Jump to content
  • The above Banner is a Sponsored Banner.

    Upgrade to Premium Membership to remove this Banner & All Google Ads. For full list of Premium Member benefits Click HERE.

PJRay

⚠️BANNED⚠️
  • Posts

    78
  • Joined

  • Trading Feedback

    100%
  • Country

    United Kingdom

Reputation Activity

  1. Like
    PJRay got a reaction from Griffo in Anonymity   
    If the government ever wanted to get their hands on your gold, there are much easier ways of going about it than kicking down doors at 6 a.m. to ransack a house because of some receipt from HGM a decade ago.
    Why go to all that difficulty and expense when you could make the sale of gold illegal... unless the buyer is the government. That'd hoover most of it up. Sure you could 'stick it to the man' by burying your stash in the woods, but you nor your kids would ever be able to realise its value unless you sold it on a gold black market. Then the government could go after the black market instead. That'd be more effective than chasing the ghosts of some old receipt, less messy than interrogation and a hell of a lot cheaper than locking people up.
    That's the way I'd do it. 😈
  2. Like
    PJRay got a reaction from Griffo in Anonymity   
    If that day ever came you could recount the tale of your unfortunate boating accident. Such a sad story.
  3. Like
    PJRay got a reaction from Centauri167 in Anonymity   
    If the government ever wanted to get their hands on your gold, there are much easier ways of going about it than kicking down doors at 6 a.m. to ransack a house because of some receipt from HGM a decade ago.
    Why go to all that difficulty and expense when you could make the sale of gold illegal... unless the buyer is the government. That'd hoover most of it up. Sure you could 'stick it to the man' by burying your stash in the woods, but you nor your kids would ever be able to realise its value unless you sold it on a gold black market. Then the government could go after the black market instead. That'd be more effective than chasing the ghosts of some old receipt, less messy than interrogation and a hell of a lot cheaper than locking people up.
    That's the way I'd do it. 😈
  4. Like
    PJRay got a reaction from Tortoise in Anonymity   
    If the government ever wanted to get their hands on your gold, there are much easier ways of going about it than kicking down doors at 6 a.m. to ransack a house because of some receipt from HGM a decade ago.
    Why go to all that difficulty and expense when you could make the sale of gold illegal... unless the buyer is the government. That'd hoover most of it up. Sure you could 'stick it to the man' by burying your stash in the woods, but you nor your kids would ever be able to realise its value unless you sold it on a gold black market. Then the government could go after the black market instead. That'd be more effective than chasing the ghosts of some old receipt, less messy than interrogation and a hell of a lot cheaper than locking people up.
    That's the way I'd do it. 😈
  5. Haha
    PJRay got a reaction from Tortoise in Anonymity   
    If that day ever came you could recount the tale of your unfortunate boating accident. Such a sad story.
  6. Like
    PJRay reacted to LawrenceChard in Near All Time High...bad time to buy?   
    I see you have already received a few replies from like-minded people, and as usual the advice contains a number of varying opinions.
    There are probably similar posts and questions most days.
    I sometimes give some input, but I prefer to give answers which are as complete and comprehensive as possible. This means they are long and time-consuming.
    In the pre-historic early days of the internet (1998), I started to add advice and opinion pages to our "new" website. Now it belongs in a museum, and not all of the old content has been ported over to our newest site.
    I thought about giving you a link to our "Newbie" advice page, but realised it needed updating, so I just wrote the first draft of it, which will get added to our site soon.
    Here it is: https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/precious-metals-information-and-advice-for-newbies/1008 (link added 18th June 2021)
    Meanwhile I am happy to give you a preview, complete with typos:
     
    Newbie Information and Advice
    For people thinking about starting to collect, invest, or stack coins or precious metal bullion.
     
    First, ask yourself some questions:
    What is your prime goal?
    Interest in the historical or numismatic aspects of coins.
    Investing to make a maximum return.
    Investing to protect wealth against inflation, etc.
     
    Most interested in:
    Coins as numismatic items.
    Precious metal content of coins and bars.
     
