Newbie saying hello !

[GrahamHantsHog]

Greetings to all

I have recently started my PM collection a month ago, I have a few bits of gold and silver, in bars and coins, nothing too large, just a few grand to start with, I have seen the spot prices fall sharply this month but do not feel discouraged, in fact I am getting hooked by this hobby !

I am aged 53 and intend to build up (hopefully) a bit of a nest egg for retirement so looking longer term mainly, also I would be keen to have some sort of small income supplement by way of having PMs that I could buy and sell on a regular small basis, I have seen how much certain coins sell for on Ebay.

I think I am starting to understand the pros and cons with stacking, I have fallen victim to the dreaded VAT and premiums and realise that careful research is a good tool before making purchases, I have bought from a couple of UK based companies and been happy with the service, also a german company that I read about on here.

I think I have got through the worst of the learning stage now, my silver collection consists of a 1kg silver bar,a year of goat 10 oz, and 15 bullion coins (mainly one of each of the popular ones), I am wanting to think of a good strategy now, am I correct in saying the following ;

Regards future values of bullion coins, the value of the main type of coins like the cheaper ones, ie the Brittania,Eagle,Maple,Philharmonic etc will only ever be based on the spot price at any time, and the future value of coins like the UK `year of` and Aussie `year of/lunar` series will be based on spot plus a higher premium based on their age, ie semi numismatic, I have seen the higher purchase prices for these coins both in dealers and Ebay, what I would like your opinions on is whether to go for the cheaper bullion only coins and take my chance on the spot prices or go for the coins which have the semi numismatic values or a combination of both, also would you recommend bars ? 

Also, am I correct in saying that the Chinese panda and the Kookaburra have semi numismatic value, what other coins are good investments, I have a Somali Elephant,Year of Sheep,Monkey,Goat and the main coins, I would be looking to make a couple £100 investments each month.

Sorry for the long first post, I find this a fascinating hobby and am very keen to learn more.

Many thanks

 

 

 

 

[HelpingHands]

Hello and welcome

There are no real answers to your questions and opinions will vary on here.

It's true that the coins with changing designs have protected against the drop in price somewhat due to their collectable nature but its hard to predict what will happen next for prices.

If you can buy what you like from the best value dealer (usually German) then you're miles ahead of people paying VAT from UK dealers or inflated eBay prices.

Many of us here have a mix of coins whether they are cheap bullion / semi numi / proof / gold etc

[Agpanda]

Hi and welcome

 

Panda is a good start as it is a new weight from 2016, as they now is 30g

There is a lot of coins that might be good in a number of years from now

Try not to go back to much in series, as it could easy be expensive

[Scuzzle]

Hi and welcome

You will learn how to minimize the VAT on silver purchases, for example if you take the price of whatever you paid for your 1 kilo silver bar and compare it to a 1 kilo coin from STG in Germany which run the margin scheme for reduced VAT I'm betting the coin is a much cheaper way to buy a kilo of silver.

https://www.silver-to-go.com/en/silver-coins/kookaburra/kookaburra-1kg-silver-2015/

[GrahamHantsHog]

Thanks for your replies, i forgot to add that I do have a couple of pension plans so stacking is not my only retirement plan, its to supplement them due to the relatively low value of pension returns. My thoughts were to have a mixture of different coins, maybe half bullin only and half 'specials', i am thinking of budgeting for five to ten coins per month so will do half of each, it makes sense that the lunar and year of series are collectable due to the high prices i have seen on ebay, stacking seems to be a self inflatory business, i agree not to go too far back in series, that is good advice, again, thanks.

[Oldun]

Welcome to the forum. And dont forget Brits and sovs are CGT free on any profit made up to about 11K in any one year. Others are not.

[MCJ]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I buy a mix of coins myself, but I'm trying not to buy too much just now as I think the prices will drop further...... to be honest though  I'm failing miserably at the not buying too much bit!

[KevinG]

Welcome.

