Booky586

This is an interesting article with a timeline of the coin sales and prices realised: https://www.coinsandaustralia.com/coins-articles-australia.php?article=1920-sydney-gold-sovereign-rarest-sovereign-of-australia&id=52

The coin cabinet are introducing a buyer's commission. I'm not sure when this will be introduced but if is has started then it's possible this might have influenced the size of the bids.

It was an ebay purchase. They do turn up occasionally, different banks, shapes and sizes etc. I've seen them for holding £300 sovereigns too. Watch out though, just like collecting coins, once you start you can't stop! 😀

An old bag (pre 1918) for storing 100 sovereigns. Back then 100 Sovereigns were worth £100, todays value at spot is £359,020. Unfortunately the bag is empty........

Here's one of SVCollector's flips. I can see there's another name on it, ABAFIL, possibly the manufacturer or supplier?

I can see subtle differences between all 4 dates such as character spacings, especially between the 8 and 6, and font styles on the 5. On the 4th coin the number 6 looks bolder, and a shadow of another 6, may be from an overstrike? But other than that I can't see another number hiding below. Good information about hubs and dies too. I've been comparing the letter T in VICTORIA and GRATIA and noticed the the punch used isn't perfect, the serif on the left is shorter than the one on the right. This shows on all the coins so I wonder if this is transferred from the hub, like the damaged denticle.

Thanks for the tips. I wasn't aware I could play around with the gas tariffs like that, something I'll follow up and look into. The local golf course has just cut down a silver birch and 3 ash trees and very kindly cut them into manageable pieces so I've got a lot more to collect, don't think I'd fill 35 ton bags worth but I'll have a go!

I've started an alternative stack.....firewood for a log burning stove. The plan is to get the stove fitted over the summer months so it's ready to use before the cold weather in winter. The fuel is free and it's good exercise lifting, logging and splitting the wood. I'll still be reliant on gas but I hope to make a big dent in the amount I use.

I'm 58 years old and was diagnosed with renal cancer 14 years ago. I'm still fit, happy and in employment, and my cancer is monitored. I believe my SIPP perfectly suits my situation. I don't pay tax or NICs on its contributions from my salary and when I decide to retire I can tailor the payments to suit my lifespan. It's not like a buying an annuity, your are in total control of the finances, all that you pay in comes out to you, or in the case of death, you family.

To the best of my knowledge that's not correct, 55 is still the age your can start collecting your pension. With the SIPP I have, you manage all the investments yourself and can withdraw as much, including all, at any point after 55. All that you invest in a SIPP is your money and you choose how much you take out at any point in you retirement. Even when you die all the remaining pension value is transferable to you dependants, tax free.

Your pension needs to suit your personal circumstances. For example, I'm a contractor and I work through an umbrella company so I don't get an employer that pays their pension contributions. I choose to make a salary sacrifice which doesn't accrue any PAYE contributions or NICs. It also reduces the amount of PAYE and NICs on my remaining salary. The salary sacrifice portion is sent to my SIPP where I manage my own pension investments. This suits my circumstances but it might not yours.

Wow, just looked that one up, far worse than the pox that blights modern .999 silver coins. Milk spotting hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet but it's another minus point for stacking bullion silver coins.

Description: 4 nice bullion grade sovereigns, includes lighthouse capsules. Price: £365 each, plus postage at cost (buyers choice and risk). Buy 3 or more and postage is free. Payment: Bank Transfer preferred, but will take PayPal (Friends and Family only). Edit: All sold

I can't help you with the size but I've bought a few air-tites for my coins. My 1st choice would be @morezone but he's replied with an out of stock. I've tried other UK online shops and eBay but have been disappointed with cheap copies that are poor quality. I've purchased from the USA here: https://www.jpscorner.com/collections/air-tite-products and been very happy with them but you have to buy in quantity to make the total costs worthwhile.

Is this the origin of the pound sterling?