Uksilverstackers

Sooo, with all eyes and attention diverted to the Queens Beasts release on Monday, only one person spotted this lonely Three Graces looking for a home....
Not sure if its going to arrive or what condition it’ll be in (as maybe its a return) but will be happy just to have one if it does  🤗 
Just awaiting on the “cancelled order” email...
 

Sooo, with all eyes and attention diverted to the Queens Beasts release on Monday, only one person spotted this lonely Three Graces looking for a home....
Not sure if its going to arrive or what condition it’ll be in (as maybe its a return) but will be happy just to have one if it does  🤗 
Just awaiting on the “cancelled order” email...
 

Guess RM couldn’t align their dating processes as it hasn’t got the new design and security feature as the 2021 1oz Britannia. Do like it though 👍

Hi guys,
Is this year the first year RM released the Britannia silver coin in the 10oz size? How cool is this coin? Love!

what happened to the Perth Mint? they were ahead of the curve when they ran out silver 😛

Silver Bullion Coin Supply Update
We went to buy more 2021 silver Britannias today, only to be told:
"2021 Silver Britannias - Major Supply Issues at the (Royal) Mint From xxx - 'The mint are having major production issues on silver at the moment so we are temporarily halting silver Britannia orders until we get some clear guidance on when more coins will be available. I will reach out to you again once we can offer these coins.'"   and  from yyy also not able to take orders on silver brits, citing the same issues as above.   You are probably all aware there have been supply problems for the last year or more with supply of silver bullion coins. We recently thought it was getting better, but the above news sank our hearts slightly.   I shared that information with a number journalists, asking if they know any more, and whether this was just at the British Royal Mint, or a worldife problem. One answer included:   "In a message released Friday, May 28, we made reference to a global shortage of silver. In more precise terms, the silver shortage being experienced by the United States Mint pertains only to the supply of silver blanks among suppliers to the U.S. Mint.

Please see the updated message below reflecting this clarification.

The United States Mint is committed to providing the best possible online experience to its customers. The Mint is being impacted by silver blank shortages among its suppliers. The demand for many of our bullion and numismatic products is at record heights and increasingly outpacing the supply of silver blanks available through our suppliers. This level of demand is felt most acutely by the Mint during the initial product release of numismatic items. Most recently in the pre-order window for 2021 Morgan Silver Dollars with Carson City privy mark (21XC) and New Orleans privy mark (21XD), the extraordinary volume of web traffic caused significant numbers of Mint customers to experience website anomalies that resulted in their inability to complete transactions."   We don't know what the main problem is at the British Royal Mint, but we did get similar responses about a month ago, but we were then able to buy a few days later. (I think we are still waiting for these to arrive). If I get to hear any more, I will relay it, but meanwhile it sounds like things are not getting back to normal as quickly as I thought.  

To understand things, it makes sense to analyse it into different parts.
First, not all coin/bar dealer businesses are the same.
Some are mainly distributors, and handle almost exclusively new goods. If their customers are happy to buy on the understanding they will have to wait because there are transport and production delays, then these distributors can continue doing business. On the other hand if they have some customers who are not prepared to wait, but must have something now, then it makes sense to increase the price / premium for those items they do have in stock. Wouldn't you as a stacker do the same thing? Is this ripping buyers off?
Then there are more traditional dealers who actually "make a market", principally on previously owned secondary market goods. If buyers are queuing ups, but there anr not many sellers, again the normal strategy is to move buying and selling premiums up slightly. I know this is in the "silver" section, but let me give you an example using (gold) Krugerrands. Assume that in normal time, we buy and 99% and sell at 101%. In a period of high demand, we could sell out in a few hours, and not be able to buy many in, so we move our spreads to buying 100%, selling 102%. If this balances supply and demand, then we can continue trading smoothly.
Then there are small local coin shops. They probably do a mixture of the above, but just on a smaller scale. If they relay on replenishing stock from a bigger distributor or market maker, then they probably just add their normal margin to whatever they get quoted, meanwhile probably making slightly higher offers on itesm coming in over the counter.
I have already touched on this, but then there are also private individuals, stackers, and investors. If they can get higher prices / premiums than normal, they might be tempted to sell some of their holdings, and either buy from a big dealer for future delivery, switch into a different metal, or wait until peak demand subsides.
From the above, it can be seen that there is not much difference between dealers and private individuals when it comes to decisions on pricing, buying or selling.
Going back in time to the global credit banking crisis of 2007/8/9, I remember seeing a Krugerrand sell on ebay for an astonishing 27% premium. What a crazy buyer, and what a lucky, or opportunistic seller.
Lastly, I believe that some, if not all mints, increase their premiums during high demand times, most big distributors certainly do, and shipping oosts increase. 

