Stacking

[SKI]

Hello Forum,

I'm new here, for years I have collected coins and sometimes metal detect; however recently I have started silver stacking 1 oz rounds. I'm still feeling my way regarding stacking and wondered is it best to collect generic rounds, and or limited editions at the right price? Basically I want to invest for my future.

 

Ian

 

[ChrisSilver]

Hello and welcome to The Silver Forum  

[Pete]

Most of us stackers started our addiction believing that PMs would be a good investment for the future.
The problem is the volatility of PMs and also often the premiums you pay over the scrap value of the metal itself.
I started stacking before this forum existed and went through the phase of buying when silver was more than twice its present level.
As an investment, so far, it has been a disaster but coins I purchased at silver's low would sell at a nice return.
Fellow stackers who started later will have seen a decent growth in value of their portfolio so might recommend this but there are no guarantees than when you come to liquidate your stack you will see a decent return.

You have to consider your exit.
When it is the time to sell all or some parts of your collection there are basically 3 outlets -

1. Dealers
2. Forums like this one / Facebook etc.
3. eBay

Dealers will not even pay you scrap value for silver coins regardless of the brand or mintage, proof etc.
So if your bar or coin was purchased at a normal premium and / or included VAT you will need possibly 30% or more growth in order to break even.
Some dealers publish buy-back prices and you will be shocked !

Forum sales will likely give you the best return as you have a focussed group of people BUT you need to check prices from the best suppliers like GS.be and the European Mint who can avoid charging full VAT - that will most likely end once we have left the EU though. If you can beat the best you will sell IF there is an interest in the specific coin, round or bar.

eBay provides a wider base of buyers, many of whom are ill-informed and selling prices regularly, at first glance, might look very attractive to a seller.
However you will be crucified by eBay selling fees and often overlooked - PayPal fees which are also applied to your shipping cost.
The only exception is if you manage to get a promotional seller's deal from eBay like max £1 selling fee or 2% of sales price but these can sometimes only last a few days and might not be at a convenient time for you.

Semi-numi coins, basic bullion or rounds?
Starting off you might want to consider buying the popular coins - UK Britannia, Canadian Maple, American Eagle, Austrian Philharmonic, Mexican Libertad, Chinese Panda.
These are bullion coins and sold by their mints as guaranteeing weight only.
Personally I would forget rounds because unless they have a particular design that you really like, they are no more than their weight in metal and unless they are cheaper than bullion coins what's the point ?
Moving up a bit, the Australian Perth Mint has a wide range of higher quality coins that are supplied in protective capsules but cost a bit more.
When it comes to sell these should retain some sort of premium over bullion but depends on finding a buyer.
There are some bars that attract a higher premium than equivalent weight coins and seem to retain their premium.
For some reason there are bar collectors out there that will pay a higher price per ounce.
Some premium bars like PAMP seem to attract buyers but they can also be more expensive to purchase in the first instance.

Best of luck cutting your teeth but get some basic bullion coins to start with then keep an eye on the topics here as there is a great deal to learn.

 

[Agpanda]

Hi and welcome from Sweden

[Matt29MR]

Hi @SKI welcome to the forum, i see you've already received some great info/advice from @Pete, i'm relatively new here too but my understanding so far is that there are 2 main types of people when it comes to PM's, there's your STACKER'S that primarily want to buy their silver as cheap as possible as a way of preserving wealth, then there's your COLLECTORS that just love the designs and don't mind paying the higher premiums. I started as a stacker but that quickly changed, i now have a STACK and a COLLECTION so i guess i'm both of the above, however, id never pay silly money for a certain coin, for me it has to be only when the price is what i consider right (never forget regardless of whats on the coin/round/bar its still just silver). so ye maybe have a think of what route you want to take or maybe you want to do both, either way your in the right place for anything regarding PM's.

good luck, have fun 👍 

[Arganto]

Welcome!

[trp]

Hello and welcome to the forum  

[CadmiumGreen]

Ian, Welcome aboard The Silver Forum!

[GrahamDiamond]

Welcome to the Silver Forum Coinster