bean182

A while ago I put up a topic or post about a possible server move and the reasons for this. In short we are moving away from self managed severs to cloud hosting, this is expected to be our last and final move, and will provide several benefits to the community including more forum features.

We hope to schedule this for sometime towards the beginning of September but will give at least 1 weeks notice when we know a move date. There will be some downtime during one day however this will be minimised as much as possible, and we will aim for the actual switch over to be as seamless as possible and to go LIVE as soon as possible with the bulk of the images and data being uploaded in the background whilst the new server is live. 

I will update in this topic as soon as have a switch date  

⚠️ Edit: Please see update in next post below

I ordered my usual 2 bars.  My wife loves to throw these at me (just to test my reflexes, of course).  I'm getting pretty good at evading her bullet throws - almost all of the time.  This year, I hope for improvement in my quest to evade all of her throws.  Getting tougher as I get older!  😭

Hello everyone. @ChrisSIlver and I are very happy to announce the official reveal and general release of the 2023 100g Silver Forum Bars!
There are a lot of different aspects to tell you about so I have split this post up into various sections, hopefully this will cover most of your questions but if there is something I have not covered then please feel free to get in touch or comment on this thread. 

What are The Silver Forum Bars all about?
The Silver Forum Bars (in all their sizes) have been created as a way to draw the silver forum community together but also as a fundraising and brand awareness raising exercise. Some of the proceeds from the sales of these bars go directly to The Silver Forum and help keep the forum running in the way we have become accustomed to. Silver Premium, Gold Premium, Platinum and Platinum Plus memberships go a long way to helping the running of the forum and to help keep the membership prices as low as practical, The Silver Forum Bars we make help a lot with this too.
Any support you can give is greatly appreciated.
In addition, these bars are about raising brand awareness for The Silver Forum and to encourage new people to join and to make standard members think about supporting the forum by upgrading their membership or simply supporting the forum on a one off basis. 
Hand Poured Silver Partnership
Hand poured silver has evolved so much in the last 7 years and it is evident that Hallmarked Poured silver is becoming ever more popular.
These bars are all hand poured, stamped and finished by myself meaning each and every bar is unique in some way. The weights will vary bar to bar (although none less than 100g) and the cooling patterns of the silver will also be unique and different for each one. Even the stamping (again done by hand) is different bar to bar.
The allure of hand poured silver is growing stronger month by month and these bars are a brilliant way to start collecting hand poured silver and at the same time supporting the forum and my own business too!
Hallmarking
As with all of my Hand Poured Silver products these bars are Assay Tested and Hallmarked by the Edinburgh Assay Office. 
These bars are hallmarked with a 2mm sized mark - it is a larger and more expensive mark than normal but it really shows off the beauty of the Edinburgh Assay Office's work. 
Hallmarking is a very good addition to any poured silver. It is your guarantee that these bars are indeed 999 fine silver and made by me in 2023.
If anyone wants to find out more about hallmarking please feel free to get in touch!

Ready for Immediate Dispatch!
The bars are all made and hallmarked and ready to go. 
Mintage Figures
The mintage for 2023 is 175 Bars matching the previous years mintage. 
Mintage figures are as follows for all the releases of 100g bars to date:
2023: 175 bars
2022: 175 bars
2021: 175 bars
2020: 150 bars
2019: 100 bars
2018: 150 bars
2017: 150 bars
These mintage figures are set and will not change.

Pricing 
Standard or Non member price - £115.00 per bar
Silver Premium member price - £110.00 per bar
Gold & Platinum member price - £105 per bar
Platinum Plus member price - £100.00 per bar
UK Postage: 
1 bar: +£3.50 via signed for delivery or +£8 for special delivery 
2 bars or more: Free postage
International postage: +£12.50 tracked for or free for 3+ bars
Forum membership and pricing 
As you can see there are some very good savings to be had for upgrading your membership - so take a look at the benefits that are available for premium and gold premium members today!
 
