MagnusOpum

Got to thinking about the chemistry going on with the Aluminium foil method, and came across this video - quite a good explanation IMHO…
 

The brown one did it. His hoof prints were all over the crime scene.

May have an experiment with some of the different methods in this thread... Do enjoy the practical side of this hobby! 😊 👍

Tarnish is silver sulfide so removing it through any method would mean you're eroding a super thin layer of the silver itself (although it's technically already lost).  Any tarnish that's really black black is still only about 100 nanometres thick so about ten thousandth of a millimetre.  If the Latent Image is about 1/350th of a millimetre deep then in theory you could tarnish and polish away almost 28 times before the Latent Image was gone.
No, I had nothing better to do this evening.

Tarnish is silver sulfide so removing it through any method would mean you're eroding a super thin layer of the silver itself (although it's technically already lost).  Any tarnish that's really black black is still only about 100 nanometres thick so about ten thousandth of a millimetre.  If the Latent Image is about 1/350th of a millimetre deep then in theory you could tarnish and polish away almost 28 times before the Latent Image was gone.
No, I had nothing better to do this evening.

It was a great question and I've lost control of the telly due to Badminton Horse Trials😁 

Thanks for the comprehensive answer!  😁 Happy to have helped occupy you this evening 😉
Cheers, Bob

Tarnish is silver sulfide so removing it through any method would mean you're eroding a super thin layer of the silver itself (although it's technically already lost).  Any tarnish that's really black black is still only about 100 nanometres thick so about ten thousandth of a millimetre.  If the Latent Image is about 1/350th of a millimetre deep then in theory you could tarnish and polish away almost 28 times before the Latent Image was gone.
No, I had nothing better to do this evening.

Tarnish is silver sulfide so removing it through any method would mean you're eroding a super thin layer of the silver itself (although it's technically already lost).  Any tarnish that's really black black is still only about 100 nanometres thick so about ten thousandth of a millimetre.  If the Latent Image is about 1/350th of a millimetre deep then in theory you could tarnish and polish away almost 28 times before the Latent Image was gone.
No, I had nothing better to do this evening.

If it's just tarnish then foil and bicarb is easiest but milk spots will need some proper polish and a bit more care. 
Worth testing on a single piece first and seeing how you get on.  Do share results if you can!

If it's just tarnish then foil and bicarb is easiest but milk spots will need some proper polish and a bit more care. 
Worth testing on a single piece first and seeing how you get on.  Do share results if you can!

@LemmyMcGregor None of this is an 'attack' on anyone and I particularly enjoy this type of discussion as I really appreciate solid views from other people. I can't build an opinion until I've heard lots of others. 
Silver was an easy way into stacking for me back in the days of zero VAT imports but this kind of information is invaluable in terms of cementing the idea that gold is the right choice for investing. 
Nothing quite like a kilo bar of shiney metal though! Same as a good art piece, pristine Lego set or rare Pokémon cards (too youthful for me sadly)

Congratulations to all the winners! Although I'd say everybody is a winner for supporting a good cause.

A few thank yous to round out this charity raffle
And so comes to an end our greatest ever charity raffle here on The Silver Forum.
Nearly £1,200 worth of silver was donated to create the prizes...
Time, energy & effort from so many people to make this happen...
£3,300 has been raised by all of us as a community and that will make a huge difference to people who are in dire need. 
I am humbled. 
I want to personally thank each silver pouring creator that was involved in this project. @RiverbankSilver gets first mention for this was his idea! I'm just the guy that had a bit of spare time to organise it. @SilverAngel @StBeesSilver @tynesidesilverbullion @AtomicSilver @LiquidMetalsUK thank you all so very much for your time and effort in all of these bars. THEY ARE AMAZING and unique products that will hold a special place in peoples stacks I have no doubt. 
A big thank you to The Silver Forum for hosting this giveaway.
The organisation of these things is no easy feat and I 100% could not have done this without the forum as a platform to host, communicate and promote this event. 
Thank you to everyone for all the donations whether it was one ticket or 100 tickets, every single penny counts. 
Lastly, a big thank you to those select few members that I used to vent frustrations on in the early stages of this raffle - you know who you are and you are invaluable. Thank you. 
Onwards and upwards I guess. 
We got to shoot for £4,000 in the next raffle!
Right, sofa and a beer...Let's Go!

