Stuntman

1902 currency florins are pretty common, and many of them were saved because they were the first year of the new monarch. So plenty of good examples survived and it's the cheapest year to buy.

There are occasional key dates across multiple denominations for silver coins. 1905 is certainly the key date for Edward VII silver shillings, florins and halfcrowns. 1903 and 1904 halfcrowns are hard to find as well. For George V, 1925 florins and halfcrowns are also hard to find, as are 1930 halfcrowns and 1932 florins. Going back to George IV, 1829 shillings and halfcrowns are scarce, but 1827 is scarcer for shillings and 1828 is scarcer for halfcrowns. For William IV, 1837 is generally scarcer for shillings and particularly halfcrowns. 1835 halfcrowns are hard to find too. For Victoria, 1854 is a key date for both shillings and florins, but 1850 shillings are rare, and the 1863 florins are very rare. Also 1891/92 for the Jubilee Head florins. Maybe it was related to demand but perhaps it was to do with supply of silver for minting the coins. I don't know!

^^^ Same to my eyes. I absolutely couldn't distinguish my fake 1818 half crown from a real one based on the pictures of the coin before I bought it. After receiving the coin I suspected it was a fake and then researched it further. I found various information on the internet about these fake coins, and my coin had the same marks on it as the fake coin. The fake 1818 half crown also has the incorrect die axis (the genuine coin is medal alignment, the fake is coin alignment) but you cannot tell that from individual pictures of each side! Anyway, I still have it and certainly wouldn't ever try to pass it off as genuine. I've removed it from the pool of available fakes, and subsequently purchased a genuine 1818 halfcrown from a reputable coin dealer.

Bullion double sovereigns are a nice addition to a stack or collection, especially if you can pick them up reasonably cheaply. They're a great size for admiring the designs, without the increased cost of a proof or quintuple. I have also done this for the recent special designs of 2022-3 and I bought the 2020 coin when they revived the double sovereign in bullion. But I agree that it makes more financial sense to choose two singles over a double, and I'm unlikely to buy any more until the next special design.

I think that these 'fakes' are often not actually intended to deceive, because they differ fairly obviously from the genuine item when the two (or pictures of the two) are compared side by side. Some people want them as a gap filler if they are collecting a date run and cannot justify the cost of the genuine item. See also 1828 half crowns, 1903 and 1905 half crowns - etc. This particular 1905 Florin appears to have a little crown mark just to the right of the 1905 date on the reverse. That's definitely not there on the genuine coin. And the portrait of Edward VII differs in many ways from the genuine coin, most noticeably just the shape of his head (edit: look at his ear as well, completely different). The more you look, the more differences you'll see on both sides of the 'fake' coin. If it's sterling silver it will be worth a little more as scrap than the price paid at the car boot sale. But I have no idea about the metal content. In contrast to this sort of 'fake', there are other fake coins out there which do intend to deceive people into thinking they are the genuine items. These are often made by obtaining a genuine coin, taking impressions of it and then casting the fakes from these impressions. So all the fakes look the same as each other, but will closely resemble the genuine coin. 1934 Wreath Crowns are often faked in this way but other coins such as 1905 shillings and half crowns are also faked like this, and for some reason the 1818 half crown is faked too. I have one of these faked 1818 half crowns, which I keep as a curiosity and a warning.

It's absolutely not genuine I'm afraid.

I'm sycamore ideas like that for releasing sovereigns... On a serious note - as @GoldDiggerDave points out, the 2018 Brilliant Uncirculated SOTD sovereign is of proof quality. The same goes for the Brilliant Uncirculated quintuple sovereigns of 2017 and 2018. I presume that the 2017 SOTD sovereign is of similar quality. For that reason alone I think the 2017 and 2018 coins are worth collecting. But I'm not a fan of these coins in general.

@LawrenceChard probably has several of those. And there's a very good chip shop opposite their showoom!

