Pete

The final value fee is calculated as 12.8% of the total amount of the sale (which includes the item price, postage, taxes and any other applicable fees), plus a fixed charge of 30p per order. If the total amount of the sale is over £2,500 for a single item, you'll pay 3% for the portion of the sale price above £2,500.

Gold is trading at a historic high and silver is bumping along with hopefully much more upside potential but how long a wait for £30 per ounce spot ?
Prices for American Silver Eagles are crazy and especially attractive for sellers in the USA.
I am surprised that people are currently selling silver and buying gold.
Personally I feel that as long as you hold PMs you are kind of protecting purchasing power in fiat, so unless you need the cash, don't get rid of your PMs.
Is gold a better buy than silver ?
Only time will tell and half will get it wrong so go with your gut and not what you read as no-one knows and there are no guarantees.

 
 

Expect to pay spot +5% for gold ( 22ct and 24ct ) and spot + 50% for silver coins ( 999 silver ).
You may find silver cheaper from sellers on this forum but factoring in VAT and delivery you will likely pay £30 for a one ounce coin or bar unless buying a tube of 20-25.
As a newcomer to this addiction I strongly advise staying well away from anything on eBay that looks cheap.
Buy your first tranche of coins from well known dealers like Atkinsons, BullionbyPost, Chards, Bleyer, SilverTrader etc. or from a forum member with 100% feedback selling PMs.
Once you have the real product and understand specifications and can check them all, then if you feel inclined try out eBay BUT often prices can work out higher and you will frequently wonder if you bought a fake and the stress can outweigh the nominal perceived saving.

Gold is trading at a historic high and silver is bumping along with hopefully much more upside potential but how long a wait for £30 per ounce spot ?
Prices for American Silver Eagles are crazy and especially attractive for sellers in the USA.
I am surprised that people are currently selling silver and buying gold.
Personally I feel that as long as you hold PMs you are kind of protecting purchasing power in fiat, so unless you need the cash, don't get rid of your PMs.
Is gold a better buy than silver ?
Only time will tell and half will get it wrong so go with your gut and not what you read as no-one knows and there are no guarantees.

 
 

Anyone qualified to conduct a proper ( thorough ) financial review - sounds as if the bank is following the rules - has to know everything about you.
Then you will be asked about your plans, expenditure, etc. AND your attitude to risk building in all the contingencies so that you can sustain a certain standard of living.
This is mandatory these days.
The financial advisor will then provide a summary and tailored advice which you can accept, or not, as you please.
Ultimately the bank or financial advisor is hoping you will accept their recommendations which usually means they will take a small slice of your wealth for the advice which can be many thousands of pounds for really very little work.
How they make their money is through trail commissions over many years taking a small percentage of everything but it adds up.
Over the years to follow this can be a considerable sum but hopefully your portfolio still increases in real value but low risk also means struggling to keep pace with inflation.
Then if your pot grows really well and if you own a property in the SE of England ( or London ) you will likely need to plan for Inheritance Tax.

What say you Mr @LawrenceChard?
This is costly mistake https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64210355
He should have gone to Afghanistcan with me - see what i did there!!! 

Many sellers on this forum set a fair price after doing research and buyers will also have done their homework.
In this instance a buyer will pay the seller's price.
When a particular coin has become harder to find or the price makes it more difficult to sell, then there is no harm in trying to negotiate and depending on the seller perhaps needing to sell rather than just see what the market will bear, a deal can possibly be struck.
Where a seller's expectations are off-the-scale then a knowledgeable buyer will not even attempt to make an offer as perceived as pointless.
Trading gold for silver requires acceptance that the spot ratio is not a good one for swapping.
If a one ounce gold coin is worth £1,600 and it costs £32 to buy a decent one ounce silver coin then the ratio is 50 silver coins.
However based on spot, metal values, the ratio is 78 silver ounces for an ounce of gold.
The question is where in this big range could a deal be struck ?
 

Hello all,
I’m trying to get The Royal Mint to finally stop selling silver coins/bars with milk spotting issues. 
If you want to support my cause please sign the below petition (it’s free!)
https://chng.it/yd2ctqWh9Y

It would be interesting to know what fellow members set as their redline threshold in premium over spot for not buying (a) a sovereign and (b) a one ounce gold Britannia or similar.
My threshold is 5% for a coin that I would like to buy rather than just pick-up.
 

