Advice needed for a new member.

[Mosquito]

Hello Forum

This is my first post, I thought it be about time to join the forum as I've recently seen the light and starting investing in silver over the last 3 months. I think I've done ok so far, I'm up to about 20 ounces of random coins. 

I'm looking at purchasing my first coin tube, however, as I'm still new to silver stacking I thought it maybe best to ask the opinions of those who have more experience in this. What would be a good solid foundation to a stack ?

I'm unsure between,

Maple leafs, Britannia's, or ASE's.

Thanks for taking the time to have a read and any advice would be much appreciated.

 

 

[PansPurse]

I'd say that depends on where you are. If UK based, definitely Britannias, easier to obtain and exempt from capital gains tax. Also there's a good chance if importing maples or ASEs you'll get hit with VAT when they arrive.

[HawkHybrid]

I agree, always look to holding at least some of your nations

coins first. this has practical values and is not an anti foreigner

thing. they should be more liquid as if you need/want to sell,

usually more of your potential buyers will recognise them and

maybe have the means to test them for fakes. thus reassuring all

potential buyers with each trade. also depending on the strategy

you have for your foundation, maybe consider holding some gold.

 

HH

[Scuzzle]

You are always advised to stack the bullion coin of wherever you reside, as a UK citizen that's Britannias, instantly recognisable and capital gains tax free.

[BackyardBullion]

@Mosquito Welcome to the forum!

You can't go much wrong with a roll of britannias!

[PansPurse]

Ooh, also, be aware (if you haven't already read) of UK VAT for buying silver. Often this makes importing from the continent cheaper. Although there's also a recent thread on the forum of Chards offering CGT exempt UK silver coins at a comparable rate to importing from Europe 

[vand]

I don't think it really matters; stack whichever one you like the look of the most, and get all 3 to satisfy your curiosity if you are unsure. You are a long way from having to worry about CGT on resales, too. I hold significant amounts of all 3 and view them all as low premium gov bullion which I would be happy to go let in the right market.

[sixgun]

I would not get a tube of Maples or any Royal Canadian Mint coins as they are very prone to developing milk spot. This will be a big disappointment when it happens and will hit the value of your coins.

i would ask why you want to get a tube of coins. i have tubes and my first purchase of coins was a monster box of Britannias. i was investing in silver not particularly in the coins and at the time the price seemed better value than i could find elsewhere.

You have a small collection of 20 coins, do you really want 20 or 25 coins all of the same kind? i think i would prefer 20 or 25 different coins in capsules i would admire over 25 that will likely sit in a tube all their lives. It all depends on the price with delivery and what you are specifically buying these coins for.

The point about CGT is often mentioned. Unless the price of silver rises a lot and you really step up gears on silver stacking and you are involved in other trading and you actually declare the sale of a few coins, the CGT issue does not affect many people here.

i was just looking at goldsilver.be to see what they had. They have some good value Britannias and you could join in with the group purchase Backyard Bullion organises to reduce your postage costs. They have quite a few decent coins, often in a capsule for a euro or two each more which adds variety to a small collection. Yes it adds more cost and your intention could be to get the cheapest silver you can buy, so you might decide on a tube of Britannias.

[PansPurse]

@sixgun has a very valid point re stacking versus collecting, or both. Milk spots won't matter much if you're just stacking for spot weight, but hurt if you're buying coins at a premium.

For what it's worth I'm working on a small silver stack, mostly of Britannia's, but also making a little collection of pretty coins, including some antique coins etc.

[Ravinella]

Dont forget that prior to 2013,I believe off the top of my head, Britannias were made from proper Britannia  Silver .958 parts per thousand silver  compared to the common standard used today of .925 parts per thousand  either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PansPurse]

19 minutes ago, Ravinella said:

Don't forget that prior to 2013,I believe off the top of my head, Britannias were made from proper Britannia  Silver .958 parts per thousand silver  compared to the common standard used today of .925 parts per thousand  either.

Yeah, sorry, that's not accurate. Post 2013 Britannia's are 99.9% pure.

EDIT: OK for UK currency the silver content goes as follows.

Renaissance through to 1919: "Sterling" silver as standard (92.5% pure)

1920 to 1947: 50% pure silver (can spot a mile away as these coins tarnish to a darker color and have a slightly greenish tinge because of the Manganese content.

post 1947: no silver in normal currency, varying levels of purity in special editions.

