GoodAsGold

On 24/05/2023 at 19:26, bluffer said:

are they the loose coins or on the RM cards?  I still need some.

I think I still have the RM cards and the BU coins are just in individual plastic wrappers. I never ripped them open and put them in the card’s slots. PM me if I can help.

On 10/03/2023 at 14:43, StackemHigh said:

Anyone got the 10p a to z coins?

Apologies for the late reply but I found myself clicking on the non-PM section out of curiosity when searching for the Today I Received section.

Yes, I’ve got the 10p A to Zs (base metal) stashed somewhere. Bought them uncirculated from the Royal Mint at the time on a whim.

Are you missing any or after the lot, or perhaps you were just making polite conversation?

I have mine currently at NCS/NGC for conservation and grading prior to selling. I doubt it will achieve PF70UC because it looked like it had a small milk spot in the field behind Una’s head. I’ll bear you guys in mind in the meantime though.

I visited Chards for the first time last month and was hoping to see him there so I could say hi. I too enjoy his “highly insightful views” (as Dicker so well summed up) and  his upbeat sense of humour. I’m a bit concerned because we haven’t seen him at the Rogue Apostrophe club recently either - and it’s his round!

Mintages? Prices? Available to order date? Month you actually receive your order?

I don’t like all of this speculation. But you have to speculate to accumulate, as the saying goes.

On 18/05/2023 at 01:13, SeverinDigsSovereigns said:

And the matt £5 will have lower mintage than the proof. If I recall correctly the respective versions of Platinum Jubilee and Memorial £5 had the same mintages

Also completely the same as I'd guessed a while ago, hardly any surprising.

I think that the Platinum Jubilee proof £5 sovereign/Quintuple had a limited edition of 700 coins which were only available in the 5 coin box sets. Not 100% sure though. The MCM wouldn’t be many more.

The Memorial proof £5 sovereign/Quintuple had a limited edition of 1,200 coins and a MCM of 1,230. You’re right about the matte version having a lower mintage than the proof version, namely 1,000 limited edition coins and 1,010 MCM which numbers Westminstrel has since confirmed.

14 hours ago, BOOLIAN said:

One thing that I know for sure is that I will not be submitting myself to the pains of a multiple coin proof set for this one. I'm still recovering from my 3 exchanges for the Memorial set 🙃

I don’t see the problem myself. The box will be a work of art and will even have a QC sticker on it 😀

On 18/05/2023 at 00:56, westminstrel said:

If these figures are correct, it would seem they’ve increased the mintages of the Sovereign, Half Sovereign and Quarter Sovereign quite a margin compared to the Memorial range.

The Piedfort, £5 Proof and £5 Matte are lower.

 

Those mintages seem strange to me. I thought that the special one-off design of the Memorial sov series, along with the first effigy of KCIII would lead the RM to anticipate more demand for the Memorial sov itself rather than the forthcoming 2023 regular series. We know that the demand for that high number of Memorial sovs simply wasn’t there and the large numbers which were still available on the RM website just before the cut off date suddenly vanished overnight, presumably palmed off for others to sell on the Mint’s behalf.

I struggle to see why almost 20,000 regular 2023 sovereigns will sell better than the Memorial ones. Granted that the info passed to @Frenchie is not from an official source, we don’t know if that mintage number is LE or MCM and we don’t know the price. In comparison the Memorial sov cost £695 and the mintages were 17,500 LE and 23,160 MCM. It will be interesting to watch events whenever they’re on sale. It was kind of Frenchie to share what he was told though.

The suggested lower mintages of the Piedfort and the £5 coins seem sensible though.

15 hours ago, Frenchie said:

With all these releases in the last 9 months (Jubilee range, Jubilee Sovereign , Pattern, SOTDs, Memorial, £5, Piedfort,  Coronation Range, Coronation Sovereigns...) , this is like an endless race with FOMO and wallets are really put to the test and leads (at least for me) to some collector fatigue. 

Difficult choices today between enjoying life, taking some rest  with its little pleasures and  greed that pushes us to buy these highly priced coins  with FOMO which will finally go in a safety box for years 🙄 

The high mintages won't help in the short term. But the Coronation Sovereign will certainly be History and really sought after in the years to come... (as the 1989s) 

But I probably need to take some breath ! 