Many sellers on this forum set a fair price after doing research and buyers will also have done their homework.
In this instance a buyer will pay the seller's price.
When a particular coin has become harder to find or the price makes it more difficult to sell, then there is no harm in trying to negotiate and depending on the seller perhaps needing to sell rather than just see what the market will bear, a deal can possibly be struck.
Where a seller's expectations are off-the-scale then a knowledgeable buyer will not even attempt to make an offer as perceived as pointless.
Trading gold for silver requires acceptance that the spot ratio is not a good one for swapping.
If a one ounce gold coin is worth £1,600 and it costs £32 to buy a decent one ounce silver coin then the ratio is 50 silver coins.
However based on spot, metal values, the ratio is 78 silver ounces for an ounce of gold.
The question is where in this big range could a deal be struck ?
 

Just wait until Labour wins the next election and they will come knocking on your door for your stack like the Sheriff of Nottingham during Robin Hood's era.
 

It would be interesting to know what fellow members set as their redline threshold in premium over spot for not buying (a) a sovereign and (b) a one ounce gold Britannia or similar.
My threshold is 5% for a coin that I would like to buy rather than just pick-up.
 

It would be interesting to know what fellow members set as their redline threshold in premium over spot for not buying (a) a sovereign and (b) a one ounce gold Britannia or similar.
My threshold is 5% for a coin that I would like to buy rather than just pick-up.
 

The Chinese fake copies are hard to spot as they are manufactured to a very high quality trying to replicate the genuine item.
You can purchase thousands of coins for very little money and sell them on eBay as many cheats already do without any apparent prosecution etc.
Would you be able to detect a good fake ?
There are many tests available and many fallible.
Having the genuine item on hand for comparison is always a good starting point.
A genuine coin can feel different and if you spin it on a hard desk it rings differently.
Bad fakes are very easy to spot because the cameo is wrong, there are obvious errors on the strike, some can be magnetic.
Usually the give away of a good replica is it is too thick because people measure diameter very accurately and thickness is more difficult as you have to ignore the rim.
Acid tests are no good because fakes can be plated and you really don't want to damage your coin with acid or a file.
Replicating silver, gold and platinum is easy visually but without a proper scientific analyser to measure the metal you can try a specific gravity test.
This measurement takes precision but it will definitely pick out a fake if done with care.
Would a seller ever accept the coin supplied was a fake ?
They could argue you substituted it etc.
Finally - avoid buying from someone you cannot trust and if concerned walk away - the savings can be minimal but the worry later just isn't worth it.
 
 

I came across a problem once with the specifications of a coin.
Due to an error the dimensions were published incorrectly and everyone else simply copied and pasted so the error was everywhere.
The fact that your coin is smaller that the spec means the spec has been written down incorrectly.
You should email the Mint and see if you get a response.

Expect to pay spot +5% for gold ( 22ct and 24ct ) and spot + 50% for silver coins ( 999 silver ).
You may find silver cheaper from sellers on this forum but factoring in VAT and delivery you will likely pay £30 for a one ounce coin or bar unless buying a tube of 20-25.
As a newcomer to this addiction I strongly advise staying well away from anything on eBay that looks cheap.
Buy your first tranche of coins from well known dealers like Atkinsons, BullionbyPost, Chards, Bleyer, SilverTrader etc. or from a forum member with 100% feedback selling PMs.
Once you have the real product and understand specifications and can check them all, then if you feel inclined try out eBay BUT often prices can work out higher and you will frequently wonder if you bought a fake and the stress can outweigh the nominal perceived saving.

"Buy and Sell" in the blue banner top of page below the logo.

Gold is trading at a historic high and silver is bumping along with hopefully much more upside potential but how long a wait for £30 per ounce spot ?
Prices for American Silver Eagles are crazy and especially attractive for sellers in the USA.
I am surprised that people are currently selling silver and buying gold.
Personally I feel that as long as you hold PMs you are kind of protecting purchasing power in fiat, so unless you need the cash, don't get rid of your PMs.
Is gold a better buy than silver ?
Only time will tell and half will get it wrong so go with your gut and not what you read as no-one knows and there are no guarantees.

