MonkeysUncle

Frolics to the NHS. I'll possibly die of something simple and easily curable as their is no way on God's clean earth I go near the Quackery again. I'm a bit bitter still at a prognosis of game over by the weekend. Ticking towards 9 years later...

The only comment? Bullets are a fantastic invention when used appropriately!

Glue it back together and become a bin lord. Unique One off Hybrid alloy special strength gold Do it back to front to honour the Royal Mint wonky rotating Monarch!

Wear a cotton glove is my suggestion for handling coins and bars. You may suddenly end up acting like a mime but that's the risk you take! The black marks on the front: I would try the following in order if gentleness: 1) put it in a washing up bowl with hot soapy water. Let it soak a few minutes then rub with a soft cloth. As soft as you can get, and rub in circles. Last thing you want is scratch marks, that'll look worse than black marks. 2) If that fails, get some good quality wet wipes and rub in circles. Put some effort in. 3) The drastic measure: this may make grown men cringe. Buy some "T-cut original restorer". £7.50 a tin on amazon. Wear rubber gloves as this stuff may cause skin problems. Also get yourself somewhere ventilated or outside: it pongs. Apply VERY SMALL amount on microfibre WHITE cloth and dab over the marks. Leave 5 minutes. Rub in circles, getting progressively more vigorous. After 5 minutes buff off with a clean microfibre. Repeat until marks are gone. They will go as this stuff is cutting into the surface and removing material. You may end up with very nice shiny bits that make the rest of the bar look rubbish in comparison: a gentle go over of the entire surface will get a uniform look.

Well on past form silver will dip when the markets open. Why? I got tempted by pricing and bought some...

Absolutely, it's fairly typical and can't be complained about. Personally I'm no fan of Metalor bars, I prefer the aesthetics of Umicore. Umicore cast 1kg bars are plastic wrapped in the factory so tend to not pick up the sort of marks on your Metalor. A sealed in plastic minted bar might be more your thing. Cost you more, but you pays your money, you makes your choice. Check out the Valcambi combibars at e.g. Tavex.

PM coming your way

Totally agree Bigmarc, sad state of affairs isn't it? People don't seem to know or care (or both). Only yesterday (with help admittedly) I subverted the security of a pretty sophisticated alarm system with a simple sub £200 scanner. If I can do that their are far better minds than mind doing so to make their filthy lucre. A not too bright teenager who can think a bit and follow videos on the internet is into your doorbell. And from their planting nasties in your likely vulnerable router that are going to have off with your bank details when you open your banking app...

Thing is every single doorbell camera on the market is about as insecure as Ukraines Eastern border when bad Vlads lads turned up. So if I'm a techopikey I watch you go out and go and rob you. Seeeeemples!

Late to the party but the brutally honest answer is that the amount you will realise is entirely dependent on how much - if any - time you are prepared to spend sifting through, identifying and valuing. Sold prices on ebay are indicative of the best you will likely get. A copy of a Stanley Gibbons catalogue of recent vintage may be a sound investment to assist in what will otherwise be a daunting task. If you dispose of to a dealer then you will realise only a small percentage of what could be achieved by accurately cataloguing and accurately describing on ebay. Last big collection I bought I split into individual lots on ebay and made a 10 x multiple what I paid. And no, that doesn't make me a greedy bastard, it reflected the 200 or so hours of my life invested in it. The easy option if you actually have a life is to shift on to a dealer. I would commend Rush Stamps (rushstamps.co.uk) as open and honest.

Diversification is definitely the thing to do. Cash, shares, property, metal, Unicorns etc etc. Think at leisure before diving in, and avoid putting everything in one place is the best advice I can give.

Honestly I see no meaningful change in values of CS bars. I also don't see the Credit Suisse name disappearing under it's new UBS ownership - it's a big well known name and was very respectable. Sure it's going to need a lot of change and a bloody big tin of polish, but it'll be reet. Even NatWest looks reasonably respectable again

I would say the opposite, especially if they're Kit Kats or chocalatey hob nobs. Speaking purely as a bat fastard!

That's a certainty unless Starmer comes out as a transgendered communist sexually fluid Russian Orthodox hippopotamus! And even then...

If you're trying to build a collection of mixed dates then I would fully understand the temptation to sell (or swap). If you're simply stacking for the gold value then tuck them away. They're clearly in good condition and will typically attract a little of a premium. If you do decide to move some on then I will take one off of your hands as I don't have a 2012 in my little lot.

On a serious note - not that James inoperable vacuum isn't serious - I suspect lots of deep breaths and not much exhaling has gone on due to the Credit Suisse collapse. Smells of the Swiss Government nicely asking/ bribing UBS in the same way the British Government had Lloyds rescue HBOS. If it completes tonight as is looking likely then I expect stock markets up a bit in Europe and gold down a bit. Although we'll have to see what US bank wobbling comes in the next week or so...

I seriously think gold is going into a steep climb over the coming days: there are several US banks that failure is apparently imminent and I have visions of the Swiss Government having to nationalise Credit Suisse, possibly as soon as this weekend.

Don't worry, it'll crash back down when I let the moths escape from my wallet!

I am not an expert, and not even in the ballpark of being an expert but here is a cautionary tale. My personal experience of British customs in the post Brexit world is that they consider British citizens importing items from the EU as lowlife Nazi paedophiles and deem to do whatever they fancy. In my case I USED to import lead acid batteries by the pallet load from a shipper in Rotterdam. My loads typically ended up confiscated in a Birmingham warehouse (despite being landed in Felixstowe!) until several days/ weeks of arguing/ posturing and eventually some financial settlement was made. This despite all paperwork being properly in order given that the supplier was one of the worlds largest battery manufacturers. I now import direct from a distributor in China and my shipments clear through customs with not an eyebrow raised. Having recently shipped electronics to Greece and Hungary I can attest that the gentlemen in their customs are also dodgy. The Greek officials rob on behalf of the Greek Government and two Hungarian officials of my loose acquaintance have a taste for good Scotch whisky if you catch my drift. I think you run the risk of being shafted if importing from the EU, but good luck. I would seriously consider a cheap flight to collect your coin if time/ money make sense and you're talking capsuled gold which can drop into your wallet/ purse.

Several people have been claiming Credit Suisse will fall through the Zurich pavement into a big hole previously full of Nazi gold for years. I suspect they've infilled it with something to stop the bank falling in...

Definitely think about CGT implications. Brits and Sovs as have been said are exempt from this particular thievery. No point making money to line some other mothers pockets! If outside the UK or you have access to a way of CGT not being applicable then a bar will likely carry a smaller premium. Chards were advertising random bullion Brits at very low premiums as recently as a few days ago.

I've got a bit oily in my outlook. Granted it's not the sort of thing to keep in a nice box and admire, but...

Someone needs to pass Her Maj a tissue, she's making a mess whilst eating again... at least it's not the jammie doughnuts this time!

Lots of copper, not much silver AFAIK. Stellantis just invested $155,000,000 into McEwen Copper.

Yeah, to me it's all a bit of a storm in a teacup. It's gold Jim, just not as we know it. Or rather not quite how the Chinese wanted it. The burning question to my mind is why the heck didn't the Chinese test it sooner as I assume this lit has been delivered over a period of time. Anyhow, if the Chinese are so upset about it they can give it me. I will be positively delighted about it! 😊