 
 
Guaranteed bars for owners of 2022 editions
As with all our Silver Forum products we offer first right of refusal to all owners of a previous years serial number. 
So, the following applies:
If you own a bar with a serial number between 1 and 175 from 2022 then you will be able to buy the same serial number for 2023. If you wish to reserve that number you need to do so BEFORE 17th September 2023. Members who do not own bars from 2022 will be able to put their name down on a waiting list for unallocated bars. After 17th September 2023 we will know how many bars are still available against how many people are on the waiting list. In the event that there are more members than bars available we will draw a random ballot to allocate bars to people. We will then communicate a fair and open way to decide who gets what bar serial numbers. Not got a 2022 bar? Join the waiting list today!
To formally join the waiting list all you need to do is comment on this thread or drop me a PM that you wish to have a bar. 
I hope that all makes sense. In summary, you have until 17th September 2023 to reserve and/or pay for your existing serial numbers if you have a 2022 edition.
A few notes on pricing of these bars
These bars are hand poured, hand stamped and polished by me. They take a lot of time and energy and equipment to create. These are premium hand poured silver products, not cheap bullion. They are a way to support the Backyard Bullion business, my brand and most importantly, The Silver Forum. As I said earlier, proceeds from the sale of these bars go towards the upkeep and running costs of this forum. This helps keep membership prices as low as possible for premium and gold premium members and ensures that standard members can still use this forum for free. The price also incorporates the Hallmarking costs, this includes postage of these bars to and from Edinburgh and the application of the hallmark.
Standard members - The difference in price is as a way for you to support the forum in a one off style payment rather than signing up for membership. But also please feel free to upgrade your membership to take advantage of the discounts available. 
Payment Information
To secure the reservation of your bars and serial numbers you will need to pay me before 17th September 2023
If you are interested then please let me know in this thread or via PM and I will then reply with the payment information.
Payment will be via Banks Transfer or PayPal. We can accept other forms of payment too, just ask if you would like to find out more. 
Also, I welcome all feedback and any questions you might have about these bars. 
Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting The Silver Forum!
 
 
 

That’s what I’m hoping 😂
I can pay deposit till tomorrow I have the money but mrs bipolar won’t let me spend until Friday 😂

A NBS gang visit?
I'm in!😘

@Darr3nG @BipolarStacker @PapaLazarou @Silverlocks @Charliemouse @Aldebaran @katyc @Orpster @Gordy @HerefordBullyun @ArgentSmith @SilverDrum @SlowFrog @AndrewSL76 @motorbikez @Gruff @9x883 @Gunnerwood @jackflash123 @modofantasma 

After my phone call  with @COBRASTACKER I have changed my mind and I am holding onto my silver infact I’m gonna continue stacking my silver 😂

A chance for someone to obtain next BYB 100g Silver Bar Serial No. 171/175. With COA to guarantee you the same bar at next offer £100 plus post

NBS - "Naughty Boys Step" it is a well known page on TSF created in March 2022 by @Midasfrog with a very clear purpose to increase his rank. Shortly, this topic becomes very popular, having numerous followers, over 697.000 views, over 68.500 replies and over 2740 pages.
We have managed to keep this page still open and in use, despite several complaints from other forum members who considered NBS as the Gate to Hell and the posters the deepest sinners. For this, a big thank you to @ChrisSilver, even he punished us few times, bless his heart! 
NBS is in fact a pressure valve for the entire TSF. There we can have good banter, enjoy our morning coffee or late drinks talking with our friends from forum. It is incredible how that page was possible to be alive so much time without a drop of hate or without anger and frustration. Only joy and good quality humour. 
If you are curious, upgrade your membership at least to Silver (from 1st of January 2024 will be at least Gold) and join us! I promise you that you will not regret!
Signed,
Myself, @stefffana, The uncontested King of NBS from page #2!
Kiss my ring!

