Chorlton

Picked up the silver version of the 225th anniversary Lady Liberty in SP(ecial)70 to go with her big sister 😊.
 
You don’t see the SP designation used too often and is for coins that are better than a MS strike, but without the polished proof fields. This has an enhanced finish. Curious to know why NGC or PCGS do not use the SP designation for Brilliant Uncirculated strikes. They are most definitely better that standard bullion strikes but not quite as good as proof strikes which would make sense in my layman brain 🧠 

Recieved this cool little piece today thanks very much @silversurf

Am i just the only one here who just chooses to use the "ignore user" feature on the forum. 
Folk who you consistently disagree with, dont like their opinions on things or dont like the cut of their jib, just block their posts so they dont show when viewing forum - hey presto.
no tit for tat "im right" debates 

I have the right vehicle for your trip aboard😇
 

Update:
We did see a small sales spike mainly late in the weekend, but nothing crazy.
This morning we are hearing that the Royal Mint are not accepting bullion orders, and premiums are being increased just about everywhere.
We have managed to cover all bullion coins sold, but who knows when we will get deliveries!
We have also increased many of our premiums on bullion items, but only by enough to cover the increased premiums we are being asked.
Currently bars have not been affected, but it could spill over to them.
Gold:Silver ratio came down to below 63, so it has halved since I was "pushing" it at 126.
Platinum still looks cheap.

If we get new members joining to sell in the trade section remember to keep your head.
Set any hype aside as you dont want to end up with fakes or other scams.

A couple of additions to the stack courtesy of @CoinsOfTheRealmAuctions, thank you!

Hi All
For anyone with an interest in Sovereigns, I highly recommend getting hold of the auction catalogues for the Bentley Collection.
As well as a sales tool, it has absolutely invaluable information and very clear photographs of some remarkable sovereigns.
I purchased mine from eBay for £20 which I consider an absolute bargain.
Best
Dicker

They're roughly the same as normal treasury yields which historically only go down
This is 10 year inflation securities, 10 year yields and gold (orange) flipped vertical to see the correlation
If I had to guess I think they will rise modestly from here bringing gold down until at some point an event happens, whether that be an insolvency or liquidity crisis or both, which will again plummet yields and get gold going again
, 
 
 

I have the right vehicle for your trip aboard😇
 

Fabulous idea, now your talking!! 😛

I have the right vehicle for your trip aboard😇
 

I have the right vehicle for your trip aboard😇
 

I have the right vehicle for your trip aboard😇
 

Also, businesses in the UK that are not VAT registered will be uncompetitive to European customers. 
Prior to 31st December a business that was NOT Vat registered charged no Vat on products to customers in the EU. 
From 1st January those customers will be charged VAT when the goods are imported into their country. 
It gets worse because if, like my business you were not paying VAT on the raw materials before, you will be forced to procure raw materials with VAT on them now. This means passing on the costs to the customers and price increases. 
So, following through, previously I may have charged £35/oz for my silver. Now I would look to increase this to account for the higher material cost incurred with VAT, so lets call it £40/oz. Then the EU customer is charged VAT on the import - so they are doubly taxed and hit - not to mention the handling fee of €15 that couriers charge to calculate your VAT on import.
Bottom line, it makes small businesses that were underneath the VAT threshold a minimum of 20% less competitive with their prices at a time when we should be doing everything possible to keep our British businesses and entrepreneurs competitive. 
The ignoring of VAT harmonisation has truly made this Brexit deal next to useless and it sickens me to hear politicians herald it as "free trade" when it is nothing but free trade. 
Not to mention all the added bureaucracy and admin work that businesses will have to endure. 
Sorry, that turned into more of a ranty post than intended. 
Its sh it

£1,200 assuming the pound doesn't collapse post Brexit.

£1250
The past year has really been the perfect storm for the gold price, COVID, Brexit, additional economic pressures all on top of an already rising gold price. It would seem highly unlikely that the world will see another year like it in 2021. For me, it’ll be a year of recovery and not one of new gold price records.

£1,200 assuming the pound doesn't collapse post Brexit.

Yes, and BBP offer free delivery and +6% over Spot- but like I stated, no bleating on condition- but you might be lucky....I bought on this deal previously and the Griffins I received looked like someone had put them under their shoe and scraped them down the street- they were however, good eBay fodder when the Gold price hiked up somewhat 😉
The last paragraph is the disclaimer...

Hi All
A non-TSF friend was apparently offered a number of Krugs for cash....swap in a carpark in London....Brixton to be precise.  
 