@LemmyMcGregor None of this is an 'attack' on anyone and I particularly enjoy this type of discussion as I really appreciate solid views from other people. I can't build an opinion until I've heard lots of others. 
Silver was an easy way into stacking for me back in the days of zero VAT imports but this kind of information is invaluable in terms of cementing the idea that gold is the right choice for investing. 
Nothing quite like a kilo bar of shiney metal though! Same as a good art piece, pristine Lego set or rare Pokémon cards (too youthful for me sadly)

Entries Closed!
(But, because I am generous with my admin time if you really want to enter still please message me first to ensure I record your entry when it comes through)
But for now...
Grand Total is:
£3,300
Draw at 7pm

We are at £3,030
That is AMAZING
3 hours more, get those entries in before 4pm!

Fantastic points, very well put. 
I completely agree that gold is where the value is and what should be used as a pillar of any good investment strategy. 
For me, while silver is an SHTF consideration (weight and quantity aside), I primarily apply the gold to silver ratio within my stack and track that figure against every purchase individually. When the ratio is preferable for any section of the stack I'll look to swap it for gold. Or vice versa as the case may be.

Fantastic points, very well put. 
I completely agree that gold is where the value is and what should be used as a pillar of any good investment strategy. 
For me, while silver is an SHTF consideration (weight and quantity aside), I primarily apply the gold to silver ratio within my stack and track that figure against every purchase individually. When the ratio is preferable for any section of the stack I'll look to swap it for gold. Or vice versa as the case may be.

Great post and well reasoned. I can only speak for myself as a very new stacker but two things in silver's favour.
It's beautiful. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I just find it mesmerizing. But that's by the by from a stacking / value perspective. It's a very useful 'entry point' to PM stacking I don't think that I'd have had the conviction to learn what I have learned if gold had been the only way in. I know it's 'actually' silly when confronted with the data, as per your post, but getting your hands on something big and heavy (and in multiples) was the key for me. That I've now come aorund to all the reasons for stacking gold that you mention, doesn't take away from what silver did in terms of piquing my interest.
Just wanted to make that important point. Aside from that, I agree with your conclusions but will stack some silver for aesthetic reasons - aside from my actual stacking ambitions.
FNF.

Fantastic points, very well put. 
I completely agree that gold is where the value is and what should be used as a pillar of any good investment strategy. 
For me, while silver is an SHTF consideration (weight and quantity aside), I primarily apply the gold to silver ratio within my stack and track that figure against every purchase individually. When the ratio is preferable for any section of the stack I'll look to swap it for gold. Or vice versa as the case may be.

I know, this topic has come up a million times, I searched the forum... the reason why I decided to post is that, while we are on The Silver Forum and I see many stacking Silver, I just don't see any reason in it and I'd like to make the case for it, mostly because I want to know if I've got a point or I have missed something and I am flat out wrong.

EDIT: I am adding this at the top as it looks like it is being missed in wall of text. My whole point here is to look at capital conservation from a low budget perspective, I don't have much to spare and some of what I can spare I have decided to put into precious metals rather than keep it in the bank, where it only loses value thanks to inflation.
A little background:
To get started, a little about my background, which is none, as I have only recently gained an interest on the topic after discussing it at lenght with a couple of friends. I've done my first purchase nearly a month ago, getting 2 Silver Britannia from an online dealer (Bullion by Post) to get my feet wet and then I started researching, which is how I ended up with you lovely bunch of degenerates. I adore research, and Excel, I know, I'm a strange person. Anyway...
Define the goal:
The key component here is to define what we want to do and, as a stacker, I want to get the most value for the least amount of money.
Let's be clear, even as a stacker I don't see anything wrong in looking to diversify and getting different coins, as long as the price is right, when it comes to sell the worse you'll get for your 10 different 1oz coins is the same money, as they all are 1oz of precious metal, however, different coins could fetch different prices if offered first to a someone with a specific interest. On the other hand, someone might like to stack the same gold dollar and have a Scrooge McDuck bath, who knows. However, I'm going to ignore this and focus on one topic only, bang for my bucks.
The Theory:
1. Gold is King.
2. Silver bullions/bars for stackers are the worst possible option and should be avoided, I really don't see the point in it, the premiums are far too high.
3. If you want Silver, treat it as collection or buy scraps.
The Data:
I am planning my next purchase and I wanted to understand better this unholy topic that is premiums, so I went to the first website that came to mind and started looking at prices, for reference, I have used Atkinsons. Values were collected earlier this morning.