Is it a shared feeling ? 

 

Absolutely! I decided to take early retirement last year, safe in the knowledge that my cash savings should comfortably carry me through until when I want to claim some of my smaller pensions. Then the Queen passed away after the Platinum Jubilee release and then all of the other releases came out and I blew most of my spare cash on just some of them. My fault for liking quintuples and for not taking into account the death of Her Majesty when pension planning.

1 hour ago, Frenchie said:

Here are some informations about the coming Proof Coranation Sovereign mintages (not an official source, to be confirmed ! ) 

5 coin set : 1080

4 coins set : no information (probably RM exclusive)

3 coins set 1250

£5 Sovereign (matte ?) : 650

Sovereign 19805

Half Sovereign 5405

Quarter Sovereign 4655

Piedfort Sovereign  1260

Prices would be probably in the range of the Memorial Sovereigns range

 

 

 

The word on the streets is that those mintages are just @GoldDiggerDaves personal allocation.

According to my old notes there were several SOTD sovs in 2017 @SovCollector

1st SOTD = 6 Feb 2017 which was the 65th anniversary (Sapphire Jubilee) since Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen on the death of her father on 6 Feb 1952. The coin had a mintage of 750 and was a BU hand held triple strike. Reeded edge with narrow ribbing.

2nd SOTD = 1 Jul 2017 which was a plain edge BU sovereign with a mintage of 1,817 coins.

3rd SOTD = 20 Nov 2017 which was the 70th anniversary (Platinum Wedding Anniversary) of the marriage of the then Princess Elizabeth to Philip Mountbatten on 20 Nov 1947. Mintage of 750 coins. Almost identical to the 1st SOTD but it had wider ribbing on a reeded edge.

Therefore only the 1 Jul SOTD had a plain edge.

Finally there was the standard proof sov (which wasn’t standard at all with its magnificent garter design). Limited Edition mintage of 10,500 (individual boxes) and Maximum Coin mintage of 13,050 (including the ones in box sets).

I hope all of this info helps you in your quest.

I’ve seen 1989 NGC PF70 sovereigns being advertised for sale or selling at £2K on a FB group. Though the mintages were high, they seem to be in demand particularly by new collectors. I believe that 70 grades are difficult to obtain on the 1989 series which is now well over 30 years old. My own 4 coin set is currently with NCS/NGC for conservation and grading.

8 hours ago, Artictim said:

Rubbish photo but you get the jist. Double, half and quarter arrived this morning. After some pondering, decided to go for the full set. As ever, time will tell🤞

Thanks go to @ST1986 for these beauts. 

Wow. I’ve been keeping @ST1986 busy as well today, but not as much as you though. I’m looking forward to receiving the 5 sovereign piece which will be an upgrade to my raw matte quintuple.

Hi @ST1986

PM sent.

On 06/05/2023 at 08:27, Cornishfarmer said:

The sovereign is turning into the Brit, new design every year.    Historical sovereigns are special because they are one offs, the royal mint are churning out different designs and watering it down so much it will kill off collecting of the normal person

I take your point, particularly about it killing off collecting for the normal person. My concern is the issue prices of recent sovereign releases. The specials create extra customer demand hence the RM can name its price and we buy them if we can afford to do so. Should we decline the opportunity to buy, then FOMO along with even a short passage of time might make us think what was I doing not grabbing one when they were “so cheap” at issue price? The spot price of gold remains high into the bargain yet the baseline issue prices of even regular proof sovereigns will continue to increase regardless of spot or specials.

Sovereign collecting becomes more and more expensive and I feel that this will divert new collectors of proofs on to half sovs rather than full ones (purely because of affordability). The alternative is to collect bullion coins of course. 

With specials being the new norm in the last year or so (as determined by Royal events) I wonder how long it will be before we’re talking about special specials (2022 and 2023 for example) as opposed to normal specials or pretty average specials (2002 and 2005 I dare say with apologies)?