    Metal Preference:
    Most interested in:
    Gold
    Silver
    Platinum
    Palladium
    Open minded
     
    Budget
    How much do you intend to invest?
    Lump sum or regular purchase?
     
    Timing
    Want to start now, or ASAP
    Wait until prices come down.
    Wait until prices go up.
     
    Home Base
    Where do you live, which country, state, etc.
    Legal considerations. Is what you want legal to buy or import in your country.
    Tax considerations.
    In the UK and EU, “Investment Gold” is exempt from VAT.
    Other precious metal coins and bars are subject to VAT in the UK and EU.
    In the USA, there may be sales tax in some states.
     
    Secure Storage
    It is worth thinking about how and where you intend to store your stash. For small amounts, this might not be much of a problem, but for higher values, you might need to think about a safe, alarms system, and insurance. Some banks may still offer safe deposit boxes, and safe deposit companies also exist. Check whether your insurance can include these. Alternatively, some companies now offer secure storage usually including insurance. If the storage is in a favourable tax regime, this may also legally avoid VAT on silver, platinum and palladium. Charges vary.
     
    Bear / Bull Market Cycles.
    Very few people can accurately forecast future precious metal prices, including many people who think they know. If you don’t know, then you are not alone, and at least your are not deluding yourself that you do know.
     
    Relative Merits of Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium
    As a UK based dealer, we obviously concentrate on the UK market, but we do have a number of non-UK customers and suppliers, so while we are aware of some international markets, most of our thoughts relate to the UK.
    Gold is the only one of the four precious metals which is exempt from VAT in the UK and EU, so it is the most obvious metal to choose for investment. Its unique VAT status is probably because it has historically been a monetary metal, renowned for retaining its value, and a range of other factors.
    Silver is the other historic monetary metal, but because it is subject to VAT, we do not recommend it as a prime investment metal. It does have its enthusiastic supporters though, and it is relatively affordable.
    Platinum and palladium are the other two precious metals, although both metals are newbies compared with gold and silver. Both are also subject to VAT.
    Gold:Silver and other ratios.
    The ratio of gold to silver prices has had a profound influence on monetary systems for thousands of years, until the last century, when “fiat” currencies have prevailed.
    It is worth getting familiar with the current, and also historic gold:silver ratios. This will help you to decide between gold, silver, a different metal, or a combination.
     
    Production Costs
    Gold has a well-established international market, as does silver to a lesser extent, platinum and palladium markets are smaller and less liquid.
    Mining is the most obvious production cost of any metal, but refining and other processing costs also come into play. Gold is cheap and easy to process in relation to its value. Silver is worth much less than gold, but the cost to manufacture a one ounce coin, for example, are not much less than for a similar gold coin, which explain why the percentage premium for silver coins or bars is generally higher than for gold. Platinum and palladium are more difficult to process, so their percentage premiums are also usually higher than for gold. Transport costs are also a higher proportion for silver than for gold. Silver requires more space to store compared with its value, so storage costs are also higher.
     
    Coins or Bars?
    I’m primarily a coin dealer, so I prefer coins, but there are other good reasons to choose coins rather than bars. Coins have tax or legal advantages in many countries compared with bars. Coins are issued by countries, bars by companies. I hesitate to suggest you trust governments rather than companies, but think about it. Coins are mass produced, and are usually available in a selection of different weights at competitive prices. One ounce coins are a universal choice in modern bullion coins, and hit a “sweet spot” for premiums, but historic coins such as British gold sovereigns (approximately quarter ounce) are also available competitively. Many other countries have their own traditional historic coins which are worth considering.
    Bars are also made in many sizes, and you should expect to pay slightly lower premiums for bars rather than coins. The biggest “small” gold bar is one kilo, and should usually be the cheapest bar to buy (in percentage premium terms), however the differential is quite small, and for most investors, smaller sizes such as one ounce, as a better long-term buy. They are more liquid, as more people can afford them, easier to post (and insure), an important consideration when you want to sell.
     
    Premiums
    Whenever I talk about premiums, unless otherwise stated, I mean percentage premiums. This is the simplest way to compare value. If you don’t understand percentages or simple maths, then I recommend getting a few quick lessons, and a little effort. Education is always a good investment.
     