How many of you would take that?   Not me!
Best
Dicker

decided to treat myself to my first proof at last. Glad i chose this one

1828 MS66
 

Hi All,
I thought it would be useful for to add a thread on gold / precious metal scams.  
There have been a few questions posted over the last year that indicate that some new forum members might be being scammed or are thinking about taking part in a "venture" that is is a scam....or worse being used to launder money.  This post can be used as a 'lookup' for new members and also for forum members to flag any scams that they have seen.
Forum members, please do flag up scams or any other advice that would be helpful to people.
Best
Dicker
 
The "Hook"
A gold scam is the same as any other scam - someone is trying to entice you into parting with your money for a product that does not exist and you will never receive.The 'hook' to catch your interest is often the prospect of making significant money by buying gold at a discount.  Margins on PM's are tight and you will find that even miners in remote regions of third world countries know the price of gold!
 
Types of Scams
Financing the importation of gold - Where there is a spurious source i.e. Gold looted from from Saddam, Gadaffi, ISIS, a corrupt mine manager etc  Financing the purchase and sale of gold in another country  - You are invited to fund the purchase and sale of gold using a bogus tax scheme - you are supposed to get the profits when the deal is completed Buying gold dust - "left over" from a mine crusher, smelting plant etc Buying from an fraudulent online dealer - Who has just setup shop and is selling gold at a deep discount Buying from a corrupt politician / government employee - Who just happens to have access to a load of gold Tax avoidance - Funding the purchase and sale of PM's across different tax jurisdictions with you taking a cut of the profits My client wants to buy a lot of gold - Or a bullion dealer, or a refinery.  This is essentially where a victim has been "won over" by a scammer and is then being used to scam others.  We had an example on this forum a while ago where a member was enquiring about buying vast quantities of gold (central bank quantities) or a large refinery...  I think in the end the forum member left, still thinking that we were wrong and she was had a client who wanted that quantity of gold..... Money laundering - You are used to move money around using your bank account (private or company), on the premise you are dealing gold, whereas you are moving money that comes from the proceeds of crime (mostly drugs)  
No one would fall for that right?
Sadly people do, and more frequently than people think - especially senior citizens.  Many scams are extremely elaborate, well planned and well financed, with months or years in the making.
Sending a sample as a 'convincer' - To convince a victim that they are genuine, it is not unknown (but not common) for a scammer to send a sample of gold to a victim for testing.  "Keep the 1/10th ounce sample, we have lots more......" More common is a video or documentary evidence of gold being tested with a piece of paper with your name on.  The gold may be real or may be totally fake, but you won't know Most frequently, stock photos of gold seem to be used as part of scam - using Google Image Search or Tineye is good for searching for the picture to see if it has been used elsewhere Pushy People - Frequently scammers are pushy, with a time frame and deadline put in place to pressurise you to handover cash Scammers are not necessarily pushy, and are willing to play the long game - for example selling a victim 2oz gold at 30% under spot, then waiting for the victim to say - lets do it again with 30oz's Documentation and Websites - Are sometimes surprisingly well put together, and enough to fool a non-expert Wire Transfer - Having a BIC Code and asking for payment by SWIFT MT103 dent mean the recipient is genuine  
Spotting Scams
Stranger danger - The majority of fraud against an individual is carried out by someone not known to them (but there are of course exceptions) Too good to be true - buying PM's significantly under spot doesn't happen - the market is too 'tight' with margins and pricing to match.  (Check the Forum Sale section - you are lucky if you can buy gold for Spot!) Dubious legality - Some scams purport to be close to the law, or in breach or it in order to make money, or someone says they have found a 'loophole'.  Example smuggling gold to avoid tax, claiming tax rebates on gold in another country Urban Legends - Were you hear of gold discovered and belonging to Gadaffi, Hitler, Saddam, that was left in a bank or looted only to be found by the scammer Government Involvement - The person you are dealing with purports to be a government minister, judge, central bank officer - they will not be, even in very non-democratic countries Payment by Western Union, Moneygram - these are immediate red flags.  Both of these companies have implemented checks for 419 scams (sending cash to West Africa and elsewhere) but it remains essentially an anonymous way to receive funds  Cash - To date, all of the scams that I have seen have involved the victim sending cash (physical or by wire) rather than precious metals, but this may not always be the case Google is your friend - Google the name of the company and the person you are dealing with - it doesn't take long to find that (or example) Judge Thomas Mensa of Ghana is in fact deceased, and not in possession of $USD20 million of gold he wants to sell to you at a discount (Mail I received last week...) Your personal information - Scammers often want your personal details ASAP The location of the scammer - From what I have seen (and I appreciate this is anecdotal) a large proportion of the gold scams originate from West Africa, and particularly from countries where 419 Fraud is common  
The following is a good watch and explains why people get caught out and then cannot stop funding a gold scam.   
 

Just a few tiddly bits. I must admit I do like the new 2021 brittania design.

This is a good point and something to be careful of as in part the latest fashion drives prices and once no longer in vogue the price premium is gone. The added risk with some modern silver coins can be rather than gradual ageing you get rapid degradation. Still a great buy for anyone who got in early and sold recently.