FourNinesFine

Yes, I struggle here too. (so may have got the terminology wrong), but I always saw it just as a form of gambling. I'll borrow your 1ozt and sell (short) it a further 9 times in the expectation the price will fall. That's what I'm gambling on. If it does, happy days, I cover the short by purchasing the 10 ozt (1x original borrowed, plus 9x sales) at a lower price and I pocket the difference. No problem at all with that. And if they're made to cover their losses in the event they bet wrong, great. Better luck next time. The problem is surely that they get to muck about with the parameters of the bet before it gets settled.
If I bet on a sporting event and it's not going my way, I'm not allowed to change the rules in my favour. I don't know why derivatives / shorts etc. are different.

£2600 posted SD
Bank wire or PayPal F&F ONLY
Thanks for looking 

I stopped believing the silver talk which claims it will be £100 an ounce,  or even £5000 an ounce right around the corner, any day now! I think if that did happen, a loaf of bread would be a tenner or something. For me silver is just a convenient way to hold a more fractional form of wealth. I don't see it as scheme to get rich. If anything I've lost money on silver at the moment (VAT and premiums will do that). Gold is the safer option for sure, it's been pretty clear to me since I've been in this hobby that the price is steady and seems to keep up with inflation really well. My first ever sov cost me £190 back in 2013 i think, now it's intrinsic value is about 380 quid at the time of writing this. So to me at least gold is the clear safe haven.
 
 
 

Not sure really. I'll just put it down to making conversation and shooting the breeze.
Occasionally, the clacking of my fingers on the keyboard quietens the voices in my head.

I love those little fellas. Beautiful looking bars.

Not sure really. I'll just put it down to making conversation and shooting the breeze.
Occasionally, the clacking of my fingers on the keyboard quietens the voices in my head.

I love those little fellas. Beautiful looking bars.

It's a good starting point for a discussion.  I've noticed the widely varied opinions on silver stacking too - who could miss them? 
Here's my tuppence worth....
Personally I stand in the camp of the more sceptical about the wisdom of investing too much in silver and hoping that it'll go to the moon.  I do have some physical silver, and I do find it attractive, but I make it a point to pass on all of those lovely Germania mint coins, silver Brits, Maples,  and the like that I see coming up for sale on here every day.
Silver spot price (and gold spot too, although to a much lesser extent) is totally sabotaged by the paper/digital silver market, which, even though the potential to make profit on your investment exists provided every investor doesn't suddenly demand to receive the silver they paid for in physical form(and IMO only I should note) is still just a great big scam, and even after two years of gobbling up all the information I can find to educate myself in economics and understand how everything works, I still struggle to get my head around the concept of investing in something that doesn't exist, especially when its imaginary existence is very much to the detriment of the value of the real entity which does exist in the real world, ie physical silver. Yet millions of people do invest in this way.  It's quite beyond me.  
Here's how I see it (sort of) : I have a silver coin which I present as being for sale. You may buy it, but you wont receive it, and I will hold it in my vault until you decide to resell it (you will pay a fee for me holding it, and an admin charge for both the purchase and resale) .  Buyer one comes along and buys it, pays the cost of the coin plus his fee, receives a certificate of ownership (or something to that effect) and goes off happily into the sunset.   I now re-advertise it and buyer two comes along and buys it. gets his cert and wanders off.    I do the same again for buyer three, buyer four, etc etc, ad infinitum, selling the same coin over and over again and making a stack of profit for myself, and in doing so, manipulating the price (or rather, value) of the real physical entity, to stay as artificially low as we see it in the real world. (Ponzi scheme anyone..?)  
My understanding of it to date is that It's a bit like money printing and debasement of the fiat system, ala fractional reserve lending and quantitative easing, which are (again IMO only)  nothing more than legalised counterfeiting and a good way of scamming us all on an ongoing long term basis by the government and the BOE.
 

Not sure really. I'll just put it down to making conversation and shooting the breeze.
Occasionally, the clacking of my fingers on the keyboard quietens the voices in my head.

Quick note of explanation up front (before I start rambling on in earnest). This is not a "should I invest in silver" thread or even a "is silver better than gold (or vice versa)". This is more about the very range of extreme opinions that seem to be out there about silver in particular.
 
