Shep

Thanks both, and yes I suppose I was missing the point there really. Who cares if it’s cleaned if it’s fake!

A coin I desperately want to add to my collection and am umming and arring about purchasing the one in the below video. I’m not to sure on it polished/cleaned/brushed perhaps? The obverse seems worse than the reverse to me. Any and all opinions welcome and would be gratefully received. IMG_4049.MP4

Meanwhile at The Royal Mint product development desk….

I can’t really get on board with that. If the seller doesn’t like the terms of the auction (I.e. no reserves) they shouldn’t enter their coins in it. I don’t see it as anything other than fundamentally dishonest and as you say it artificially inflates prices for all. The danger of potentially winning their own auction isn’t a particularly good excuse for it either, I’m sure these individuals are extremely proficient at finding the right balance to ensure they don’t win. I do remember the member that @Nick1368 was referring to in his original post and I was honestly surprised that some people genuinely believe this is an acceptable practice and par for the course. It begs the question of how many people/members shill on a regular basis without a second thought. It seems systemic.

I sometimes find myself drifting into collecting modern proofs. What swiftly makes me drift back out is flippers, ever increasing premiums and the need I seem to feel to have PF70s. All these things just sap the life out of collecting modern proofs for me Sad but if it’s less than a 70 I just don’t want it, anything less than perfect with the prices they charge just won’t do for me 🤷‍♂️, and if buying from the Royal Mint it just isn’t good odds. Also I have nothing against flippers at all, I just don’t like getting involved with chasing premiums.

Whilst we’re on the subject of conmen, the London Mint Office are flogging high mintage 1911 - 1914 George V Half Sovs like they are a numismatic rarity. How much you ask? For the paltry sum of £249 you could own one of these fine examples of British history at only a 62% premium over their actual worth. But wait there’s more! It comes with a “no quibble guarantee” and free postage. Oh and don’t forget the certificate of authenticity that will be fit only for the purpose of wiping your behind on. An “ultra rear” opportunity to own a high mintage coin at a “lowe lowe” price I’m sure you’ll all agree. https://www.londonmintoffice.org/kg-v-halfsov?Ac=92014311&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI47-e0tX28QIVAzDTCh1j5wrfEAEYASAAEgINgvD_BwE Honestly it boils my blood when I happen to catch one of their ridiculous adverts filled with hyperbole and nonsense on day time television (clearly targeting the old or those who may not know better). In my mind these kind of outfits and their snake oil salesmen are little better than eBay scammers themselves.

Not sure if you’ve posted the wrong link there but thats a 1/2oz Britannia for £755 at around a 15% premium.

Became aware of these recently on a resurrected sales thread. Loved the story behind these coins and just had to have one. Chards blog post about the coins for those who are interested: https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/the-bank-of-canada-hoard/1002

“Ultra rear” apparently 👌🏼 Looking at his other sales he seems to specialise in selling viagra as well as ultra rears. 1x eBay lizard reported this evening for me.

I agree with you. I can see the merit in some of these “paper” gold accounts but like you, it’s not for me. If I’m buying PMs it has to be physical. I don’t want any agencies/organisations/governments to know how much I’ve got or who I choose to give it to. One of the last, and most likely will be the last bastion of some form of financial privacy after they inevitably do away with cash.

Capsule included. Non milky example - see images for condition. Standard 2nd class postage included at buyers risk. Upgraded postage available at your expense. £28 payment by PayPal f&f preferred, bank transfer accepted. Shep

Haha I like your analogy and I see your point but the issue stands that in the U.K. if you need to sell your stack quickly for a milestone purchase, emergency, whatever, you’re going to need to sell to a dealer and you’re going to get absolutely smoked. Yes I agree you can sell piecemeal to individuals and pass on the VAT premium. If you truly need to get out of your stack it’s going to be difficult to do that and not take a pounding at the same time.

Don’t feel upset about it, if you want it buy it 🤷‍♂️. If you’re buying to build a stack and not as a collector, bullion silver just doesn’t make great sense in the U.K. at the moment. If you’re buying to collect as a hobby then that’s fine but if you’re expecting silver to preserve wealth I think at the moment gold is a better option (for many of the reasons explored above). Yes you might have to save up more and would have less coins coming in each month but ultimately it’ll probably do more for you long term. I don’t know about others but every time a read a topic about gold or silver bullion that involves the word “invest” it makes me cringe a little bit. I think it’s a slightly misleading to think about bullion PMs in this way, especially if new to the world of stacking. Typically an investment grows and actively makes money. As we all know, bullion PMs typically just preserve the value of that fiat money which you bought in with, and at the moment in the U.K. I would argue gold would do a better/less risky job of that for you. @FutureStacker Just for my own curiosity, why does it specifically have to be silver for you? Is it that you like it more or is it that the price per Oz is more attractive to you than that of gold?

I would agree with @Foster88. They must knock out hundreds if not thousands of bullion sovereigns an hour when they’re minting them and most likely it’s just a mistrike rather than anything nefarious.

Yes completely agree with you there regarding select numismatics. I should have clarified in my post, I was speaking from purely the bullion stacking side of things for a newbie.