I don't think there are/were any matte ones either. EDIT: looking at the pictures of the coin in the link, that's just a normal currency sixpence of the withdrawn type, worth about £10 to no more than £15 maybe. Plenty around in similar or better grade.

The analyst's name is Kelvin Wong, and he's bearish on gold. Wonger returns??

I don't have a definitive list, but the following have definitely been produced by the Royal Mint in 1/4 oz Bullion: Some Lunar Series coins, such as 2016 Year of the Monkey and a few others Gold Standard coins - in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020 I think from memory The 10 individual Queen's Beast coins, but not the Completer The Tudor Beasts coins - four so far, Lion, Yale, Bull, Unicorn The 2023 Coronation Cypher coin (there are probably some other coins apart from the Britannia that I have missed) Personally I like the Gold Standard coin design, most of the QB coins and the Coronation cypher design. Be careful about the premiums though, sovereigns are a more sensible choice from a stacking point of view in my opinion when it comes to coins of this size.

I'd be surprised if the spot price of gold went back below £1200 and would probably look to buy at all prices below £1350.

Personally I'd consider buying them a 2023 Coronation bullion sovereign - after all, it will be their own Golden Jubilee sovereign. I turned 50 a few years ago and used it as a justifiable excuse to buy whatever gold coin minted in the year I turned 50 that I liked the look of, and could afford. My godson has just turned 18, and to mark the occasion I've bought him a 2023 sovereign rather than a 2005.

On balance, I think these new definitives are a decent set of designs and I particularly look forward to finding nice examples of the 2p, 50p and £1 in change. Found my first 2022-dated KCIII 50p in change a couple of weeks ago - I like that design as well.

I think the Griffin looks decent enough for a bullion coin and it appears a bit better than the Lion. The Lion appears to have some incuse marks behind the Queen's neck and another one under her chin, but these may be a trick of the light. Still nice coins...

You have two factors in play: the underlying gold price in USD and then the GBP/USD exchange rate. Some people think that the pound is currently quite weak against the dollar, which, as you say would reduce the price of gold in GBP if the pound were to strengthen against the dollar. Some people think that the spot price of gold is undervalued in USD terms, and may increase over the next year or two. Personally I see more upside potential in the gold price compared to the downside potential on the exchange rate and would consider buying if (a) I had the spare cash and (b) didn't have an existing holding.

Reasons why I'm happy to be stacking/collecting PMs include: Having some beautifully-designed coins and bars, to enjoy looking at from time to time Owning something that can be turned into cash relatively easily, should the need arise Appreciating the heft and density of these metals - gold and platinum coins/bars in particular, but also the 10 oz and 1 kg silver items The fact that they provide a bit of diversification compared to other investments and collectables that I may have And this place!

I think it might appeal to a Britannia collector as a specific curio, but to the vast majority of stackers/collectors it is more likely to be perceived as an annoying anomaly. Personally I wouldn't pay more than the price of a standard current year bullion Britannia for one.

Either the 1841 or the 1908C I suspect.

Here's a link to the relevant thread on the Forum 🙂

Maybe think about buying a 1 oz Britannia gold bar, or the forthcoming 1 oz Coronation bar. Sell a Brit or two if you need to. But otherwise, I'd also say keep the coins.

Yep. I did so on last year's return when I sold an asset (not precious metals) and made a gain. Paid my tax, helps me sleep at night knowing that I'm basically an honest human being.

I don't think any notification to HMRC about buying gold should affect any tax rebate you currently receive. I fill in an income tax self assessment return every year and any precious metal purchases that I have made are not relevant to this return. If I sold precious metals that were not exempt from CGT, I would of course declare them on my return if I had made a chargeable gain.

Don't worry about them telling HMRC. If you're going to be spending about £1000 per month stacking gold, best to keep it above board and just jump through the hoops. I don't really see it as a being a problem and it makes it easy to keep transacting. Alternatively, spread your purchases between several reputable dealers.

Personally if my aim was stacking for value, I'd wait until I had enough money in the budget to buy a sovereign, and then buy them as and when I could afford.