    My general advice:
    Buy at the lowest premium within reason. If you have read most of the above, you will understand what I mean, and why.
    Changes
    Most of the advice I give is generalised. There is a good reason for this. Things change. When I wrote this paragraph heading, I started singing the David Bowie song. Markets are constantly in a state of flux. For this reason, what is good specific advice on Monday morning might not be the same by Friday night. Changes occur over long timeframes of centuries and decades but also happen on shorter timescales of years, months, weeks, days, hours, and even minutes. Gold went up about $10 in a few seconds after the first plane hit on 9/11.
    These changes include political, financial, fiscal, personal, local, international.
     
    News and Hype
    I spend a lot of time reading news. I call it working. In recent years, I have become more aware that most of what I read is written by vested interests, lobby groups, “influencers”, and the like. It is not easy, but try to discern whether facts are accurate, and to work out whether the “news” is coming from an “interested party”. It is often easy to detect hype and bullshit. Be aware that we are all prone to believe what we want to hear rather than what we do not want to hear.
     
    Big Spenders and Small Savers
    If you have big money to invest, you should have more choice of “best buy” deals.
    If you are a small saver, it will be harder for you to get the “sweet spot” for value, so you might have to work a little harder.
     
    Big Dealers or Peer-to-Peer
    If you want to buy 100 ounces of gold, then almost everyone would agree go to a big, reputable dealer. Chard in Blackpool, England are not the biggest, but are one of the best (I am biased). You can have confidence that what you are buying is genuine.
    If you only have a few hundred dollars (more or less) to invest, then you might actually get the best deals shopping around, perhaps on a well-known forum. It is not quite as easy to be certain that what you buy is genuine, but as I said, you may need to work a little harder.
    You may be able to find a dealer or scheme which will let you buy small amounts of gold, silver etc., regularly, then switch it into physical when you have enough metal in your account.
     
    Who, What, and Where to Avoid
    Although it is possible to buy on ebay, it is fraught with danger, riddled with fraudsters, ripe with hype, and probably better avoided, unless you like a gamble. Similar with other auction sites, and private advertisers.
    Local auctions can work, and are probably better than ebay, after all it wouldn’t be difficult.
    Local coins dealers might work out for you. Jewellers, pawnbrokers and scrap dealers are probably better avoided. Often they don’t know and don’t care if coins are genuine, and many of their coins are sourced from scrap jewellery, and are sub-standard.
    Coin Marketing Companies (CMCs)
    You will see national newspaper and television adverts for these. Most of them market brand new coin issues at (high) premium prices. Many of these are very gimmicky, the world’s first, biggest, smallest, weirdest, latest, rarest. If you want to buy this stuff, then reading what I say will probably not stop you, but make sure you really want to buy it, and don’t be surprised if nobody is interested when you come to sell, even at half your cost price or less. Most of the CMC’s do not make a market, and will not buy (or buy back) coins, possibly because they don’t want you to realise they have ripped you off.
    Some CMCs offer introductory deals (only $49.99 for the next 30 days, $99.99 “normal” price), others do loss leaders, usually restricted to 1 coin per household. This is to get your name on their “suckers” mailing list. They may also try the highly unethical, sometimes illegal, “bait and switch”, in which your personal account manager will try to convince you to buy pre-1933 gold coins telling you they are non-confiscatable. Ask yourself has he really got your best interests at heart, or is he trying to boost his commission, or keep his job?
    The guy at the local pub. Also best avoided.
     
     
    Links and Resources:
    Gold price https://www.chards.co.uk/gold-price/gold-price-per-ounce
    Gold:Silver ratio https://www.chards.co.uk/gold-silver-ratio
    Other prices and ratios are linked from the above.
    You can select different currencies, units of weight, and timescales.
    We also have hundreds of other advice pages on our site, as well as on our older “heritage” sites.
     
    Errors and Omissions
    If there is anything I have missed out, please let me know.
    If there are any other questions you would like answering, please submit them on the back of a £50 note, $100 bill, €500 banknote or similar.
     
