New To Silver, where to buy?

[SilverSerf]

Hi all,

I’m new to metals.

is it worth paying full price for silver from places like Royal Mint for ease of resale down the line ?

Or are there better trusted avenues I could go down for VAT less silver?

Thanks 

[Pete]

Welcome to the silver addicts society.

Are you buying collectible coins or just bullion ?
Do you care about condition or just weight of metal ?

Your days of finding VAT free are rapidly disappearing so your best source is this forum.
You can either place a request for specific coins or monitor the For Sale Section.
However unless you are a Premium Member you may find it difficult to source the best value coins because they will have sold before you even see them listed.

 

[Stackingsean]

2 hours ago, Pete said:

Welcome to the silver addicts society.

Are you buying collectible coins or just bullion ?
Do you care about condition or just weight of metal ?

Your days of finding VAT free are rapidly disappearing so your best source is this forum.
You can either place a request for specific coins or monitor the For Sale Section.
However unless you are a Premium Member you may find it difficult to source the best value coins because they will have sold before you even see them listed.

 

Hi Pete.

My approach is to aim at bullion grade stuff.

Currently just the basics. 1oz silver britannias. Maybe 1oz gold britannias one day.

Full and half sovereigns. UK the new 2020 bullion grade.  Have a couple which I'm really pleased with.  I only started attacking a few months back and have been working out my approach.   I'm aiming for long term. 10 years or longer.  If I get the chance in between that to make some money great, if not then I will just enjoy the purchasing and talking to like minded people along the way.  When I retire I hopefully will be able to enjoy my preserved wealth at the end of it.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Fadeingstar]

When it comes to getting the best price usually the European dealers are the best bet because of VAT. With Brexit and that whole uncertainty about weather, there will be an import duty on silver from the EU. Even if there is an import duty it might not be 20% so there still could be some money to be saved. It really is a case of watch this space.

There are a lot of very nice 1 oz bullion coins to collect and the buy and sell section on here is a treasure trove of well priced silver and gold. If you want something specific just post a wanted ad and someone will normally have what you are looking for.

[Stackingsean]

I would like to apolagise.

I'm not that great with technology and new to this site. Pete wasnt asking me.  When I re read I realised I made a mistake. Sorry people.....

[SilverSerf]

Thanks for the reply Pete.

I will look into the membership options.

I am open to opportunities as they arise but I would say not a collector. I’d like some coins and also some 1kgs also.

 

thanks 

 

[mrrick]

@SilverSerf welcome to the  club , i'm sure you will find people that help you along your silver journey 

[Pete]

7 minutes ago, SilverSerf said:

Thanks for the reply Pete.

I will look into the membership options.

I am open to opportunities as they arise but I would say not a collector. I’d like some coins and also some 1kgs also.

 

thanks 

 

Walk before you run ... get familiar with some bullion silver coins before venturing into the kilo bars especially when you can purchase an assortment of popular coins at the same price per gram as a brick that also serves as a door stopper.

 

[SilverSerf]

Cheers mmrick

[IanS]

Hello SilverSerf. I'm also new to it all - just a couple of days - and the same questions are going through my head.

Looking at Royal Mint I'm seeing their prices for silver is WAY WAY above the current silver price. For example they're selling 1 oz silver Britannia coins at around £24. Even before adding VAT that's around +30% over the current silver price.

But buying 100g minted silver bar from Royal Mail is even worse - They're charging around 90 - 100% over the current silver price - and then adding VAT.

I gather that their price difference is called 'the premium'. I guess their profits and covers the cost of minting etc.

But look at their gold prices. Their price for gold bars and coins is just around 5% over current gold price.

So why is it that silver has such a high premium? I guess it's because the cost of running a machine to stamp out bars and coins is the same for gold as it is for silver. But because the cost of gold is higher the premium is, proportionally, lower.

I've bought a couple of silver bars.

But I think I'm going to concentrate on gold coins in future.

• When buying gold Royal Mint appear to charge quite close to the current market. (Low premium)
• No VAT on Gold when you buy from the Mint.
• Bullion coins. There's no Capital Gains Tax to pay when, one day, you decide to sell coins.

Maybe a little bit of silver coins just to hedge my bets over the long term. But I think I'm going for gold

[BullionExchanges]

As a Precious Metals Retailer ourselves, we always encourage our customers to "shop around" in order to get the best prices. Many sellers will have their own website and also sell on platforms like eBay or even Amazon. Most sellers will also have some sort of added value on the products, whether it's from the premium, sales tax, or from other factors. Buying directly from the mint of production will sometimes be cheaper product-wise, but if you are having it shipped from overseas the shipping fees may end up costing you more in the long run than if you buy from a local seller. Additionally, for bullion products, most mints will only accept bulk orders from Authorized Dealers.

Those looking to simply invest in the metal and don't have a preference regarding condition or year of mintage gravitate towards bars and rounds. Those products generally have much lower premiums than coins. 

Echoing what others have replied, definitely do some research using reputable sources before committing. 

 

 

[Divmad]

As an investor in silver as an inflation hedge against depreciating fiat currencies, especially the GBP, I focus on buying circulated silver and gold coins at spot intrinsic value, maybe 1-3% premium for something special, and hallmarked solid sterling silver items at discounts to spot. Not as pretty to look at as your modern, mass-marketed shiny 1oz coins that should never be handled if you want to keep those crazy premiums, but that's my choice. I know it's horses for courses. ATB.

[SilverSerf]

Hi Divmad,

when you say circulated silver and gold, do you mean pre owned silver coins such as older bullion grade / sovereign etc?

On 31/10/2020 at 11:36, Divmad said:

As an investor in silver as an inflation hedge against depreciating fiat currencies, especially the GBP, I focus on buying circulated silver and gold coins at spot intrinsic value, maybe 1-3% premium for something special, and hallmarked solid sterling silver items at discounts to spot. Not as pretty to look at as your modern, mass-marketed shiny 1oz coins that should never be handled if you want to keep those crazy premiums, but that's my choice. I know it's horses for courses. ATB.

 

[Divmad]

1 minute ago, SilverSerf said:

Hi Divmad,

when you say circulated silver and gold, do you mean pre owned silver coins such as older bullion grade / sovereign etc?

 

Yes I would include sovereigns from years gone by when they were actually used in trade, though the premiums on these can be the same as for modern RM produced coins, if you wait for the opportunities to come up. But definitely for old circulated silver coins. It's all part of the hunt, but knowing that when it's time to sell, you won't suffer that "premium back to spot" reverse margin erosion, unlike with these "collectible" mass-produced pieces of shiny metal.