We were burgled a number of times and lost quite a bit.
But your grandfather’s view is right, it is the invasion which is worse. Multiply that by at least 5 and it becomes very frightening, who might be there when you come home, who is at the door.
Alarms make no difference when you live in the open countryside.
When Mr.A. Was threatened in the daytime we knew that it was time to leave. 😞

My postie get's a case of what ever he's currently drinking every Christmas. Family knows. I have a silver bug for a brother a prepper for a father and the other half has an addiction for jewellery, gold is the drug of choice but silver will stop the shakes. 

So that would be James32 then. His Lord The Hoover Royalness.

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And out of nowhere boom he appears . As for my stack it is the same amount as I last posted back in June 2022
110 oz from the original series of the Gold Queens Beast collection, 10 oz Gold normal Britannia 8 oz special year Britannia years total 128 oz Gold (3.5 kilos) sold 2 oz Krugerrands while in India to pay for some bangles that I have made for my mums 70th birthday. I have not seen my stack for well over a year been sitting idle in Saint James safe deposit box with other family gold (from my wife/mums weddings). You may ask why I have not added to my stack for well over a year, happy to oblige and answer that question. Last year made redundant (lots of unresolved HR issues) took my employer to an employment tribunal and decided I have had enough of being an employee and transitioning to becoming a full time trader. When I was made redundant was lucky to be in a good financial position debt/mortgage free and had some rental income to cover all expenses for myself and family. So grateful for the stack of gold that I accumulated starting in 2016 as it always acted like a safety net in the back of mind while I pursed an alternative career path. Recently spoken with and hired an account in the process registering a business that allows me to pay corporation tax instead of income tax and numerous tax benefits owning a business.
My son applied amazing grammar school in Manchester and if he gets in then looking to start slowly adding to the stack in 2024 or alternatively if he does not get in then looking to migrate as a family to the USA and instead stacking Brittannia's will be staking 1 oz gold Buffalos..... Regardless where we go the original gold stack will always serve its purpose as the family's safety net in case anything unexpected happened in the future.

Hes got the same amount as @James32's loose change......

Hi, everyone, guys, gals and whatever!
 
I'd like to share with you, my friends, my experience after I have upgraded my premium membership from Silver to Platinum Plus.
I have had my Silver membership from beginning (October 2020) and I have been very happy all the time with what this offered to me: instantly access to see on Buy/Sell section, the right to sell what I wanted to with a lot of pictures, the right to see and comment almost everywhere on forum, a limited number of emojis, etc. The price of £5.99/month was very attractive and I was sure that I will never change my membership until two weeks ago, when something happened and changed my mind.
Two weeks ago, it was a kind of flash in my mind, when I have decided to do more for this lovely forum. Why? Because I can, I want to and I love this forum from the deeps of my heart! After I have joined here, I have learned a lot from other members, I have shared my knowledge and I have felt included in a real community. I have gained new friends, I have had fun, I have made good profits with my sales, I have bought in a safe manner a lot of silver and gold items. I can not even imagine one day without opening TSF page. 
The Silver Forum is the safest place for buying and selling precious metals, it is a lovely and friendly community always happy to offer informations and the efforts made by @ChrisSilver and his professional team of moderators should be highly appreciated. My only one tool to show my appreciation is to pay monthly a little more than I was thinking before to help growing this lovely forum. I am not an expert, so I can only guess the monthly expenses for having online fully functional such a forum.
I would like to encourage more members to upgrade their membership to Gold, Platinum or Platinum Plus to keep this forum rolling. The difference per year is not noticeable for individuals who use to spend on a monthly basis @500-£1000 for precious metals, but all together we can support TSF to grow steady and healthy. 
Please, feel free to comment on here your opinion about your premium membership, with pro's and contra's. Will not be a debate, I'd like only to be a place for sharing good experiences on this forum. Any comment added will have a SuperLike or SuperThanks from me (as a Platinum Plus member I have unlimited SuperLikes and SuperThanks to offer) , doesn't matter if I will agree or not with the comment. 
Also, like a giveaway for this forum, I'd like to organise a Tombola for all Gold, Platinum, Platinum Plus, regular or business accounts. The participation starting now and will end on 15th of September 2023, 14.00pm, when the winner will be selected using a random generator. I will ask nicely @Charliemouse, a forum member who shown us real competences in statistics to be the person who will extract the winner.
 