I have ported everything to grams so that I could compare 1oz coins with Sovereigns, which are listed in grams.
From left to right, coin type, weight (in either g or oz), conversion value (31.10 for oz to g, 0.9167 to get the actual gold weight in Sovereigns, as they are 22 carat), actual weight in grams, value at spot, price on the site, premium.
Left hand is Gold Sovereign and Britannia, right is Silver Britannia. Don't mind the 1/20 oz, I've seen some funny ones and included it here for curiosity, I might get a 1/20 Panda for a laugh one day, in the future, if I get really bored, and I win the lottery.
I am considering only British coins due to capital gains tax regulations, a collector might want to get Eagles, Pandas or whatever catches the eye, a stacker should look purely at value, Sovereign and Britannia.
I am looking at this from a low budget stacker perspective, so I have considered individual coins when discussing gold as I would not be able to purchase multiples, lower premiums means that you don't really get much of a discount online buying bulk, might change when dealing in person, I have no experience, so I'll stick to what I know. With Silver is worth looking at multiples as the premiums drops significantly, if I was on a budget and wanted to spend £100 a month in Silver, I'd rather wait 3 months and get 10 coins as the difference in premium is noticeable and would net me an extra ounce for the same money.
Looking at these premiums though, unless you really want Silver for whatever reasons, as a stacker Gold beats Silver hands down, there isn't even a game here, the worst premium on Gold is a Quarter Soverign at 21% versus the best premium for Silver at 45%, considering the same budget as above, going Gold I'd stretch it to 106 to get a Quarter Sovereign a month or, even better, get a half every other month. In a year, £100 a month side by side with Silver and Gold, buying in 10 x 1oz of Silver or Half Sovereign makes a huge difference.
At spot value, this is how you end up after 12 months:
With Silver you have 40 x 1 oz Silver Britannia, worth £778, and £52 change. £830 total.
With Gold you have 6 x Half Sovereign, worth 1,058, and £39 change. £1097.
It's huge, that's a 30% extra in net value, mostly VAT.
The missing factor, scraps:
There is one item that I have discussed several times with friends which I have not really seen discussed here, aside from one user that has done a very interesting post in a thread, which I really should have saved... I'll find it again, anyway, thatwould be Silver scraps. Sterling Silver can be sold easily and can be bought second hand without VAT, it should be worth to keep an eye out for auctions, drop the maximum you're interested in paying for the quantity and if you win is all gravy and you've got some nice Silver without premiums, however, I am going to ignore for the time being, haven't budgeted for this yet as it needs more research, I am considering getting involved in a few low value auctions for the sake of getting in and starting to learn about markings and metal identification, the best way to learn is by doing it.

EDIT: found the post I was referring to that made me think about premiums, only applied to Silver and Gold, rather than just Silver as in the original post, the user in question is Stefffana.

Conclusions:
My Strategy will focus on Full Sovereign for stack, I don't have the resources for Gold 1oz Britannia and the premium is the same so, why bother? Also, to the best of my understanding, Sovereign are sturdier due to being 22 carats.
I will look at skipping the odd Full Sovereign for some Quarter and Half, maybe once a year get one of each instead of getting a Full one, could be useful to have a few smaller denomination about.
For Silver I am going to nearly ignore it, I will look at getting a single Britannia for the sake of having the year and I might look to diversify into the odd release, throwing the odd quid at a Silver set twice a year doesn't sound too bad, in the future could be worth something to a collector, but I'm going to do that for entertainment and is going to be on a very limited budget, say 2 or 3 coins per year, nothing that would get in the way of the stack.
Have I missed anything?
Other than for the sake of collection, primarily due to VAT, I don't see any valid reason to buy Silver for stacking, am I missing anything? Is there something I am not understanding? As the only reasons why I see people getting on Silver, rather than gold, appears to be either budget, as they feel like they're getting more in their hands, or this idea that Silver will explode one day, but I don't really see any other reason. Am I wrong?
 
If you made it this far, thank you very much for your time, it is sincerely appreciated.
Thanks in advance anyone that is willing to contribute, I am here to learn.

I had original one as a kid not lego but the original release from series must be worth a fortune now!

Better return than gold, just proves how manipulated the markets are.

This is exactly my frame of mind too - I've worked in finance and pensions long enough to know that tangible assets (things to own and enjoy that have intrinsic value and you're not sentimental about) are much better. 
Lego is a superb example and not to admit to being a total nerd but some of the sets and pieces I collected ten years ago now net a 200% return! Who's laughing now wifey 😂