Golden age behind us?

[Paul]

The sad thing, it was their business model of "pile it high, sell it cheap" that got HGM such a good rep & good swift business, here on the forum, MSE recommendations for best gold buyer. Best to buy from, best to sell to  

i would sing their praises as the best place to go 

Backed up by great service, there was next an order i didn't get before 1pm the next day 

It is always strange how companies choose to change what "made them great".

Me, in 2020, it must be a year or so since i ordered from HGM. why bother even looking now, nothing there i cant find elsewhere and still cant guarantee over 'bullion grade' quality.  When everything was +3% i would never be bothered as it was a sweet spot of fair and good value pricing.

 

 

[dicker]

6 hours ago, sovereignsteve said:

Really? I can't remember the last time I bought from them. Their categories and premiums are ridiculous these days.

Sad but true. I miss picking up the rarer coins and errors for little or no added premium. It was worth scanning ebay and a few of the bullion dealers on a regular basis but no longer.

There are still occasional coins worth looking at when they come up and can sometimes be had for less than 3pct over spot (mostly 3pct) - I think they are harder to shift and are flagged with something like “best value over spot” or similar   

Pre 33 US coins, particularly Double Eagles are most keenly priced of their stock followed by Aussie Nuggets (when they have them).  HMG Have not started breaking either of these coins down into dates yet.....and they are definitely not all “equal”, so it is very much worth calling in to get details if you know what you are looking for   

Note: Nuggets from what I have seen are rather unloved, and  I think neglected in terms of research. Whilst less attractive / sophisticated than Sovereigns they have their own quirks and specific rarities, but I find not many dealers seem to know about these peculiarities.....

Best

Dicker

[Coolsmp]

https://www.metaltek.com/blog/the-golden-age-the-history-of-gold/

[RacerCool]

The best time to buy was back then.

The second best time to buy is right now.

[47Ag79Au78Pt]

I’m reading your stories of recent bullion history, with more than just a twinge of jealousy; When my dad was a kid he remembers the Gestapo marching into his city. Paper currency was ravaged by hyperinflation and the only way to get anything was by trading gold. So when we went into lockdown in March, this year, and the world’s banks started the first rounds of quantitative easing, I thought I must diversify. I managed to get in a few swift purchases in the March20 dip, but since then the silly premiums have meant that the inflation ‘hedge’ investment component of PMs has dwindled and is only relevant if you hold onto your stack for decades, or if some of the wilder predictions of Au @ $10,000/Toz comes true. 

I’ve logged all my PM purchases in a spreadsheet and if I compare the spot/buy-back price of my stack to purchase price (including high premiums and mailing costs), it now makes much more sense putting any surplus cash into an ISA or AVC pension... especially looking at silver where there seem to be no questions or qualms about asking for 30% to even 100+% premiums. 

The investment potential has shifted from the bullion value to the collector value of the coins, because of these premiums, and in that respect seems to me to become more of an “alternative” investment vehicle comparable to investment in art, or whiskey or vintage cars. As I am somewhat ignorant of the nuances of special coins, and would be drinking the whiskey and breaking down in the vintage cars, and there’s not a chance I could buy another tangible asset like a property, I’m back to buying low margin blue chip ‘safe’ shares.  Sad really. Back in March I was excited about saving for a little gold coin at the end of each month.