Magritte

PM me here is anyone wishes to order anything - ill take 10% off the eBay listed price when paying via bank transfer and dealing direct with me

If nothing goes wrong with your sale it would seem like an unnecessary waste of time but if you got a scammer on the other end then the more evidence you have the better.
i would get the buyer to confirm the name and address via ebay messages. They cannot claim it went to the wrong place. Get them to confirm there are no special delivery requirements. Ideally i would have the parcel delivered to a post office near them - then they cannot claim it never arrived b/c it is tracked to the post office and they have to pick it up. The post office is very lax about parcels since COVID - now the postman signs and then anyone could have taken it or not as the case may be.
I would have a video of the item going into the packaging - clearly showing the item(s) as they go in - show the address label from Royal Mail with tracking code. i would show the parcel being handed over at the post office. Showing the label and that it was the same package the items went into. Then it is tracked and the tracking code is put into ebay as well.
Anything else?

eBay for many, dealers for others.
When I say eBay, I don't tend to buy lots, I tend to cherry pick coins I want. I look for the scarcer ones. I look for coins where the dealer accept best offers, I tend to try and haggle them down to a reasonable price, sometime below, at or slightly above book value.
This is why it takes so long for me to accumulate silver - but I enjoy the coins I've got very much.
Sometimes it's cost averaging - pay over the odds for one, under price for the next few.
I also find dealers or sellers that I have dealt with, and have given me decent coins or decent discounts and stick with them.

I enjoy stacking British  pre 1920 silver as  opposed to collecting as in putting them in space consuming folders and boxes etc. I like the coins in fair condition and avoid lots sold as scrap. Individually prices have held well and I wouldn't want to sell everything at scrap weight of .925 which most dealers would offer I think. I would definitely sell each coin separately if needed . 

Well this is complex.
First off, yes I stack historic silver coins (and only historic coins). As a collector of coins primarily, I was accumulating a collection long before I had even come across the stacking community. It's important to note therefore that I have never bought bullion or modern pieces, and that any comments below obviously have a bias in favour of the numismatic stuff.
Firstly, anyone who has read Maloney or Rickards will note that they emphatically state that you should avoid numismatic coins and modern commemoratives at all costs and thereby stick to the cheapest and greatest quantity of silver for your buck... cost averaging etc.
I however, have to say that whilst I totally agree with them regarding modern commemorative issues, I think they have overlooked some potential gains that can be got from historic coins.
Firstly, definitely take their point with ultra rare coins that the price of them is high, the premiums can be high and the market to sell to will be restricted. So in this sense they are right, not a great investment. My Anglo-Saxon coins, too specialist and have gone no where over the past 15 years - some prices have even gone down.
However, mid-range/grade, problem free coins of popular series appear to do quite well. For example the Victorian young head and Edward VII silver coins (GVF through to UNC grades) have done extremely well over the past twenty years.
My top tip is to find coins that are scarcer and rarer in date, or better in grade or less often seen (even if thought to be common).
For example three crowns for sale all in VF, 1887, 1888 and 1889, all the same price. Which do you pick? Well 1887 was the first year, many survive in tip top grade, 1889 is the highest mintage and turn up everywhere! So 1888 it is.
You need a little knowledge, but for a good start buy a coin catalogue (Spinks for British, The Redbook for US) and then just browse eBay or auction sites and see which dates crop up time and time again. If you see something that doesn't turn up often, that's the one to get.
When I bought gold - If I saw a high grade St George sovereign at £240, a shield sovereign at £240 but lower grade - I'd buy the shield. Now if I'd seen an ex-mount guinea at £240 - it would have been the guinea I'd have bought.
There's lots of potential in historic coinage, but the three most important points to take home are:
1) Know what you're buying.
2) Know what is popular or likely to become so.
3) Forget the spot price - unless you're buying junk silver.

You can often pick up the old silver coinage in various purities at low premiums under 5% even down to scrap prices if it's just for stacking silver weight.
It gets quite bulky to store but I think it's worth it if you're into silver. Nicer collectible examples usually would sell for more but if the coin is readable and appropriately priced it should be fine. 
Higher purity is more desired but again depends what the cost is. If I had a choice of 92.5% British and 50% British at the same price I'd take higher purity. 

