Pete

Absolutely agree when the Bay is promoting a "safe platform" and when people are misled into buying fakes, irrespective of that little word 'plated' in the text somewhere, it cannot be perceived as "safe" especially when buyers are paying £10 plus for something worth less than 10 pence.

Beautifully put .... When you see sellers listing fake, some would argue "counterfeit" coins on eBay I cannot understand why the authorities, Mints and trading standards people let this happen. You see TV programmes where fake handbags and designer shoes are seized by trading standards why not bullion ? Just because there is mention of silver plating isn't enough when the precious metal content is still described as 1 oz and when a coin depicts a legal denomination in currency.

We all know that Londoners can pay about £1m for a former council house 3 bed semi with bay windows in London. By contrast in the north of Scotland you can get your own island including a large Manor House and other outbuildings ( not ruins ) for £1.75m Worth watching the video and compare with a semi on the inner ring road. https://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbedruedr210035

I love the look of FDC gold proofs especially the quintuple sovereign but when it it time to sell be prepared for a big disappointment. Dealers will list these stunning coins, coin sets and boxed proofs at high premiums but they are selling and you can easily get suckered into buying as I did once, believing the premium will be retained. Some sought after key date coins retain decent premiums but from personal experience all the others are only worth bullion prices when you decide to part with them. I am sure some sellers will argue but there will always be exceptions but when I sold most of FDC proofs, I struggled to get spot and that's when spot was over 20% lower than today, so a big mistake selling - according to Dr. Hindsight.

Thought it would have been obvious but for those who don't have a bloodhound and smoke a pipe, living in Baker Street here you go - https://www.roslandgold.co.uk/products/pcgs-graded-platinum-jubilee-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-1oz-platinum-sovereign

Two things to consider if under declaring value - 1. It is illegal and the sender could be prosecuted. Check the rules w.r.t. customs declarations 2. In the event of loss or damage the declared value will be the starting point of any claim. If you ship something worth £1,000 and declare £10 guess the outcome from an insurance perspective.

Many packages that fit through a letter box will be simply posted through and the postie will place his/her mark on their scanner which also records time and location. If you were to challenge non delivery I think you would find this very difficult. Special Delivery is treated entirely differently and should always require a name and signature to obtain. Tracked 24/48 will usually require a photograph showing an open door or through a letterbox to identify the property. Covid played a big role in changing how the postal service works and for most I am pleased that I don't have to drive to the sorting office to collect a low value package that was tracked.

When I saw this one ounce Pt. coin advertised on TV, I got super excited until .....

Just ordered these lovelies from Martin as a bit cheaper than RM direct and he has plenty in stock.

If someone gifts assets e.g. a collection of sovereigns other than to their immediate spouse, then dies shortly thereafter the gift, if found or declared, falls into the deceased "estate" for inheritance tax purposes. All assets transfer to a spouse without IHT becoming due on first death so who is the owner of the coins ? Transferring to a spouse before death can be smart in some situations. If the person goes into residential care the local authorities will also dig deep and want their pound of flesh. The person making the gift needs to survive 7 years before the gift is excluded from the estate. IHT is a complex topic and there are allowances including primary residence but with so many properties nowadays breaching the caps, many people are falling into this tax which is 40%. If you are "inheriting" a significant value you need to take professional advice as there are methods to avoid being chased for IHT if an estate is taxable. You don't want to find that even after you have sold the sovereigns that the Revenue comes knocking on your door years later demanding 40% tax to be paid within a few weeks. You do not need to worry about capital gains tax as sovereigns are exempt but you really need to check out IHT liability if an estate is valued above the IHT threshold. Who is aware of the coins and is there a paper trail ? If not obvious then who needs to know ? All my comments are made with very limited knowledge and must not be taken as financial advice.

By inheritance do you mean though the passing of someone or receiving as a gift ? In a will you can receive anything but if the estate exceeds inheritance tax thresholds things get more complicated. You are liable for capital gains tax on profits if in a given year your gains exceed a threshold. You can also double this if you are married. I believe ( but check accuracy ) that if you inherit or are gifted goods you can value them at current levels. So say you received 100 sovereigns in a will. On the date take a value by checking a few dealer sites. Record this as a true value. If selling later at a higher price then use the difference as your gain so unlikely to be caught by tax.

Margins on platinum are way too high when compared to gold. In addition VAT at 20% on top of spot + VAT on the margin. Some will say it is supply and demand but that falls flat on its face when you get a lousy buy price from dealers. If a dealer paid 98% spot and sold with 5% markup over spot the platinum would turn over the same day. My conclusion is profiteering because you can.

Personally from direct experience, I would stay clear of marked up proofs. I know it is tempting ( as I once was ) but I now know much better !!

Please share !!!!

To these dealers £20k isn't such a big order so unlikely to see much discount. You will need to choose between boring ( but generally cheaper ) Krugerrands vs more exotic coins that might get you a few quid benefit selling privately, but most dealers don't care too much about the origin of the coin just its weight and purity, so 24ct tends to gain a little over 22ct. You might be subjected to the money laundering third degree placing an order over £10k with some dealers though. As others have said it might be smart to stage your purchases over several months to see if gold dips a bit. I too keep waiting for gold to return to £1,000 per ounce but will this ever happen - I fear it will not but maybe £1300 - that would be nice if buying less so if selling.