'These “blank” bottlenecks have occurred a few times over the past few years as the U.S. Mint has had to suspend shipments to authorized purchasers due to an inability to keep up with demand. In 2015, the shortage of silver planchets was so severe that the U.S. Mint was unable to produce and deliver American Silver Eagles to Authorized Purchasers for almost the entire month of September.'
https://blog.bgasc.com/why-are-2019-american-silver-eagle-sales-down-at-the-us-mint/
 
the years for bottleneck to supply silver blanks should include 2008/9, 2013, 2015, maybe also 2019.
 
HH

I see coin/bar dealer businesses that need to move stock to make a profit to stay in business, but when looking at their webpages it mostly says out of stock and yes the items they do have in stock the premiums have increased.
Is that ripping buyers off, or a business trying to stay solvent and keep trading? 
 
No different to other retail shops etc. 
Everyone has a choice to choose to pay the price or not. The retailer needs customers.

I dont think the dealers are to blame, it is almost impossible to get the retail product at the wholesale level, and things were tight before the squeeze started. the price of silver on this forum and on fleabay has been converging with that of the dealers so its the fair market price for retail silver. The crime that the dealers  are still offering sub spot prices for buying your silver.
The problem is that without retail investment demand, the silver market has a surplus, and the average investment demand reduces the surplus so that things even out.
However, since last year, the investment demand, and the covid related closure of silver mines, means that the market is in a significant deficit. 
Going forward, the refineries have to decide whether to meet retail demand (coins, small bars) or to serve the industry. Typically, the industry does not hoard silver like individuals do, by operating just in time inventories, and given that the silver component of most finished goods is very small, industrial users will be able to pay more than we are for silver.  This will cause silver to rise to $50 and beyond, in order to entice retail investors to sell their silver back.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, buy platinum !! there's no hype there, and the platinum to silver ratio remains at all time record lows. You do not often get trade set ups like this
 

It will rise in price....but if people think its a get rich quick short term plan..they will be sadly mistaken..silver and gold is an savings/investment plan..I'm doing it for my pension..or part of my pension 5-10 year max plan....
 
 

Some people probably said that about £300, £200, £100..... 😉

If you literally want to start small, take a look at the 2007 25th Anniversary Set as a challenge, they are only 1/25oz and the full set makes up to 1oz....
There was also a silver version which was  comprised of 1/4oz coins.
 
Peter Anthony: The 2007 (1984) 15 Yuan 1/25 oz. gold Panda is part of the 2007 Twenty-fifth Anniversary Set and has a mintage of 18,000. The 2007 Twenty-fifth Anniversary gold and silver coins are the largest sets of Pandas ever issued. Each coin recaps the design from one of the twenty-four prior years on one face and on the other carries an image of the Temple of Heaven plus the anniversary statement. Originally the coins were shipped in lavish boxes, Inside each box there were five rows of coins inside clear plastic strips. Each of the 15 Yuan gold coins weighs 1/25 of a troy oz. so the 25 coins add up to one ounce of gold. 
The anniversary gold coins were well protected in the original plastic holders and most have graded well: PF70 or PF69.

I haven’t been in their shop but I’ve ordered from their website a few times and their service is great. I’ve had a few nice Sovereigns and 1oz Silver coins from them. I’ve asked for specific date Sovereigns too and they’ve accommodated my request.
If you have a query they respond to emails quickly too and are very helpful.

Thanks for mentioning Peter Anthony:
The Gold and Silver Panda Coin Buyer’s Guide by Peter Anthony is a comprehensive reference book that is a must-have for any serious Panda collector.

Well i can't disagree with that. Palladium rocketed in price b/c there was a real life short squeeze. Palladium is a very small market. There was all the business with diesel engines and VW and platinum exhausts a few years back. There was a switch to palladium and a physical shortage developed. Paper cannot paper over this sort of situation. Price exploded and is still climbing. 
Platinum is another small market. A concerted effort would blow it up. Now whether this would feed back into the monetary metals is another matter. i suspect it could be contained. 
Blow up the silver market and you blow up gold. They are both monetary metals. Blow up gold and Houston we have a problem in Fiat land.

Ah when sovereigns were £60 a piece, those were the days!
And to think I thought shield sovereigns were overpriced at £80 each.

Some people probably said that about £300, £200, £100..... 😉

Some people probably said that about £300, £200, £100..... 😉

Some people probably said that about £300, £200, £100..... 😉