Gold is considered by most people to be a 'safe' investment. A store of wealth, hedge against inflation, money over currency etc.
Opinions are generally balanced on the subject of stacking gold and all things being equal, it's considered to be a pretty sensible thing to be doing with your FIAT, if you don't have debts to pay down.
 
Silver on the other hand. Well it's a complete free-for-all in terms of opinions as to 'why', 'how' and 'how much'. It'd be a fair challenge to suggest I'm preaching to the converted on The Silver Forum, but even on here I've seen people suggest that any rationale for silver stacking is ultimately flawed... 'it will never be needed in barter circumstances,' 'the premiums don't make it a sensible stacking option', 'why even try and contend with the VAT' and 'forget any thoughts of it going to the moon'.
And yet, for others silver it's the holy grail.
"Just look at the ratio... silver's got to move up."
"They can't manipulate it forever and then it's anyone's guess how high the price will go"
And then there's those folks that are duking it out with the YouTube algorithm, with their must-click video headlines of "First £167 an oz, before a reset and then £5000+ an oz", and there are plenty of them out there.
 
I suppose the truth lies somewhere in the middle of all that. Or does it? Maybe one of the edge cases will be proved right?  In any event, diversification is a core tenet of any investment strategy so on that basis alone, it's got to make sense to own both, right! And I do; happily. But picking up that sovereign always feels sensible and grown up and proper. Like gold is the girl you meet and know you'll marry the first time you see her. Whereas buying another tube of silver Brits feels more... (not risky, that's definitely not it) but... your heart flutters that little bit faster and you question your motives. Like silver is the red-head that you know will leave you in a heap like a broken marionette, but you'll treasure forever the memory of those fleeting moments when she was pulling your strings.
Dunno. Maybe I'm letting all the noise discombobulate me.
As I say, this isn't about any single opinion on stacking silver... just a curiosity as to the variance in those opinions. From outright lunacy to feverish envangelism.
 
FNF.

Not sure really. I'll just put it down to making conversation and shooting the breeze.
Occasionally, the clacking of my fingers on the keyboard quietens the voices in my head.

Quick note of explanation up front (before I start rambling on in earnest). This is not a "should I invest in silver" thread or even a "is silver better than gold (or vice versa)". This is more about the very range of extreme opinions that seem to be out there about silver in particular.
 
Gold is considered by most people to be a 'safe' investment. A store of wealth, hedge against inflation, money over currency etc.
Opinions are generally balanced on the subject of stacking gold and all things being equal, it's considered to be a pretty sensible thing to be doing with your FIAT, if you don't have debts to pay down.
 
Silver on the other hand. Well it's a complete free-for-all in terms of opinions as to 'why', 'how' and 'how much'. It'd be a fair challenge to suggest I'm preaching to the converted on The Silver Forum, but even on here I've seen people suggest that any rationale for silver stacking is ultimately flawed... 'it will never be needed in barter circumstances,' 'the premiums don't make it a sensible stacking option', 'why even try and contend with the VAT' and 'forget any thoughts of it going to the moon'.
And yet, for others silver it's the holy grail.
"Just look at the ratio... silver's got to move up."
"They can't manipulate it forever and then it's anyone's guess how high the price will go"
And then there's those folks that are duking it out with the YouTube algorithm, with their must-click video headlines of "First £167 an oz, before a reset and then £5000+ an oz", and there are plenty of them out there.
 
I suppose the truth lies somewhere in the middle of all that. Or does it? Maybe one of the edge cases will be proved right?  In any event, diversification is a core tenet of any investment strategy so on that basis alone, it's got to make sense to own both, right! And I do; happily. But picking up that sovereign always feels sensible and grown up and proper. Like gold is the girl you meet and know you'll marry the first time you see her. Whereas buying another tube of silver Brits feels more... (not risky, that's definitely not it) but... your heart flutters that little bit faster and you question your motives. Like silver is the red-head that you know will leave you in a heap like a broken marionette, but you'll treasure forever the memory of those fleeting moments when she was pulling your strings.
Dunno. Maybe I'm letting all the noise discombobulate me.
As I say, this isn't about any single opinion on stacking silver... just a curiosity as to the variance in those opinions. From outright lunacy to feverish envangelism.
 
