Kew 50p vs. Half-sovereign. Who wins?

[argentmajor]

So I found a circulated Kew Gardens 50p amongst my late father's coins some time ago and have hung onto it, watching the silly prices being paid on eBay for them rise and rise. With so many of you being long-term stackers/collectors/investors, I wonder what the general advice would be for someone in my situation. Would I be better cashing-in now and buying, say, a half-sovereign or should I keep hold of it?

What would be the smart thing to do here? I realise the Kew has far less intrinsic value but is it something worth retaining over a gold item?

[Oldun]

Cash in. £102 - £132 minus ebay fees.

£140 went unsold.

[Stuntman]

I'd definitely cash in the Kew Gardens coin unless you wanted to keep it for your own pleasure.  The popularity of 50p coins is very high at the moment in my opinion and this may not be the case in say 5 years' time.  Half sovs will always be worth bullion value, at least.

[AgD]

I would cash in and would try a Facebook group. My brother showed me the other day what one guy was selling.

He had 116 yes 116 kew's and he was getting 120 each for them

[dicker]

My very personal opinion would be to *sell* the 50 and switch for gold or silver.

There were 210,000 minted.  Not really a small number and to my mind, nowhere near small enough to command some of the values they are currently achieved. 

 

 

[Xander]

I think they are over hyped, you may end up getting 50 pence for it, whereas the 1/2 Sov is highly unlikely to fall out of fashion.

[argentmajor]

Thanks guys, I'm definitely leaning towards selling it as the gold will be more likely to hold its value in the long term. I don't have any gold and those half-sovereigns are much prettier to look at!

[Oldun]

Save up and get a full sov.....your life will never be the same again once you walk along flipping one of those up in the air, whistling a merry tune. God help you if you get more and and roll em around in your paws.....

[h103efa]

Its all about timing. I think the Kew will continue to increase in price due to hype and demand. But at some point, when they decide to cease this style (shape) of 50p, the coin prices will plummet. I base this on the old £1. I remember the Edinburgh capital design selling for over £70. Then when they announced the new style coin, the price dropped dramatically!

I have one or two kews as part of my 50p collections. I would defo be selling any more i found or was given by my "supplier"!

[westminstrel]

Maybe you’re not the sentimental type... I would have held on to the coin. Can you not afford to buy a Half Sov without parting with this coin?

[argentmajor]

8 hours ago, Oldun said:

Save up and get a full sov.....your life will never be the same again once you walk along flipping one of those up in the air, whistling a merry tune. God help you if you get more and and roll em around in your paws.....

Yes, I thought about that too. Also, I was looking at the 1/10oz Britannia, which is at a similar price point and is virtually solid gold. I prefer the yellower tone it has to the sovereign. I'm on a modest budget and unlikely to be buying any more as silver is affordable. It was just the novelty of owning a gold coin really.

[argentmajor]

11 minutes ago, westminstrel said:

Maybe you’re not the sentimental type... I would have held on to the coin. Can you not afford to buy a Half Sov without parting with this coin?

Along with some other rare-ish 50ps and £2 coins my Dad had collected in his change (unknown to me), I sealed them in flips and put them in a drawer. I have no emotional connection to them really. On the other hand, a gold coin would be something I could enjoy looking at and showing to others. We weren't close as fathers and sons usually are but I think he'd see the sense of it.

I'm not financially in a position to buy much gold. Silver has been my main interest.

[westminstrel]

Makes sense. It really depends on one’s individual circumstances. I just thought I’d put out the idea because I had a friend who was in a similar situation and regretted his decision to part with his old coin after he got the new one. 

Good luck. Great to ask for opinions. But make the decision that is best and feels right to you. Cheers  

[argentmajor]

Ask me about his vinyl collection that I grew up listening to, that's a whole different matter! Nothing of any real value but priceless to me, every little nick and scratch takes me back.

[richatthecroft]

13 minutes ago, argentmajor said:

I'm not financially in a position to buy much gold. Silver has been my main interest.