Do you stack historical silver coins? Why? Why not?
So far, the silver side of my stack consists of 100% modern bullion coins (mainly Maples, Kangaroos, Philharmoniker, and Krugerrands). But I am considering diversifying my silver stack by adding some historical coins, but I'm not sure about it or what coins to get.
Are historical coins worth getting at all from a stacking (as opposed to collector) perspective? Is 80% worth looking at, or only 90+% purity? How much of a premium is reasonable to pay for older silver coins? Do you think historical coins may become more popular in the future given the very high premiums and VAT on new silver bullion coins? Sorry if these questions have been asked before.

This will kill silver stacking in Europe.
Or will it perhaps make stackers turn to historical silver coins, "junk silver"?

I'm amazed at the tyranny Americans tolerate and beyond non-plussed at what Western Europeans seemingly enjoy. They tax you like crazy for your labor paid in a depreciating asset and then when you try to protect yourself from their lunacy, they want another cut.

Just found an article on the subject. Dealers may face additional VAT payment  on silver coins for the last 4 years. This is likely to cause economic difficulties for some of the dealers.
https://amp2-handelsblatt-com.translate.goog/finanzen/recht-steuern/silber-haendlern-fuer-silbermuenzen-drohen-nachzahlungen/28744512.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=de&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Oooh, there are a lot of ghosts haunting German silverland right now. I'm no expert, but I'll try to summarise the situation in simple terms. Since 2014, 19% VAT has also applied to silver coins in Germany, apart from collector coins, and not only to silver medals, silver bars, etc. The VAT on silver collector coins has been left at 7%. However, there was, or is, an exemption as a transitional solution, the differential taxation. This means that traders only have to pay 19% on their purchase/sale difference to the tax office and do not have to show any sum on the invoice. A week ago on Friday, traders received a letter by e-mail from the Federal Ministry of Finance stating that the differential taxation is no longer valid. In this video you can see the letter, I got the link from the German silver forum:
https://youtube.com/shorts/zVju95lYf6w?feature=share
I don't know the channel, one of the two is the operator of a relatively well-known online shop. Apparently there is no legal regulation for this yet and nobody knows what is valid and from when. On the same evening, almost all dealers raised their prices by around 20/30%, but still almost all show the margin scheme. The biggest problem for me as a customer, however, will be the dealer purchase prices in the future, if they cannot settle them with the margin scheme. Then we will also get such miserable dealer purchase prices, like you in the UK. If we stay at 60/70% premium for simple silver bullion, the subject of investment silver is finished for me. Luckily I already have 3 Britannias, so that will have to be enough for me. All coins that cost at least 250% above spot are considered collector coins and will continue to be taxed at 7%. They are expensive enough anyway.
I think all loopholes in Germany are simply being plugged now. I heard they need money. And since all dealers have used the exemption for almost every coin, it was only a matter of time before it was suspended. It's almost a miracle that it was, or is, valid for almost 9 years.

Rumours of some change have already been mentioned also in some other thread although it wasn't entirely clear to me what it meant in practice. Now that you raised it again specifically I tried to google some info on the internet and found a few quite detailed overviews of the situation (in German) e.g.:
https://www.gold.de/artikel/silber-anlagemuenzen-anwendung-der-differenzbesteuerung-vor-dem-aus/
https://www.goldreporter.de/silbermuenzen-finanzministerium-kippt-differenzbesteuerung-041022-14h/handel/109365/
I understand that nothing is official yet but there are rumours about planned changes which unsettled local dealers and caused increase in premiums already now?
edit: @dikefalos may know more

I've posted this photo before, but on the theme of dragons - I think most of these designs are pretty good.
I'm looking forward to seeing what the Tudor Beasts coin designs look like for the two coins in the series that will feature a dragon.
I think the QB dragon is fab, and I love the 2018 Two Dragons design too.

Checkout the silver gold and diamonds Ford Escort on YouTube , made by Russel Lord 
Channel name is Russel Lord 👍

Not gonna lie but I reckon this will look the dogs whatsits when it rolling on silver rims! 

