Pete

PM's are not considered a good investment for your average punter.  a nice safe well spread investment portfolio in an isa.  managed at maybe 1.5 per cent yearly fees will have served you far better over the years.
more so if you had been on the aggressive side of stock investments.   its easy, its fairly safe..  consider the fee what you would have to pay to store your PM's 
investing in any one asset class is high risk.   even if you consider it a low risk asset.   
day trading.. 90 per cent of people lose most of their money fairly quickly. especially the ones who make a lot to start with .  you are just guessing unless you have inside info  and even if you know enough to have a 60/40 advantage, one day a random event will wipe you out.
 

I quote you - "I’m sat on the fence now that prices are increasing wether or not to continue buying"
You haven't experienced the highs and lows yet so a very very long way to go.
Unfortunately no-one has a time machine to predict future prices.
Potentially good upside in silver, gold seems a safe investment but PMs can change direction overnight so PMs are classed as fairly high risk.
 
 

I am ignoring VAT in comparing buy & sell prices.
Peer to peer pricing in gold bullion is very similar compared to the main dealers.
Platinum is a real mystery ( it wasn't always like this ) even with peer to peer.
If a dealer will buy a one ounce Pt coin for say 96% of spot I really cannot see why they need to sell at say 20% or higher over spot.
Surely their business is primarily based on flipping inventory and working on modest margins which are determined by competition.
Sitting on inventory is risky with price volatility, anything else is opportunist and speculation.

I am ignoring VAT in comparing buy & sell prices.
Peer to peer pricing in gold bullion is very similar compared to the main dealers.
Platinum is a real mystery ( it wasn't always like this ) even with peer to peer.
If a dealer will buy a one ounce Pt coin for say 96% of spot I really cannot see why they need to sell at say 20% or higher over spot.
Surely their business is primarily based on flipping inventory and working on modest margins which are determined by competition.
Sitting on inventory is risky with price volatility, anything else is opportunist and speculation.

It is both a roller-coaster and a gamble.
If you were lucky enough to buy on a big dip you will be up, but can spot slide back down - yes.
As soon as some big announcement is made by the Fed - e.g. a nice jump in interest rates - many of the big institutions will move into cash and bonds.
As Covid slowly fades away in the G20 there could be nice rises in stock markets with the big gold buyers switching into funds so gold can dive.
So .. so...so .. unpredictable.
I am not buying any gold at current prices and may regret that but why is platinum still relatively cheap compared to gold ?
It is rarer, more expensive to mine and was once much more valuable than gold so which of the two metals is 'artificially' priced ?


 

I didn’t mean stopping altogether just which way to go bullion or semi with the prices not being much different. In the long run the low mintage semis would be worth more because of the rarity or is that a trap I’m falling into in my naivety ?
You are correct I’ve not experienced the highs and lows as I’ve only been stacking / collecting for a couple of months. I was thinking 5-10 years before any proper benefit .

Replacement inset arrived today from @Alun to accommodate the 'Completer' in his lovely walnut wooden box.

I quote you - "I’m sat on the fence now that prices are increasing wether or not to continue buying"
You haven't experienced the highs and lows yet so a very very long way to go.
Unfortunately no-one has a time machine to predict future prices.
Potentially good upside in silver, gold seems a safe investment but PMs can change direction overnight so PMs are classed as fairly high risk.
 
 

Arrived today and mentioned in the 'received today' section for more blurb.
Two brand new 2022 silver Britannia's - near horizontal runway track letter D to eye on the left and multiple small pits everywhere on the right coin with fine scuff on cheek. Anyone who asks - I generally wear white cotton gloves handling all my coins but when you handle c**p coins there is no need.
   

Replacement inset arrived today from @Alun to accommodate the 'Completer' in his lovely walnut wooden box.

Arrived today and mentioned in the 'received today' section for more blurb.
Two brand new 2022 silver Britannia's - near horizontal runway track letter D to eye on the left and multiple small pits everywhere on the right coin with fine scuff on cheek. Anyone who asks - I generally wear white cotton gloves handling all my coins but when you handle c**p coins there is no need.
   

Replacement inset arrived today from @Alun to accommodate the 'Completer' in his lovely walnut wooden box.

Replacement inset arrived today from @Alun to accommodate the 'Completer' in his lovely walnut wooden box.

Replacement inset arrived today from @Alun to accommodate the 'Completer' in his lovely walnut wooden box.

Replacement inset arrived today from @Alun to accommodate the 'Completer' in his lovely walnut wooden box.