Interesting times, but let’s get back to traditional rather than modern anytime soon please. God save the King (at least until we’re ready for more specials) 😉

On 07/05/2023 at 09:00, JohnV66 said:

I'm waiting for that one too. I must be low in the Royal Mint pecking order.

Must've been a great day in London yesterday, Dave.

No wonder RM quality control is so c**p if they’re pecking the coins now!

On 01/05/2023 at 19:41, Paul said:

My little gripe with safe deposit box is paying insurance on top.

It's like saying. We are safe  but we ain't that safe.

How very true Paul. I sometimes struggle with the same gripe.

On 02/05/2023 at 08:19, TheShinyStuff said:

True, but the same could be said of any facility. I've nothing to hide from the law...

I’m sure you haven’t. My comments were made in jest because you’re on Nicola Sturgeon’s doorstep so to speak. Please don’t take it personally.

On 02/05/2023 at 08:54, timsk said:

Hi GAG,

You sound as if you might be able to offer some insight into the criminal mind, specifically burglars. My assumption is that burglars breaking into my home will fall into one of the following two categories:

A) They don't know that I'm a stacker/collector of PMs and target my house based on other criteria and are speculating that they'll find items of value to pinch such as TV, computer, tablet, and phone etc. They are not going to do a thorough and detailed search of the property because that takes time (which adds to their risk). Besides which, they don't know that they'll find anything anyway.

B)) They do know that I'm a stacker/collector of PMs and assume that I keep them at the property and will be looking for a safe, loose floorboards under carpets, large freezers, concealed bottoms of drawers etc., etc. What they may well find is empty boxes and packaging (no room for all of that in a SD box!) - but no coins. However, they will have confirmation that I have PMs somewhere.

If I'm correct about these two assumptions then, in my eyes, the only reason to have a SD box is to make a third assumption. . .

That criminals are watching my property and are waiting for obvious signs that it is empty, whereupon they'll force entry and ransack the place. Finding only empty boxes and packaging, they'll conclude there aren't any coins on the premises and depart empty handed - never to return again. To me, this seems highly improbable - as there are much better targets than a small bit player like me. If I was a criminal, I'd target someone who is likely to have a lot of PMs, such as the owner of one of the big YouTube channels. If I'm the target, they will be frustrated at finding nothing but boxes and, just as likely IMO, try to force me to hand over the PMs via the use of threats and violence.

To conclude, I'm not convinced that SD boxes are the right way forward. For me, that is: I'm not speaking for anyone else - each to their own!

Hi timsk 

Thanks very much for your insight. I completely agree with all of your reasoning and respect why you choose not to use a safe deposit box. Each to their own, as you say. As for insight into the criminal mind I’m no expert. I was a civilian worker for the Police but I obviously amassed a lot of knowledge and intelligence over the years.

Your old fashioned burglar is an opportunist. He sees a key left inside the lock of a back door or a window left partially open and he decides whether to try and quietly force entry there and then, or to return in the small hours. In Scotland a lot of people don’t lock their doors when they’re at home both in the daytime and nighttime believe it or not, so the sneak thief can be in and out in seconds without the occupant realising, until they notice stuff has gone missing. They’ll target purses and wallets for cash and cards, along with mobile phones, cigarettes, alcohol and whatever’s conveniently lying around that takes their fancy. They don’t target properties which look too risky and they’d  rather have an easier target and easier time of it. If the perpetrator has a vehicle then he can operate further afield and hit several properties in one area before driving on to another. Those without transport prefer to burgle nearby properties and even neighbours in order not to be caught still out on the streets if Police resources can permit swift attendance. Properties backing onto parks and other open land are also targeted as the culprit can use paths and other short cuts to make good his escape where Police vehicles cannot go.

You’re probably well aware of modern day burglars. They usually operate in teams of 2,3 or 4 and their objective is to force entry into your property to obtain your car keys and drive off in the high performance vehicle which is parked up outside on show to all. They’ll stop at nothing and will use violence if they want to, in order to steal the vehicle by any means. Never leave your car keys in jacket pockets or ladies handbags downstairs overnight (assuming you live in a house) and don’t go down and open your front door if there’s a knock. Open a top floor window if you want to see who’s there, don’t assume there’s only one person and call the Police if you smell a rat. Better still, tell them that your partner isn’t happy with them being on your property and has just phoned the Police. I’m saying don’t do this and don’t do that but it’s just general advice and not specifically aimed at you of course. 