FNF.

Not sure really. I'll just put it down to making conversation and shooting the breeze.
Occasionally, the clacking of my fingers on the keyboard quietens the voices in my head.

And here is its little brother, really beautiful cast bars from Poland by the Germania Mint. Greetings from Maxe.

Dates include:
1980 proof * 2 - £410,
2001,
2003,
2006,
2013 * 2,
2015,
2016
& 2021 (brilliant uncirculated) - £407
£404 each + post unless stated.
Pics of individual sovereigns on request 

Not sure really. I'll just put it down to making conversation and shooting the breeze.
Occasionally, the clacking of my fingers on the keyboard quietens the voices in my head.

Not sure really. I'll just put it down to making conversation and shooting the breeze.
Occasionally, the clacking of my fingers on the keyboard quietens the voices in my head.

Quick note of explanation up front (before I start rambling on in earnest). This is not a "should I invest in silver" thread or even a "is silver better than gold (or vice versa)". This is more about the very range of extreme opinions that seem to be out there about silver in particular.
 
Gold is considered by most people to be a 'safe' investment. A store of wealth, hedge against inflation, money over currency etc.
Opinions are generally balanced on the subject of stacking gold and all things being equal, it's considered to be a pretty sensible thing to be doing with your FIAT, if you don't have debts to pay down.
 
Silver on the other hand. Well it's a complete free-for-all in terms of opinions as to 'why', 'how' and 'how much'. It'd be a fair challenge to suggest I'm preaching to the converted on The Silver Forum, but even on here I've seen people suggest that any rationale for silver stacking is ultimately flawed... 'it will never be needed in barter circumstances,' 'the premiums don't make it a sensible stacking option', 'why even try and contend with the VAT' and 'forget any thoughts of it going to the moon'.
And yet, for others silver it's the holy grail.
"Just look at the ratio... silver's got to move up."
"They can't manipulate it forever and then it's anyone's guess how high the price will go"
And then there's those folks that are duking it out with the YouTube algorithm, with their must-click video headlines of "First £167 an oz, before a reset and then £5000+ an oz", and there are plenty of them out there.
 
I suppose the truth lies somewhere in the middle of all that. Or does it? Maybe one of the edge cases will be proved right?  In any event, diversification is a core tenet of any investment strategy so on that basis alone, it's got to make sense to own both, right! And I do; happily. But picking up that sovereign always feels sensible and grown up and proper. Like gold is the girl you meet and know you'll marry the first time you see her. Whereas buying another tube of silver Brits feels more... (not risky, that's definitely not it) but... your heart flutters that little bit faster and you question your motives. Like silver is the red-head that you know will leave you in a heap like a broken marionette, but you'll treasure forever the memory of those fleeting moments when she was pulling your strings.
Dunno. Maybe I'm letting all the noise discombobulate me.
As I say, this isn't about any single opinion on stacking silver... just a curiosity as to the variance in those opinions. From outright lunacy to feverish envangelism.
 
FNF.

oh bollocks.. I married red head in 1989! 

For Auction, The Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III 2023 UK 2oz Silver Proof Coin LEP 1000 total mintage 1006.
Starting Price RRP £190+ post.
Starts now 
Ends Tonight 21:30pm 
Coin looks good, no returns 
Also if winner choose they can have this with £10 off NGC submissions if they would like it NGC grading.....  I can not guarantee the grade!!!!!!!!!  The coin is in hand and is ready to go! 
 

Some pics taken for the record a bit ago. Most of the gold and silver

Stunning Gillicks £400 each plus post 

Hello everyone. @ChrisSIlver and I are very happy to announce the official release of the 2023 1 oz Silver Forum Bars!
There is a lot of information to disseminate so please bear with us, some of this might be relevant to different people. I have broken this post up into different sections for ease of reading. 
If you have any questions please feel free to ask here on this thread or via PM. 
First, here are some glamour shots of the 2023 1 oz forum bars!

