dicker

I am a fair and open minded person and visited the Gold Shop.  Curiously for a 'Gold Shop' there was no gold on display but there was some jewellery.

I enquired if they had any coins for sale and a box was produced with some handled Proof 1980 - 90's Sovs - three in total.

These could be bought for the princely sum of £450 each(!). A Sov at this time could be bought from a dealer for 325.

Personally I will not be going back for another visit.

I have been a regular at HGM for the last couple of years.  I buy bullion Sovereigns from any era and have always been impressed with the quality of the coins.  Coins are described on the HGM website as 'Bullion' or 'Better than bullion', and I always go for better than bullion and have not once been disappointed.  I have received from really nice coins - one Gillick that I suspect would grade as MS65.

One good thing to note is that when buying from HGM, you receive text messages from the Royal Mail informing you when your coins were received, and when they will be delivered - handy if you are not always at home.

I have used Bullion by post several times over the last 18 months to acquire coins that re less liquid in the UK (i.e. specific issue Australian Gold Nuggets from some of the earlier years they were minted).

They appear to have a good stock level of 'interesting' coins both bullion and proof (i.e. they are dispatched immediately and dont seem to be shipped in).

Service is very good, and friendly, but the prices from what I have experienced are on the 'toppy' side.

The Perth Mint as a dealer is an OUTSTANDING place to buy PM's in person and excellent online.

The PM stocks all of their own bullion and proof products as well as selling specimen nuggets and some older numismatic coins.

In person the service is the best I have ever had at a dealer.  You can examine what you are buying in a relaxed and trusted manner - small bars to very large gold bars, silver bars, and of course you can chose which ones you want to purchase.

There is a separate and discreet area you can go to make your purchases whether you are buying a 1oz Kangaroo or more exotic coins.  

The staff are really very good, treating each individual as a potential trusted buyer and they are very happy to spend time and not rush.

I visit the PM each time I am in Perth because it is such a good experience.

Cambridgeshire Coins is both an online and physical store.  They are based in Cambridge and have an interesting selection of coins available for sale - a bit of everything from ancient to modern, with a good selection of interesting Sovereigns, ranging from modern day Sovereigns to Shieldbacks plus Guineas.

You need to call ahead so they can bring stock into the store.  Friendly and knowledgeable service is a given when dealing with them.

Allgood Coin is located in St George, Utah.

I dropped in as part of a much bigger road trip and did not specifically target this dealer.  The shop is located on the 1st floor of a mall type building and has a very wide selection of US Constitutional silver (LOTS of Morgans, Liberties etc etc).  There is also a good selection of US coins - Pre '33 and modern.  This is coupled with good number of reference books (new and second hand) as well as completed collection books of coins etc.

The shop is good, but the welcome was not that warm to be honest, and I did not feel welcomed.  It is worth noting that they only take cash - no credit cards or bank transfers....

Kalgoorlie is what you might term an 'interesting' place.  It is of course the heart of the Australian gold mining industry and Natural Gold Nuggets is located there.

The shop is a mix of gold nuggets (some exceptionally pretty), jewellery and some mineral samples.

Friendly, very knowledgeable ad easy to deal with face to face.  The website gives a very good idea about the quality and size of the nuggets available to buy

Sterling & Currency sounds like a Bureau de change...but this is not the case.  It is located in Freemantle Western Australia in the corner of a small courtyard.

S & C is run by Andrew Crellin an Australian numismatist who does extensive research into specific coins that are rare important and interesting.

I have purchased from S&C on a relatively recent trip to Australia, having communicated over mail ahead of arriving at their offices.

Great knowledge and of course some very interesting coins (especially Sovereigns).