     
     
  7. Thanks
    PJRay got a reaction from Touvex in Soapy bath?   
    I cleaned a sovereign once. I won't usually but this one was really grim... like it had lived a large portion of its life stuck down a squaddies undercrackers.
    It wasn't a rare one so I thought what the hell.
    I read on this very forum about a method of putting a dab of neat washing up liquid on each side and rubbing it gently between your forefinger and thumb, so as you can't feel the faces of coin itself, rather rub only the viscous liquid into the coin. I did that until the green gloop turned brown, then I ran it under the tap and then I patted it dry with a paper towel.
    It wasn't gleaming spotless, but it was a big improvement on its original condition which I never really want to touch before.
    I want to emphasise again that it was a bog standard bullion sov. Almost literally.
  8. Like
    PJRay reacted to richatthecroft in Sovereigns- Eighteen reasons to get excited by them. Over 200 years of history right here...   
    Eighteen reasons to get excited about Sovereigns.
    I received a lovely 1863 Victoria Sovereign today and this one concluded my 'Change of Portrait' Type Set from 1817 to present day 😅  The type set includes all the Portrait changes for each Monarch.  I have attempted to acquire the inaugural year date for each Portrait change. 
    All the 19th Century examples are Sovereigns and where practicable, all of the 20th & 21st Century Sovereigns are Proof examples.  
    Over time I will likely try and seek out a nicer example of the 1825 George IV; replace the 1836 William IV with the inaugural year of 1831; attempt to do the same by replacing the 1863 Victoria with a nice 1838 example and for Elizabeth II, replace the 1987 Maklouf Portrait with the inaugural 1985 year date.  
    In the meantime, for those who appreciate them, enjoy the Sovereigns 😀
     

    Benedetto Pistrucci 

    Benedetto Pistrucci 

    William Wyon

    William Wyon

    William Wyon 

    Joseph Egar Boehm 

    Thomas Brock

    George William de Saulles

    Bertram Mackennal

    Humphrey Paget

    Mary Gillick 

    Arnold Machin

    Arnold Machin

    Raphel Maklouf

    Bernard Sindall

    Ian Rank- Broadley

    Jody Clark 

    James Butler
  9. Like
    PJRay reacted to Katie in Sovereigns - Am i just the only one who doesn't get excited by them ? Despite all history etc   
    For me I like how thin they are. There is something about a decent width to thickness ratio. 1oz Brits in silver or gold are nice but they're so thick they don't have that piratey coinage feel that sovereigns have. The ducats are the same. They're so thin that you can put them in a bag, jingle them and offer them to people to do stuff like sell out Jesus or whatever. 
    That's my well thought out technical analysis.
    Also, the premiums and how widely recognised they are is a plus. But that's just an added bonus, really. Piratey feelings are the primary motivation. 
  10. Like
    PJRay reacted to Richym99 in What is your most rare sovereign?   
    Twins:
    Revised to R5 from R4 in the new addition of Marsh. A third is on the way from Australia. All have been through the verification process and slabbed.  
     


  11. Like
    PJRay reacted to 27carrots in GOLD DEALS - (UK & Europe) See a deal, post it here   
    If you're not fussy about which one ounce coins you're getting:
    One Ounce Gold Coin Best Price spot + 2%
    and even cheaper if you buy more than one with postage included.
    https://www.atsbullion.com/one-ounce-gold-coins/one-ounce-gold-coin-best-price/
     
