the province of Nuristan and Kunar where the raw stones are found in plentiful supply. A skilled Afghan then cuts them and brings to market. The cuts are quality but some of the stones have flaws when held under a loupe. My area of knowledge is strictly precious metals, and was a little apprehensive when first looking to purchase gemstones, in fear of not obtaining a fair price. Everything here can be bartered and negotiating a fair price can be difficult when lacking the requisite knowledge. But man, the gemstones are beautiful and a wonderful gift for my loving wife on my return.
After careful review and oogling over their beauty and abundance, I decided, and picked a 6ct. citrine, 2x 1.5 ct. Pierdot's and 4x 1.5 ct. Amethysts cut nicely and to the best quality I could discern under the loupe. The going rates were $15 a carat for the citrine and Pierdots and $10 a carat for the Amethysts. Managed to work the shopkeeper down from $160.00 to $120.00 as his business was slow and the American dollar goes a long way here, and it probably costs half that for the shopkeeper to bring these to market as gemstone smuggling goes hand in hand with the corruption here. (I think the dollar exchange rate is close to 40:1 with the average working Afghan's earning a couple hundred US a month).
The decision was tough, but I decided to trade 4x ASE's for the handful of loose Afghanistan gemstones, remembering the final scenes from the Goonies :D. When offering for trade the 4x ASE's, the shopkeeper was surprised and not certain of their true worth. He had never seen an ASE and being skeptical he sought his owner's approval for the trade. I was asked if i purchased the ASE's in Afghanistan, an immediate inference to the state of their silver content. We compared them to the fake Russian coins and weighted them. (i was tempted to begin explaining the importance of owning Silver, but figured thats a conversation for another time and place) The shining beauty of the ASE's eventually sold him after reassurance that he would not run across these beautys again anytime soon. I almost changed my mind after gazing into Lady Liberty's outstretched arms, but focused on my wife's outstretched arms.
Anyways, I offer my experience for your insights, advice, criticism and enjoyment. As I have enjoyed many posts from here.
The used Toyota car business is booming here. Apparently, there is money to be made in shipping old Toyota's from the States to Afghanistan and turning em for a couple thousand in profit, pm me if your a car dealer. Something I may look into for the future, as I am always surprised when I see a car with my State of California's license plate attached drive by.
Regardless of the wisdom in my trade, it was quite the experience and a story to bring home with the stones in hand. M_203
After parusing the many bazaar's in the Province, the Afghan equivalent to our shopping malls, I have found a strong market for silver. Although, hoping to find real Afghan silver for cheap, all I have run across has been fake silver coins from Russia and Pakistan. If there is real silver for sale here, I have not seen it yet. Keeping my silver designated FRN's in my pocket until I return to America, urgh. (Did manage to pick up an ATB set from A-mark, over the net, with many thanks to this forum :cool: )
Fortunately, there is quite a considerable market for Afghanistan gemstones here. The gemstones are said to be mined from the province of Nuristan and Kunar where the raw stones are found in plentiful supply. A skilled Afghan then cuts them and brings to market. The cuts are quality but some of the stones have flaws when held under a loupe. My area of knowledge is strictly precious metals, and was a little apprehensive when first looking to purchase gemstones, in fear of not obtaining a fair price. Everything here can be bartered and negotiating a fair price can be difficult when lacking the requisite knowledge. But man, the gemstones are beautiful and a wonderful gift for my loving wife on my return.
After careful review and oogling over their beauty and abundance, I decided, and picked a 6ct. citrine, 2x 1.5 ct. Pierdot's and 4x 1.5 ct. Amethysts cut nicely and to the best quality I could discern under the loupe. The going rates were $15 a carat for the citrine and Pierdots and $10 a carat for the Amethysts. Managed to work the shopkeeper down from $160.00 to $120.00 as his business was slow and the American dollar goes a long way here, and it probably costs half that for the shopkeeper to bring these to market as gemstone smuggling goes hand in hand with the corruption here. (I think the dollar exchange rate is close to 40:1 with the average working Afghan's earning a couple hundred US a month).
The decision was tough, but I decided to trade 4x ASE's for the handful of loose Afghanistan gemstones, remembering the final scenes from the Goonies :D. When offering for trade the 4x ASE's, the shopkeeper was surprised and not certain of their true worth. He had never seen an ASE and being skeptical he sought his owner's approval for the trade. I was asked if i purchased the ASE's in Afghanistan, an immediate inference to the state of their silver content. We compared them to the fake Russian coins and weighted them. (i was tempted to begin explaining the importance of owning Silver, but figured thats a conversation for another time and place) The shining beauty of the ASE's eventually sold him after reassurance that he would not run across these beautys again anytime soon. I almost changed my mind after gazing into Lady Liberty's outstretched arms, but focused on my wife's outstretched arms.
Anyways, I offer my experience for your insights, advice, criticism and enjoyment. As I have enjoyed many posts from here.
The used Toyota car business is booming here. Apparently, there is money to be made in shipping old Toyota's from the States to Afghanistan and turning em for a couple thousand in profit, pm me if your a car dealer. Something I may look into for the future, as I am always surprised when I see a car with my State of California's license plate attached drive by.
Regardless of the wisdom in my trade, it was quite the experience and a story to bring home with the stones in hand. M_203