Changes for 2023 
2023 Sees one design change. The serial number of each bar has been changed to 001/250. Previously this had been "No. 001" and we believe the inclusion of the total mintage on the bar itself adds value to the limited feel and nature of these bars. 
The Year Date letter has also changed as is does every year, this year "y" is the year date for 2023. 
We think these are by far and away the best iterations of the 1 oz forum bars to date and I am very honoured and privileged to continue to work with @ChrisSilver, The Silver Forum and ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL MEMBERS out there!
What are The Silver Forum Bars all about?
The Silver Forum hand poured products (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 goes directly to the forum and helps greatly with running costs and keeping the forum the way we have become accustomed to. Silver Premium, Gold Premium and Platinum Premium and now 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 too. 
In addition you are supporting the Backyard Bullion brand and poured silver from us. This is our 7th year producing hand poured silver for the silver forum and it is because of the support we get from members on and off the silver forum that keeps us doing what we do and striving to do better every year. 
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 1 ozt) and the cooling patterns of the silver will also be unique and different for each one. 
These bars are ready to be shipped immediately.
The bars are all finished and can be dispatched as early as the end of this week.
Hallmarking
As with all of my Hand Poured Silver products these bars have been Assay Tested and Hallmarked by the Edinburgh Assay Office. 
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.
Mintage
The mintage for 2023 will be: 250 bars
Previous years we had mintages were:
2022: 250
2021: 250
2020: 200
2019: 200
2018: 200
2017: 200
As with previous years members with bars from a preceding year have first right of refusal at the same serial number in the current year. 
Serial Number reservations & previous bar ownership
Questions regarding serial numbers and securing a bar are the most commonly asked questions I get. 
The rule of thumb has been and always will be if you own the previous years serial number you have first right of refusal for taking up the bar in 2023. 
For new members or people without a 2022 bar this might seem like you have no chance of getting one - there will always be people who do not/cannot take up their 2022 bars and as such there is always a batch of bars available for new members.
Please comment on this thread or private message me to get your name on the waiting list for a 2023 bar if you do not have one for 2022
Deadlines to secure bars
To claim your existing serial number and bar (if you own a 2022 bar) please contact me and confirm (and pay) before the end of Sunday 21st May 2023. After this date we will not be able to guarantee your purchase and will offer these serial numbers out to members on the waiting list. 
Waiting list for new members/owners
If you would like to purchase a bar past experience has showed me that there will be a lot of demand. As such, we will be operating a waiting list which will ultimately end up in a random lottery to see if members will be allocated a bar. It is the fairest way to do this. 
We will be restricting this waiting list to 1 bar per member to start with to ensure as many different people get access to a bar as possible. 
To be placed on the waiting list, please comment on this thread and we will make sure you are added. 
We will not be contacting people on the waiting list until the first week of June to collect payment and distribute bars. 
Pricing and shipping details
Prices are as follows for the different Silver Forum membership levels
Standard or Non member price - £36 per bar
Silver member price - £35 per bar
Gold member price - £34 per bar
Platinum Member price - £33 per bar
Platinum Plus/Forum Sponsor/Business member price - £32 per bar
UK Postage & Packaging: +£3.50 via Royal Mail Signed for delivery or £8 Special Delivery
FREE POSTAGE on any orders from members with 3 or more bars (UK only) 
International postage: +£15 tracked and insured or £5 for standard airmail
How to buy & What to do
If you have a 2022 bar, get in touch and I will give you your total and away we go!
If you DO NOT have a 2022 bar, put your name on the waiting list!
A few notes on pricing
These bars are not cheap bullion. They are not advertised or sold as investment products but as unique collectable items.
Some of the proceeds from the sales of these bars goes directly to The Silver Forum and keeps it as cheap to use for all of us as possible
Every bar is UNIQUE. 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. 
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 all of the benefits that are available for Premium Members today!
 
 
Payment Information
We can accept payment via PayPal, Banks Transfer or Credit/Debit card (Phone call will be required to complete the transaction)
If you would like to order a bar please PM or reply to this thread and we can link up with payment information. 

They're stunning. 😍
GLWS.

£396 + post each