Britannias:

1997 (launch) to 2012 the weight was slightly above one troy ounce (32.45g) at a purity of 95.8% pure

2013 onwards, one troy ounce (31.21g) at a purity of 99.9%

[Ravinella]

Spot on,my error.

I meant to point out the difference between Britannia and Sterling Silver .........................The silver Britannias were, quite appropriately, struck in Britannia silver, which is 958 parts per thousand silver, instead of the more usual sterling silver of 925 parts per thousand. Many other world silver coins, particularly those of American influence are struck in only 900 silver.

The above is in my understanding  correct...........

My error was in saying" compared to the common standard used today of .925 parts per thousand" as Pans Purse correctly points out post 2013 Britannias became 999 parts per thousand.

I knew something happened post 2013 and probably explains why I buy more gold than silver.......good spot 

 

[Norskgeld]

They are all highly recognisable coins and should be no problem to sell.

Scour the websites and look for the cheapest deals.

CGT doesn't really become an issue until you want to sell several thousands of pounds worth of coins but buying Brits will eliminate this problem.

I went through the same dilemma as you and ended up buying one Eagle, one Britannia and one Libertad to see which I preferred...I never liked the look of Maples so didn't even get one!!

I ended up choosing Eagles as I just like the look of them and I will probably never own enough of them that CGT will be an issue.

Sometimes I will buy Brits purely because I found a good deal on them...recently got 5 used ones from Bullion By Post for £17 each.

Don't worry about spotting and marks as the bullion value will be unaffected.

Hope this helps.

[metallica73]

18 minutes ago, Norskgeld said:

Don't worry about spotting and marks as the bullion value will be unaffected.

 

I reckon that's right but only if you are buying like that to begin with and not paying premiums. From my experience, a no-problem coin will sell for £1-2 more than a milked, dirty example. It shouldn't matter with bullion but it does.

[Agpanda]

Welcome to the forum,

When I started I got 1 of each looking interesting

When I had a few here and there I decided to go with pandas only

It is easy to sell the ones you dont care for

[999magnum]

Hi, I started in Oct of 2017 and my plan was to buy silver as cheap as possible and stack as much as possible. To make a long story short that didn't pan out as I had hoped and now I'm very happy buying old world silver coins and some not silver, but mainly large sized silver ones. So if you want to stack the AG do not look at world coins.

[sixgun]

4 hours ago, PansPurse said:

Britannias:

1997 (launch) to 2012 the weight was slightly above one troy ounce (32.45g) at a purity of 95.8% pure

95.8% pure silver = Britannia silver. Britannia silver was created in 1696 and demanded by the assay offices so that silversmiths could not clip and melt down the coinage (Sterling) for their silver products.

[Mosquito]

Hello Everyone

Thank you for all your replies, knowledge and advice given.

I think I will start off with 1oz silver Britannia's and 1/10oz gold Britannia's.

@Panspurse – I'm looking at a similar strategy with my stack, get some generic weight whilst collecting a few nice coins for enjoying, however, I think i may stay away from slabbed coins as i have seen a lot of comments regarding milk spots appearing a year or two after grading ruining the future value and investment.

Maybe I'm wrong but after doing some rough estimated calculating it seems that If SHTF doesn't happen I would have to wait around 4-5 years to break even with my investment if silver keeps going the way it is, which is due to the nightmare VAT. 

I am in for the long term but I hate the idea of playing a game of continuous catch-up.

Has anyone ever purchased anything from Silver-to-go ?

I guess you all can see where im going with this, feel free to PM me also.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[dutchman]

silver to go is one of your best bets used them a lot myself i rate them highly also silver coins low/zero vat best to buy in bulk ie at least 20 oz to offset the delivery cost around £16

[Thelonerangershorse]

50 minutes ago, Mosquito said:

Has anyone ever purchased anything from Silver-to-go ?

You've actually just missed a group order to the European mint for VAT free silver, stick around, there will be another in a month or so I imagine.

[Foolssilver]

Welcome to the forum - i've only been here a month or so but its a great place!

I would agree on buying the Brits - ive noticed they seem very easy to sell (not that ive been selling) and they are capital gains tax free which may be valuable in future if your stack continues to grow!

Ive used Silver to go myself.  I had a largely positive experience.  Postage at £16 is high but if you are buying enough coins you can make this back from saving on the VAT.  Some of the coins ive received from them had a little bit of mild spotting but sadly thats nature of the beast with silver