Suffice to say that the Police have ways and means of how they go about dealing with the above situations, depending on whether they are live incidents or not. As for our coin collections, I don’t believe anyone will specifically target our properties for our coins if nobody knows we collect coins in the first place. Due to the nature of our hobby and investments we can be just as cunning and furtive as your average criminal. Thanks for the chat @timsk 

On 30/04/2023 at 19:42, CazLikesCoins said:

It's also a bit of a day out  Take a flask wait your turn and marvel at your stack big or small. Just don't talk to it. The staff will think you're potty  

At the end of the day, i.e. the end of your appointment, you either have to take your coins home with you, or say goodbye and give them a hug until next time. It removes some of the fun of collecting gold coins when you can’t stroke them or read them bedtime stories every night.

On 30/04/2023 at 23:18, DrKarlMoneys said:

Unfortunately safety deposit boxes aren't as fool proof as they should be-there have been cases in the UK of contents going missing and the bank shrugging their shoulders.

Then there's incompetence on the part of the bank.

Simples. Don’t use bank boxes. Banks are becoming more scarce on High Streets all over the UK. Private companies offer safe deposit boxes which require opening by the company key along with your own key. With ample but thorough research it’s not too difficult to source a company that meets your requirements. You may have to be prepared to travel beyond your normal area though, which is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Just stay alert when approaching and exiting the premises though. You may be being watched. There’s a bus shelter outside my present facility and I just stroll up a few minutes before my appointment and pretend I’m waiting for a bus whilst I scan my surroundings. 14 years in Police surveillance taught me a trick or two and I know a lot of the local scallies 😉

On 30/04/2023 at 19:29, TheShinyStuff said:

Exactly this. I got one a few months ago and sleep much, much better knowing that I don't have much more than a few hundred quid worth of silver at home, all the good stuff is safe and sound. Probably the best £200 I've spent...

Hmm. However if your Safe Deposit Box Facility is located where I used to store my coins in Glasgow then that would be in the constituency of the MSP Nicola Sturgeon.  Should Police Scotland make enquiries regarding her and/or her husband there, then they can instruct that locus to open up whatever boxes they choose (assisted by a locksmith if necessary). I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over it though, unless the Police notice a box belongs to a Mr TheShinyStuff 😁

On 25/04/2023 at 06:51, westminstrel said:

Here are some from 2017 onwards that I remember:

 

2017

- 200th Anniversary of the Sovereign

- Platinum Wedding Anniversary of the Queen and Prince Philip

- Sapphire Jubilee of the Queen’s Accession

 

2018

- Sapphire Jubilee of the Queen’s Coronation

- Prince George’s 5th Birthday

 

 2019

- 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Queen Victoria

- 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Prince Albert

 

2020

- Withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit)

- 75th Anniversary of Victory in Europe

- 75th Anniversary of Victory over Japan

 

2021

- Queen’s 95th Birthday

 

2022

- Platinum Jubilee of the Queen’s Accession

 

2023

- Coronation of King Charles

Of course you remember them!  You just roll up your sleeves and there they are, tattooed on both of your arms!

I have this DPL quintuple coin raw as well as a PF70 proof version, so I can compare the 2 coins together. Anyone tempted by Quantum Stacker’s coin has to know that it’s a very attractive and much cheaper alternative to the proof quintuple version.

The reverse on both versions is almost identical. The only difference to my eye is the field is slightly darker on one version than the other version. So you get a proof matching special design on the reverse of the DPL for roughly half the price of PF70 asking prices (currently £6.5K to over £7K). The one noticeable difference being the obverse of the DPL is BU, whereas the proof is er, proof. But who looks at that side of the coin when there’s a special design on the reverse (as the coin in the slab shows)?

A top grade DPL is a superb alternative to the proof version in my opinion. Good luck with your sale @QuantumStacker.