Hey guys, never seen this on Atkinsons before. Looks great to me. A little pricy but nice to see new products coming through.
https://atkinsonsbullion.com/silver/silver-bars/1kg-silver-bars/scottsdale-mint-tombstone-silver-nugget-3-bar-bund

When “whatever it takes” means confiscation of wealth
One of the reasons people decide to buy gold bullion or add silver coins to their portfolio is because they cannot be devalued. No one can suddenly decide to print more gold or silver! Sadly, this is exactly what happens with currencies around the world. And the last two decades have been prime examples of this. As governments rush to patch up past mistakes, missed warnings and election cycles they resort to creating more money which ultimately leads to higher prices but less value slewing around the system.  
The self reinforcing trends of high inflation have become visible to all. Central banks and governments continue to do “whatever it takes” but now it is “whatever it takes” to deflect blame for the rising prices and falling asset prices.
Central Banks Struggling to Contain the Surging Inflation
Eroding wealth is hitting many people on several fronts – surging inflation on goods and services, tanking equity markets, and falling housing prices to name a few.
Yet, governments and central banks claim no responsibility for the economic climate they have created blaming instead Putin for higher food and energy prices, speculators for eroding equity and housing markets, not to mention China for supply chain issues and lower economic activity due to the ongoing zero covid policy lockdowns. 
Surging inflation is more than a decade in the making.
 In our post on March 4, 2021, Central Banks Will Still Do “Whatever It Takes”!  we discussed the then ECB President Mario Draghi’s “whatever it takes” of 2012 to save the Euro – that morphed into the 2021 promise from Rishi Sunak, UK finance minister’s promise of “whatever it takes” to support the British people and businesses through Covid lockdowns. 
Governments poured more than $15 trillion of additional support through increased spending and lower taxes in less than two years. Also, central banks printed money on a grand scale to sucked up all the additional debt issued from governments. 
Now central banks have conditioned everyone into the perception that they can save and solve problems with the “whatever it takes” promise over the last decade.
Central banks have now pledged “whatever it takes” to get inflation under control. Chair Powell leads the bandwagon jumpers from old ‘transitory inflation’ onto new ‘yes we were wrong last year, but not wrong again this year’.
Central banks have good reason to keep this bandwagon going in circles and not make much progress.
Click Here to Watch The M3 Report
 
John Maynard Keynes famously said,
Remember governments have trillions in debt to deal with and the fastest way to reduce that debt is to inflate their way out of it.
The other options are to raise taxes or to severely limit spending how many governments have the political will for either of those and if they do, then they are voted out with promises from the new government to reverse the measures put in place. 
The decade long excess is at a tipping point!
Download Your Free Guide
Click Here to Download Your Copy Now The annual economic report released this week by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) warns that if inflation becomes entrenched in the global economy, then it could become the new normal and very hard to reverse. In other words higher prices lead to higher prices.
The BIS doesn’t think that central banks, including the Fed, are doing enough to bring inflation under control.
The Fed has raised the fed funds rate rates three times this year for a total increase of 1.5% – but the Fed is still “well behind the inflation curve”. The fed fund rate is in a range of 1.50%-1.75%, while the latest U.S. CPI reading for May came in at a year-over-year increase of 8.6%.  
Fed Fund Rate and Consumer Price Inflation Chart Inflation is Hitting its Tipping Point Warns BIS
From the BIS Report:
In addition to cyclical and structural factors, the level of inflation itself can influence wage- and price-setting. Hence the likelihood and intensity of wage-price spirals. In general, a high-inflation regime, if it persists, induces behavioural changes which raise the probability that it will become entrenched, not least by amplifying the impact of relative price increases.
The report explains: The level of inflation is bound to influence the importance of inflation expectations.
Once the general price level becomes a focus of attention, workers and firms will initially try to make up for the erosion of purchasing power or profit margins that they have already incurred.
This, in and of itself, could trigger wage-price spirals if background conditions are sufficiently favourable. And, once inflation becomes sufficiently high and is expected to persist, they will also try to anticipate future changes in the general price level, as these will erode purchasing power and profit margins before contracts can be renegotiated.
The report goes on to warn that once embedded inflation is very difficult and costly to bring under control and it advises central banks to avoid transitions from low- to high-inflation regimes in the first place – to nip inflation in the bud. 
Are we past that point?
The BIS answer: We may be reaching a tipping point, beyond which an inflationary psychology spreads and becomes entrenched. This would mean a major paradigm shift.
How on earth does inflationary psychology spread and become ‘entrenched’? This is something we explored recently on our new show The M3 Report.
Along with our guests Jim Rickards and Gareth Soloway, host Dave Russell explored the idea of perception and asked for how long were politicians going to string us along telling us that all is FINE? I
t seems too regular an occurrence these days to be told that inflation is either temporary or the result of covid, or Putin or someone sneezing.
All whilst we listen from our cars that cost more than ever to refill, or from the kitchen whilst we cook meals that we can barely afford to cook.
But, as Dave and Jim discussed, are perceptions starting to change? Are we now getting wise to the rhetoric?