 
 

Welcome to the silver addicts club.
Once you get started you will need your habitual regular fix !!
Advice to a noob from a seasoned old fart -
1. Cut your teeth on sovereigns ( maybe consider half sovereigns - BUT make sure you can tell the difference !!! )
I've seen people confuse a half and a full and believe me unless you hold both at the same time you have a 50% chance of getting this wrong.
2. If buying silver - good place to start, as relatively cheap compared to gold - DO NOT BUY YOUR FIRST COINS ON E_BAY.
Stick to popular bullion one ounce coins like Britannias, Maples, American Eagles, Philharmonics, Libertads, Pandas etc.
I strongly recommend you buy from sellers on this forum with a perfect feedback score as you will most likely get the best prices.
Failing that check out the popular dealers - BullionbyPost, Atkinsons, Chards, SilverTrader and others and look for the best deal taking into account VAT and postage as some of these sellers add VAT to their headline price and some include shipping.
3. Buy digital scales for about £10-20 that can measure to 0.01g.
4. Ensure you have a reference to the coins you buy stating dimensions, weights etc. and be able to measure these things and understand that modern fakes from China can look perfect but there are tests you can do and that's why until you have some experience and genuine coins in your inventory only then can you consider eBay and Facebook etc. which are ripe in fakes but not from many reputable sellers - only you don't know who they are yet.
This forum can be your best friend so be prepared to spend time reading various posts.
Most questions will be answered here and if you wish to start your collection say in silver place a Wanted in the trade section stating what you are seeking, quantity and ideally price you are prepared to pay after checking the dealers etc and maybe even sold on eBay listings so you know market prices. Most if not all sellers on this site have done their homework so be realistic in expectations to gain the best responses.

A bullion coin has 2 prices - scrap meaning spot or thereabouts for the raw metal and market price - what punters are prepared to pay.
I recall the days when you could purchase Eagles at a few dollars over spot making them amongst the cheapest bullion silver around.
Not sure what has changed in the USA, perhaps lower mintages or panic switching from fiat to metal as retaining value.
Paying a premium is risking that the interest will not wane but I suspect prices will fall so look for the cheapest silver at the moment.

Depending on your age, when you are likely to retire, other assets and the amount of money you are wanting to invest here are my suggestion -
1. Pay off any debt that charges interest higher than you can get for depositing cash in a bank savings account.

2. If you have a mortgage and if the worst happened and you could loose your house then maybe pay off some of the loan.
3. If you are a tax payer then consider paying money into a SIPP and get full tax credit into your SIPP.
This assumes you are not wanting to use SIPP money until aged 55+
Ignoring the tax relief offered is a big mistake.
Use your SIPP money to buy UK Equity Growth Funds that are always hot on the list of financial advisors with billions in value.
4. Ensure you have adequate cash to cover living expenses for at least 6 months and keep this cash in an ISA.
5. Finally if there is anything left over buy gold at as close to spot as you can find but generally 3% or less if you can find any.
It doesn't really matter whether you buy Krugerands, Maples, Britannia etc just look for 24ct rather than 22ct.
Sovereigns are extremely popular and easy to sell above spot but you pay over spot for them so if you see a bargain then go for it.
6. There is no harm in buying silver so all the popular coins and bars come to mind but selling to a bullion dealer will only get you close to spot but buying silver cost 20% more due to the VAT. You can ignore the VAT selling privately where you will pay more than spot + premium but sell for spot + premium with VAT equivalent included both buying and selling i.e. built-in to the price. Some stackers reckon silver has much more potential upside because compared to gold it is seen as cheap but that's been the story for many years now.
7. Gold definitely seems to win out BUT..BUT.. no-one can predict the future price and even though it is easily traded with small margins, you are speculating that the price will rise. There are as many "experts" believing gold will rise as fall but hopefully over the longer term ( i.e. decades ) as a minimum it will retain its original value whilst fiat currencies through inflation and QE will depreciate significantly.
8. Remember the wise advice of DIVERSIFY and don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Please note that I am not a financial advisor or qualified to give advice, just an ordinary forum member who has seen and experienced good and bad in a wide variety of sectors & investments over the years and just willing to share my personal views hoping it can help others.

