GBStacking

If it wasn't for the crazy high premiums plus VAT on silver now, I'd definitely still be buying it, but then i am bullion focused rather than numismatic, so whilst there have been some beautiful coins released recently, they don't really tempt me. That being said, I'm definitely not getting rid of the silver i do currently have. It forms part of my pension fund and i have no plans to dispose of it till i finally admit to myself i don't really like working and would much rather sit by a pool. 😁 As for current and future purchases, they all have a distinctive gold colour at the moment!

For me personally, i would have no issue buying the old or new design as long at is was from a trusted source. I actually really quite like the old design and it certainly adds a little variation to things. And as @Geovest mentions, you can sometimes get lucky and get the old ones cheaper than the new design.

I can see this making quite a nice collection. After all, there are plenty that collect the 1/20th and 1/10th oz coins. And if the pleasure you get is worth the premiums then I'd say go for it. It's not like it will ever be worthless, but it's definitely unlikely to turn you a profit.

Just to add my input for what that may be worth, as a number of others here have said, save it and get a sovereign every couple of months. Easy to sell, not bad premiums, CGT exempt, easy to store (18 years is going to accumulate you a fair bit!) and you still get quite a bit of variation if you are getting a mix of old and new designs. Then if you have a bit of spare change, feel free to treat yourself to some Silver just cause some of the designs are really pretty. I've almost exclusively switched to gold now due to the VAT and other premiums, but i do still appreciate a beautiful design once in a while, i just don't expect to get my money back on them.

The premiums were always going to jump once we came out the EU and couldn't import silver Vat free\at a reduced rate from there, however premiums also went up a lot at the same time and have been very slow to settle back down, if they have moved at all with some dealers. I have subsequently changed my strategy to a far more gold focused one as i simply don't see silver as viable with the mark ups at the moment. However if you are wanting silver as, even with the premiums, its still easier to get the cash together to buy a few ounces rather than 1 gram of gold (trust me, what ever you think it looks like, a 1 gram bar of gold is smaller than that! the silver will be much more satisfying to hold) somewhere like the selling pages on here would be the best place to buy it from. There is a good supply of interesting items and the premiums are about as good as you are going to find unless you get really lucky on somewhere like eBay (i would never recommend this for a new collector\stacker though).

304 now, just added mine!

Id say go almost exclusively for gold, and then pick up the odd bit of pretty silver for no other reason than you might fancy it. With the gold, as others have mentioned, you want pure bullion, Sovs and Krugs all the way, unless you thing CGT is going to be an issue, then swap the Krugs for Brits. With the Sovs, i'd say avoid buying every month, save up for 2-3 months and buy a larger quantity, there are plenty of dealers that offer closer to spot if you buy 5 or more.

Yep im afraid so. One set of VAT to the country you buy it in (assuming that country doesn't allow VAT free export only sales) and one lot of VAT for HMRC.

You'd be looking at at least 20% VAT and possibly some customs\handling fees. I think the fees part might depend on what particular delivery service they come in by, but definitely a VAT charge.

I'm sorry to say this screams fake to me too, i will differ to those more well versed in the absolute specifics of the coin as i err more on the bullion side of things, but the listings on that site and the way they are done mirrors dozens of fakes both for coins\bullion and other items that i have seen over the years. Always linked to being the property of someone who has now passed away or found in a house clearance. Thus providing the perfect excuse to claim they knew nothing of the items provenance if they are challenged on it being fake. They also almost always never post them tracked, the items simply aren't worth enough. It's also highly unlikely that the money went to any charity I'm afraid. I am absolutely happy to be proven wrong if some more convincing evidence turns up, but my suspicious mind goes into overdrive on sale posts like these.

I'm very much a bullion guy, so tend to go for whatever has the lowest % over spot at the time so i mostly have Krugs. I do appreciate a nice design though so have been tempted in the past by things like the Perth Mint Kangaroos.

From memory, 1919 was the last year they were made in Sterling, they were then debased to .50 from 1920 till 1946 when silver was phased out completely.

Welcome to the forum! It's never too late to get into PM's, but we probably all wish we got in earlier! 😂

Don't tell me things like that! I've already spent my quota for the month! 😂