Here is what you need to know: for commodities like oil – high prices eventually cure high prices. But once inflation sets in for everyone – high prices mean more higher prices because cash cannot be trusted.  Physical metals will benefit from inflation becoming embedded.
Bottom line: in a high inflationary environment when the cake becomes smaller, the fight over it becomes bigger!
And what does that paradigm shift look like? Sadly we still haven’t managed to get a hold of that crystal ball so we can’t be too specific.
But, we do know that the world has been through paradigm shifts before. Whether through wars, financial crises or even pandemics (yes, covid isn’t the first).
Every single time people are forced to find their own way to secure their savings and investments.
They find their way to gold and silver, because when governments do ‘whatever it takes’ we should also do ‘whatever it takes’ to reduce the impact of the secret and unobserved theft that is inflation. 
Be sure not to miss the brilliant M3 Report! With over 10,000 views in its first week the show has been grabbing everyone’s attention.
 

Dammit!!!
I wasn't planning on collecting the Beasts in 2oz proof, but after getting this one from @Magritte i might have to reconsider.....!

Oxyaceltine cutter, concrete cutter, bolt croppers, knifes and guns.... and a massive side of attitude!

Hi @BarryWoods
I can’t comment on FB as I am not a member, but in most places much the PM and Numismatic community is a friendly one, with people willing to give their time and expertise for free and with good grace.
A good example is new members asking “which gold coins should I buy first”. I and many others answer the same question many many times with good grace (not saying as happens on other non PM forums “read the effing forum before asking stupid questions”), forum members opinions differ a little but we are here to help and share.  People appreciate the help and it keeps the forum friendly and positive.
Personally, I have learned lots from people like @LawrenceChard @sovereignsteve @Roy - the list is endless.  I don’t necessarily always agree 100% but that’s part of life.
All I have to say is that you will get more out of the forum by working *with* the good folk who post here.  
Best
Dicker
 
 
 
 

Gold has rallied strongly on the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It has rallied above at US$1,970.

The invasion occurred as the US and Europe start sanctions against Russia.
The U.S. and its European allies on Tuesday announced a broad range of sanctions against Russia for what President Biden called “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” (WSJ.Com, 02/22).
The U.S. sanctions are against two major Russian banks and Europe is halting the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.
These sanctions are a small part of a larger package of sanctions threatened by the U.S. and European allies – but are designed to limit Russia’s access to global financial markets.

However, many believe that these sanctions are now obviously, not enough to dissuade Russia from a further incursion into Ukraine.
Today, NATO allies and separately G7 leaders are meeting today to consider further actions.
Is The Biggest Stock Market Crash Imminent?
Watch Michael Pento Only On GoldCore TV
 
To elaborate on our discussion in the recent podcast “Gold is Needed as a Safe Haven Investment Now More than Ever!” gold has once again served its role as a safe-haven asset and portfolio diversified.
This means it is going up when most assets are declining.
On this point – gold has broken away from its fundamental ‘usual’ negative correlations with real interest rates.
The chart below shows the US 10-year TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities) as an example of this relationship.
Gold’s Correlation
The U.S. 10-year TIPS yield (blue line) axis is inverted to show the general inverse relationship of the gold price to TIPS yield – in general when TIPS yield rise, as they have done since the beginning of the year, going from around -1.1% to -0.5% the gold price would generally decline.
However, when the safe heaven effect ‘kicks in’ the gold price can also rise. In other words, the safe haven buying is a stronger bullish gold price force than the bearish signal of a rising TIPS yield.   