The prize will be:
1 x 100g TSF silver bar with certificate and original pouch;
1 x romanian jam jar + 1 x solid silver teaspoon;
1 x bottle of romanian red wine.
All these items offered as prize are donated by myself.
Also, more donations from generous forum members are added:
@theman73 added to the initial prize 1g gold Tavex carded bar, free shipping.
@ryanwinter73 added to the initial prize 1oz silver proof QB White Horse of Hannover with box and certificate, free shipping.
The delivery SD will be absolutely free for winner, paid by myself. If the winner will be from outside UK, the relevant highest grade postage offered by Royal Mail will be free, paid by me, but any custom fee or any applicable import duties or taxes that are due are to be paid for by the winner.
 
The conditions to enrol for this tombola are:
a. to be Gold, Platinum, Platinum Plus or any business accounts at 15th of September 2023.
b. to comment minimum once on this post. To enter the ticket number, first person #ticket 1, next entry #ticket 2, etc, etc. One ticket entry per member, but members can post multiple comments, please only enter a ticket once for valid entry. 
 
Important note: The administrator of this site, @ChrisSilver, is aware about this tombola and I have his prior permission to organise this, as per forum's rules and guidelines. Also, the administrator will add a nice extra bonus to the happy winner (I will leave him the pleasure to do the announcement).
 
Cheers, everyone!🤗
Stefan. 

I have recently received this lovely silver Year of the Snake coin.Thank you @silvergaga for your advice. A 1953 birth year coin. 

Picked this up today at a well known French touristy place, feels pretty underweight, but the vending machine assured me its a limited edition. Worth grading?

Calling owner #13 if not Calling everyone else.
I did reach out to BYB to see if the current owner on this number would like to purchase these, I believe he has sent a message but I've had no response.
So here is your chance to grab the 1st and 2nd year of issue of the silver forum bars, number 13. 
Price is firm 
There is 100g and 1oz in each year (the coa is missing from the 1oz 2018)
2017 set £150 + £4 SD 
2018 set £150 + £4 SD 
If one person buys both sets then I will post SD free.
PayPal friends and family or bank transfer.
 

With the help of some TSF members, which I will keep anonymous in order to help protect the community when investigating potential future instances, and some admin investigation...

We have today banned a new member who was found to be abusing/manipulating the trading feedback system to create false feedback on trades that never took place on TSF.

The decision to ban was also made as we also believed that this person could have posed a potential trading risk to TSF members. TSF prides itself on having one of, if not the, most honest online marketplaces for trading precious metals. This year alone there have been over 5046 new trade topics started, with many trade topics containing huge lists of precious metals items for sale. Many thanks for those members who choose to buy and sell on TSF. 

Please do see the following topic and re-read to remind yourself on some simple tips in order to help reduce risk as much as possible when trading on TSF:
 

 
Many thanks to Premium Members who help to support and maintain TSF. For those who would like to support TSF please do consider purchasing Premium Membership as this helps greatly in maintaining and growing TSF. The larger TSF gets the more situations need to be investigated in order to help protect members as best as we can. To upgrade your account to Premium Membership to support TSF in exchange for all of the listed benefits including seeing new trade listings 3 days before standard members, please see the store here. An extra special thank to you to Platinum group Premium Members.

No words are needed.

Both are finally in! 

Buy the silver,flip the premium coins on here until you have your 5k back. Keep the remaining silver and buy 5k worth of gold...

Beautiful coin. You can never go wrong buying gold 😍
Despite being called, "The SILVER Forum", this forum is full of people who only buy gold 🤷‍♂️
A lot of posters here are biased against silver and would tell you to buy gold even if the silver was free 😂

Will be happy just to hear from the owner that doesn't want to sell. That would end my search.