  12. Like
    PJRay reacted to Pete in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Pleased to hear that Atkinsons have agreed to swap your worn out coin.
    This gives them a good reputation which could have gone the other way had they argued with you.
    One bad experience is shared amongst many others so the smart dealer will know not to upset forum members as this will bite them in the ass !!
  13. Like
    PJRay reacted to OldNick in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    This thread has motivated me to calibrate my scales and weigh my sovereigns!!
    Pre decimal all 8.00g and the lone Decimal 7.98g 
    If one was at 7.94 I’d feel a little cheated, I think your doing the right thing
  14. Like
    PJRay reacted to Pete in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Brand new uncirculated sovereigns tend to weigh 8.00, 8.01 or occasionally 8.02 g
    I took delivery this week of 4 typical well-circulated sovereigns, showing all the expected dings, pits and bag marks.
    Dated 1913 - 1931 and the weights were all 8.00g or 8.01 i.e. the same as brand new modern coins.
    My belief is that some reigns and from some mints ( South Africa for example ) the tolerance in weight was above the average because gold was much cheaper.
    So even with wear and tear they still meet the minimum specifications.
    Modern production and tighter tolerances mean that no mint today wants to give away free gold.
    I checked my spreadsheet of sovereigns ranging from 1879 to 2019 and the average weight was 7.99g.
    Made up 20% Victorian, 30% Elizabeth, 50% between the two monarchs fairly well spread.
    I think an old coin circa 1900 that weighs over 7.90 is still okay, but only if I paid regular bullion price, but I've never received anything below 7.94g from the likes of HGM and others.
     
  15. Like
    PJRay reacted to sovereignsteve in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Underweight sovereigns have always been an issue. In the 19th century when weight really mattered as they were regarded as real money based on actual weight of gold.
    These days they are simply a unit of gold; usually traded at a price commensurate with 7.98g of 22ct gold, I am not aware of any dealer that weighs them when they purchase.
    You usually see dealers advertise them at full weight, so technically they are short changing with you a significantly underweight coin. Yours is missing £7 of gold by my calculation although I don't guarantee accuracy 😉 Whether this bothers you is up to you and how the coin was advertised.
  16. Like
    PJRay reacted to Arganto in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Well back in the day of circulated sovereigns the minimum legal weight before a coin was recycled (melted and reused) was 7.93787g. What did the other coins you bought weigh in at on your current scales? Even if they're inaccurate you can still measure any obvious difference with an underweight coin. That said it may be difficult with a scale that is only sensitive to 0.x grams. 
    There are some really well versed folk on TSF, off the top of my head
    @sovereignsteve and @Pete  come to mind. I hope they don't mind the tag (there are others on here, but my memory for names is bad enough let alone net handles). Maybe they can offer experienced advice 🤞🏻
  17. Like
    PJRay reacted to MancunianStacker in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Supposed to be 7.98 grams aren’t they. Sometimes a little up or down but that seems quite a lot. Maybe see if they’ll swap it for one that weighs the correct amount. But then by the time P&P is considered it might not be worth the hassle.
    They could have lost a long term repeat customer here over 0.18 of 22k gold. Dealers should consider this really. 
  18. Like
    PJRay reacted to Robda1986 in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Literally just ordered from them 🤣
  19. Like
    PJRay reacted to AurumArgenti in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Awesome result and I've never had a issue with Atkinson's.👍
  20. Like
    PJRay reacted to Nugget in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    I can second that 👍
  21. Like
    PJRay reacted to pricha in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    It's not worth their time arguing over one coin. A simple swap and pass it on to someone else. They could lose more in possible future sales. I buy modern coins from them , but not the older coins unless they show a photo of the actual coin itself. 
  22. Like
    PJRay reacted to TringSilver in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Thirded. 
  23. Like
    PJRay reacted to KevjustKev in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Bought quite a bit from Atkinsons, had one 'bad' coin, one phone call and a couple of emails and sorted. Why I still use them.
  24. Like
    PJRay reacted to MancunianStacker in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    I’ve bought tons from Atkinsons in the past on the mixed date sovereign option and it would ask if you had any preference, so I would say I prefer newer sovereigns and I always received post 2,000. So they took on board my preference but that was a while ago, so I guess it depends on stock too.
    Always had a good fast experience selling to Atkinsons too 👍🏻 
  25. Like
    PJRay reacted to Mike1976 in How worn is too worn? Credit to Atkinsons!   
    Thanks for the update. I buy coins regularly every month but I have never used Atkinsons before. I will now, businesses that provide quality customer service and show they value the customer are becoming a rare thing.
×
×
  • Create New...

Cookies & terms of service

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies and to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use