Gold Price V/S US 10- Year Tips Yield The Safe Haven Aspect of Gold
The same inverse relationship generally holds for the gold price and the U.S. dollar. When the U.S. dollar rises the gold price (in US dollars) generally declines – the rising U.S. dollar was a major bearish signal for gold in 2021.
However, again this negative relationship is broken in times of safe-haven buying – since the beginning of February, the gold price has risen US$100 while the U.S. dollar has been flattish.
These are two examples of how safe-haven buying outweighs fundamentals.
Gold Price V/S US Dollar Index However, the really important aspect of gold as a safe-haven asset is that, as pointed out in the above-mentioned podcast, it retains or increases its value when most other assets are declining.
Gold is Needed as a Safe Haven Investment Now More than Ever!

This aspect of gold (and silver) is becoming even more important as world markets become more correlated.
The first chart below shows the MSCI World Index which is down more than 20% from its peak set in November last year, which is somewhat indicative of most equity indices.
The second chart below shows the gold price and the S&P 500 index, which did manage to continue climbing until January 3 but has since declined just over 10%. And as noted above the gold price has risen over this period.
The third chart below shows the gold price and the bitcoin price – although bitcoin has been touted as a safe-haven asset as the chart shows it has failed to live up to that status during this geopolitical safe-haven buying episode.
If the Russia/Ukraine geopolitical crisis continues on its current trajectory we can expect higher gold (and silver prices) and lower equity prices due to increase safe-haven buying on the uncertainty.   

Gold Price V/S S&P 500 Index  

Gold Price V/S MSCI World Index
Gold Price V/S Bitcoin

There's been almost 129,000 posts since 2014 in the 'ungraded' section Steve (see screenshot below,  but prior to March 2020 the graded/ ungraded coins were sold together between 2014 and early 2020.
Which bolsters my argument that its a pointless section.
@sovereignsteve or anyone else happy with the current jumble sale?  
Any opinion?  Or am I the only one who thinks the respective metals need separating out?
 
If we are all happy I'll stop my futile bleating- but its a bugbear of mine, and it must resonate with other Forum members?   
 

I say get rid of the graded section and split the sales into three- Silver, Gold & Platinum. 
Better still 4 sections- Silver, Gold, Platinum and a Pre- Decimal or a Pre-1950’s of whichever metal.
It won’t happen but at least I tried to make a suggestion that makes sense, is coherent and that enables navigating the sales section simple, quick and easy. 

Someone posted a link to an employer review website the other day (it may even have been on this thread) and it made for grim reading indeed, alas at the same time making perfect sense. Loyal employees of 20 - 30 years leaving in disgust, a sales team completely removed from the production side, an upper management who simply don't care and are incompetent, sales managers who bully staff to achieve targets, impossible time pressure on the QC staff...all leading to an endless circle of rushed production and despatch, returns, promises made to customers (in good faith by the phone team, mind) that can and will never be fulfilled by the other teams...but management are happy as long as the bottom line is good.
One never knows how true these things are, naturally disaffected staff are likely to leave the worst reviews imaginable. But (and hopefully I've amalgamated/summed up the scathing reports fairly) enough of it rings true to me and tallies with what I heard privately from one dealer a few years back.
I gave up collecting new Royal Mint stuff with the QBs. Whatever the truth is I personally decided it was too much hassle for the enjoyment I was getting. I'll finish off my Liz proof Sov collection and then I'm done (strangely I've never had a single problem with those, though I know others did this year - I've always thought the Mint must have their 'A team' on the flagship product).
It's been like this in general for years, I don't think things will change sadly without a total overhaul of the Mint

That sounds like it is the root cause - what is more concerning is that it made it's way in this condition through the QC process though - that's the bigger issue