Replacement inset arrived today from @Alun to accommodate the 'Completer' in his lovely walnut wooden box.

Seeing a couple of Geiger bars sell recently the Forum I just brought mine out for fresh air.

 

Having received an email today from Atkinsons I was excited about the opportunity to continue my date run sets with the 2022 Kookaburra and the Lunar Tiger.
Then I checked prices on GS.be and even adding in 20% VAT and expensive shipping ( got to built up an order for say 10 ounces but that's easy ! ) I am very dismayed at the Atkinsons margins - are they trying it on ? I just bought a couple of other coins from them so why the excessive premiums ?
 

I hope the buyer of this coin wasn't half asleep when he made his / her bid.
I thought "WTF" - a real bargain until you read the small print or closely examine the photo.
Okay nothing hidden - but no mention of 1/10th ounce in the title.
An easy trap to fall in to.

Thanks guys.

Sadly there is NO COMPARISON between a dealer price and what you can expect to get when selling for modern sets excluding a few special years.
Dealers list proof sovereigns and sets at a high price because they can and that might attract a buyer who doesn't know any better.
I have personal experience when I sold most of my proof sovereigns and Britannias, many with very limited mintages.
I ended up selling at bullion prices and below spot to a well known London dealer.
I tried to sell proof sets to all the known dealers who sell similar sets with 50% to 100% markups hoping to get something above spot price - BUT NO CHANCE !!
I even had one of these dealers offer me sovereigns proof sets at 5% above spot because they weren't selling.
Times change and there will always be an exception but I have a several containers of empty proof boxes and certificates as a reminder.

Sadly there is NO COMPARISON between a dealer price and what you can expect to get when selling for modern sets excluding a few special years.
Dealers list proof sovereigns and sets at a high price because they can and that might attract a buyer who doesn't know any better.
I have personal experience when I sold most of my proof sovereigns and Britannias, many with very limited mintages.
I ended up selling at bullion prices and below spot to a well known London dealer.
I tried to sell proof sets to all the known dealers who sell similar sets with 50% to 100% markups hoping to get something above spot price - BUT NO CHANCE !!
I even had one of these dealers offer me sovereigns proof sets at 5% above spot because they weren't selling.
Times change and there will always be an exception but I have a several containers of empty proof boxes and certificates as a reminder.

Sadly there is NO COMPARISON between a dealer price and what you can expect to get when selling for modern sets excluding a few special years.
Dealers list proof sovereigns and sets at a high price because they can and that might attract a buyer who doesn't know any better.
I have personal experience when I sold most of my proof sovereigns and Britannias, many with very limited mintages.
I ended up selling at bullion prices and below spot to a well known London dealer.
I tried to sell proof sets to all the known dealers who sell similar sets with 50% to 100% markups hoping to get something above spot price - BUT NO CHANCE !!
I even had one of these dealers offer me sovereigns proof sets at 5% above spot because they weren't selling.
Times change and there will always be an exception but I have a several containers of empty proof boxes and certificates as a reminder.

It is a real shame that some Mints have on going problems with milk spotting whereas others seem to avoid it.
I am 100% certain that the producers know the cause but someone in the back office, possibly in the finance department, is still flogging a dead horse.
Maybe the domestic equivalent is to replenish your dishwater rather than get the last few plates washed in dirty water ?
 

Spotted or not, basic common bullion coins are priced with quite a spread depending on where they are sold, when and the last minute ( eBay panic buyers - sometimes but not always ).
Usually a clean coin will attract a slightly higher price than a marked one but not always; maybe within the difference between 1st and 2nd class postage.
As for special edition and proofs - personally I wouldn't want to pay anything much over regular bullion, so yes the premium can be lost forever.
I had multiple collections of proof Canadian fine silver coins, all certified with fancy box etc., but ended up selling for scrap.
Originally I planned to hold for a long time believing a later generation would see the rarity and history but once the spots appeared that killed it for me.
I now avoid all proof premium silver coins for this very reason.
Trying to remove milkiness with an eraser - impossible to avoid surface damage and fine scratches that will show up but who cares if it is just common bullion ?
A dull, stained Maple or Phillie is an eyesore and is really only worth its weight at spot to a dealer so give it a buff and at least have it looking "precious", nice and shiny !
I have cleaned milk stains by re-polishing the surface using jewellers rouge and a Dremel but if the coin is not highly polished to start with - i.e. a satin finish you will change its appearance which would be very noticeable.
Anything numi or semi numi LEAVE WELL ALONE if you are contemplating selling at a later date as it could loose a lot of its premium if touched.