OPM Round - Not Sure How I Feel About It

I picked up this round a bit back, on one of those days when the urge was really hitting me. I wanted to buy something shiny, and this is what they had.

It's a nice looking round, with a classic, clean design. But ever since I heard about some potential troubles with OPM and a couple other brands, I've been digging. And what I've found hasn't been positive.

It turns out there's an association called the LBMA that sets up policies to try to ensure fair trade for previous metals. If the LBMA approves you, you have a lot better access to buyers and sellers and your products are generally regarded as more desirable on the world market. In 2013 OPM got into the club. In 2017, as part of the Elemetal drug trafficking scandal I referenced in my previous post, they were kicked out.

Now I'm sure there's another side to this story (there's always at least one more), but this article makes a pretty good case for not buying OPM in the future. Both from a potential ethical standpoint, and for potential loss of profit, I think I'll steer clear in the future.

But for now, here's some parting shots of the one piece I already own. If anyone has more information about any of this, I would love to hear it.