Welcome to the silver addicts club.
Once you get started you will need your habitual regular fix !!
Advice to a noob from a seasoned old fart -
1. Cut your teeth on sovereigns ( maybe consider half sovereigns - BUT make sure you can tell the difference !!! )
I've seen people confuse a half and a full and believe me unless you hold both at the same time you have a 50% chance of getting this wrong.
2. If buying silver - good place to start, as relatively cheap compared to gold - DO NOT BUY YOUR FIRST COINS ON E_BAY.
Stick to popular bullion one ounce coins like Britannias, Maples, American Eagles, Philharmonics, Libertads, Pandas etc.
I strongly recommend you buy from sellers on this forum with a perfect feedback score as you will most likely get the best prices.
Failing that check out the popular dealers - BullionbyPost, Atkinsons, Chards, SilverTrader and others and look for the best deal taking into account VAT and postage as some of these sellers add VAT to their headline price and some include shipping.
3. Buy digital scales for about £10-20 that can measure to 0.01g.
4. Ensure you have a reference to the coins you buy stating dimensions, weights etc. and be able to measure these things and understand that modern fakes from China can look perfect but there are tests you can do and that's why until you have some experience and genuine coins in your inventory only then can you consider eBay and Facebook etc. which are ripe in fakes but not from many reputable sellers - only you don't know who they are yet.
This forum can be your best friend so be prepared to spend time reading various posts.
Most questions will be answered here and if you wish to start your collection say in silver place a Wanted in the trade section stating what you are seeking, quantity and ideally price you are prepared to pay after checking the dealers etc and maybe even sold on eBay listings so you know market prices. Most if not all sellers on this site have done their homework so be realistic in expectations to gain the best responses.

With counterfeit certificate as well.  
 
Vile. 

Welcome to the silver addicts club.
Once you get started you will need your habitual regular fix !!
Advice to a noob from a seasoned old fart -
1. Cut your teeth on sovereigns ( maybe consider half sovereigns - BUT make sure you can tell the difference !!! )
I've seen people confuse a half and a full and believe me unless you hold both at the same time you have a 50% chance of getting this wrong.
2. If buying silver - good place to start, as relatively cheap compared to gold - DO NOT BUY YOUR FIRST COINS ON E_BAY.
Stick to popular bullion one ounce coins like Britannias, Maples, American Eagles, Philharmonics, Libertads, Pandas etc.
I strongly recommend you buy from sellers on this forum with a perfect feedback score as you will most likely get the best prices.
Failing that check out the popular dealers - BullionbyPost, Atkinsons, Chards, SilverTrader and others and look for the best deal taking into account VAT and postage as some of these sellers add VAT to their headline price and some include shipping.
3. Buy digital scales for about £10-20 that can measure to 0.01g.
4. Ensure you have a reference to the coins you buy stating dimensions, weights etc. and be able to measure these things and understand that modern fakes from China can look perfect but there are tests you can do and that's why until you have some experience and genuine coins in your inventory only then can you consider eBay and Facebook etc. which are ripe in fakes but not from many reputable sellers - only you don't know who they are yet.
This forum can be your best friend so be prepared to spend time reading various posts.
Most questions will be answered here and if you wish to start your collection say in silver place a Wanted in the trade section stating what you are seeking, quantity and ideally price you are prepared to pay after checking the dealers etc and maybe even sold on eBay listings so you know market prices. Most if not all sellers on this site have done their homework so be realistic in expectations to gain the best responses.

Welcome to the silver addicts club.
Once you get started you will need your habitual regular fix !!
Advice to a noob from a seasoned old fart -
1. Cut your teeth on sovereigns ( maybe consider half sovereigns - BUT make sure you can tell the difference !!! )
I've seen people confuse a half and a full and believe me unless you hold both at the same time you have a 50% chance of getting this wrong.
2. If buying silver - good place to start, as relatively cheap compared to gold - DO NOT BUY YOUR FIRST COINS ON E_BAY.
Stick to popular bullion one ounce coins like Britannias, Maples, American Eagles, Philharmonics, Libertads, Pandas etc.
I strongly recommend you buy from sellers on this forum with a perfect feedback score as you will most likely get the best prices.
Failing that check out the popular dealers - BullionbyPost, Atkinsons, Chards, SilverTrader and others and look for the best deal taking into account VAT and postage as some of these sellers add VAT to their headline price and some include shipping.
3. Buy digital scales for about £10-20 that can measure to 0.01g.
4. Ensure you have a reference to the coins you buy stating dimensions, weights etc. and be able to measure these things and understand that modern fakes from China can look perfect but there are tests you can do and that's why until you have some experience and genuine coins in your inventory only then can you consider eBay and Facebook etc. which are ripe in fakes but not from many reputable sellers - only you don't know who they are yet.
This forum can be your best friend so be prepared to spend time reading various posts.
Most questions will be answered here and if you wish to start your collection say in silver place a Wanted in the trade section stating what you are seeking, quantity and ideally price you are prepared to pay after checking the dealers etc and maybe even sold on eBay listings so you know market prices. Most if not all sellers on this site have done their homework so be realistic in expectations to gain the best responses.