Maybe sell the Kew, buy some nice cheap Yale’s from European Mint via @BackyardBullion‘s group order- (even after postage etc they are less than £30 each)  flip them on eBay- rinse and repeat a couple of times and then you’ll be in a nice position to buy either a nice proof Half Sovereign/ historic bullion Half or perhaps a Sovereign- trade upwards and onwards- and have a bit of fun along the way. 

[argentmajor]

3 minutes ago, richatthecroft said:

Maybe sell the Kew, buy some nice cheap Yale’s from European Mint via @BackyardBullion‘s group order- (even after postage etc they are less than £30 each)  flip them on eBay- rinse and repeat a couple of times and then you’ll be in a nice position to buy either a nice proof Half Sovereign/ historic bullion Half or perhaps a Sovereign- trade upwards and onwards- and have a bit of fun along the way. 

That's a great idea! I'm definitely going to consider that now. You see, my brain just doesn't think that way. Brilliant.

[KevjustKev]

Sell it on Ebay when they have one of their final fee for a £1 weekends. Sold four things, added up to over £1400, final fee £4.

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Just now, tallthinkev said:

Sell it on Ebay when they have one of their final fee for a £1 weekends. Sold four things, added up to over £1400, final fee £4, a couple of weeks ago

 

[richatthecroft]

2 minutes ago, argentmajor said:

That's a great idea! I'm definitely going to consider that now. You see, my brain just doesn't think that way. Brilliant. 

Bide your time- save up a bit more cash to put to the Kew money, buy wisely and wait for the right time to flip- and then strike Gold with the proceeds- and yes, await the £1 to sell eBay offer. 

[argentmajor]

10 minutes ago, tallthinkev said:

Sell it on Ebay when they have one of their final fee for a £1 weekends. Sold four things, added up to over £1400, final fee £4.

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Added 0 minutes later...

 

 

5 minutes ago, richatthecroft said:

Bide your time- save up a bit more cash to put to the Kew money, buy wisely and wait for the right time to flip- and then strike Gold with the proceeds- and yes, await the £1 to sell eBay offer. 

Thank you, gents. This is exactly the sort of advice I was angling for. I've only ever bought from eBay, I'll keep it in mind.

[Serendipity]

I love collecting circulating 50 pences in my change but wouldn’t put these commemorative cupronickel coins on the same level as those minted in precious metals which are worlds apart. The price of a coin minted in a precious metal fluctuates and rises over time on account of the precious metal content, not just its aesthetic value. The silly prices paid for commemorative cupronickel 50 pences on eBay are wholly dependent on their aesthetic value which can fall over time. My advice, therefore, is to sell up your Kew Gardens 50p at one of those silly prices and invest in whatever gold or silver coin you can afford .

[argentmajor]

I don't even find the Kew a particularly pretty coin.

Yeah, I was looking into Sovereigns when I noticed the fractional Britannias, which I think look more like actual gold coins than the new, matt, dull-looking Sovereigns. Also, the Britannias are .999 purity, like my silver.

[Serendipity]

3 hours ago, argentmajor said:

I don't even find the Kew a particularly pretty coin.

Yeah, I was looking into Sovereigns when I noticed the fractional Britannias, which I think look more like actual gold coins than the new, matt, dull-looking Sovereigns. Also, the Britannias are .999 purity, like my silver.

You’ve raised a very interesting point which is whether someone should stack and/or collect 22 or 24 carat gold coins. Sovereigns are minted in 22 carat gold while modern fractional Britannias are 24 carat. Some stackers and/or collectors completely eschew 22 carat gold sovereigns, Krugerrands and American Eagles altogether. However, the carat doesn’t make much difference because you are buying the actual gold weight of the coin in ounces. Sovereigns are much more affordable than fractional 1/4oz Britannias in my opinion. There’s a very interesting article by Chards on this subject.

https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/22-carat-gold-or-24-carat-gold-coins/71

[argentmajor]

I was thinking more of the 1/10oz Britannias, they're at a similar price point to the half-Sovereigns. I'm talking purely on a sale of the 50p Kew for around £110.