[GrahamHantsHog]

It is very addictive, it definitely pays to research future buys, I just looked up the following as a comparison;

STG - 10x2015 Royal Mint year of the sheep for £19.72 per coin plus £10.95 P&P which gives a total of £208.15

BBP - 10x2015 Royal Mint year of sheep for £16.38 per coin inc P&P which gives a total of £163.80

Not always cheaper to buy from Germany, the postage and much higher premium has wiped out any savings from any VAT saving.

[Roy]

Greetings from a Dorset Donkey!

Hi Graham, all good advice on here...often conflicting, often personal, but all good.

I'm relatively new to the PM world too, but If I can offer any suggestion, it would be to 'begin with the end'!

By that I mean, exit strategies. There are lots of comments in the archives about this, and posts by long standing forum members like Danny, Pipers, Paul and Highland Tiger to name a few. It needs to be considered.

This changed, indeed determined, my outlook to buying PMs.

Have fun! Remember, buy low, sell high 

[Danny-boy]

I'm relatively new to the PM world too, but If I can offer any suggestion, it would be to 'begin with the end'!

By that I mean, exit strategies.

Couldn't agree more Roy, a very good point to raise.

Exit strategy completely changed my stacking philosophy, and my stack.

If you can find something (PM wise) that's got a low buy/sell spread, you are onto a winner.

[BaldyBob]

2 hours ago, GrahamHantsHog said:

It is very addictive, it definitely pays to research future buys, I just looked up the following as a comparison;

STG - 10x2015 Royal Mint year of the sheep for £19.72 per coin plus £10.95 P&P which gives a total of £208.15

BBP - 10x2015 Royal Mint year of sheep for £16.38 per coin inc P&P which gives a total of £163.80

Not always cheaper to buy from Germany, the postage and much higher premium has wiped out any savings from any VAT saving.

Welcome

STG are taking advantage of these being relatively scare. Bairdmint / Goldline are cheaper than both.

Most of STG rates are the best around .Wouldn't buy anything from BBP.

[ChrisSilver]

Welcome to the forum!

[Agpanda]

congratulation to being member 700!

[GrahamHantsHog]

Is there some kind of numismatic value in being member number 700, whats my prize 

My first few weeks of buying were from BBP and I will carry on researching their prices when buying as my example shows, i think for gold they are good, unless one of you can recommend better,i bought silver from them and another smaller company called Silvertrader who is cheaper and has a really good amount of choice, nice fella too. It seems that buying mistakes can occur when first starting out, i only found out on this forum that you can buy from germany to avoid vat, talking to experinced people on forums is a great way to learn and prosper.

I assume that the year of series of coins have a far more limited number of available coins and that towards the end of that particular year the availability becomes less hence the price increases, almost self inflatory !

I have also found the information on how to test coins interesting, i have been off work recuperating after an ankle operation since sptember and this has kept my brain ticking over, i have carried out magnet, weight, ping and specific grabity checks on all my buys to give me something to do 

look forward to more grat advice

[HelpingHands]

There is also Atkinsonsbullion.com and hattongardenmetals.com for gold.  VAT is added on to silver.

 

[ShadowStack]

Hi Welcome to the forum.

[GrahamHantsHog]

I do have an exit strategy of sorts in mind, sell when i have made a decent profit on spot price then bank the money and buy when low again, thats the theory anyway, thats for the bullion coins, not sure about the coins that may have numi value ?

i have looked at quite a few dealers and find there is not a lot of differnce, some appear cheaper but do not add postage until ready to pay so end up more expensive, 

 

[Stu]

Welcome to the form, happy stacking. 

[GrahamHantsHog]

Thank you, looking at the spot price, i could be breaking into my savings soon !

[ifing]

Hi, and welcome :D

[ChrisSilver]

19 hours ago, GrahamHantsHog said:

i bought silver from them and another smaller company called Silvertrader who is cheaper and has a really good amount of choice, nice fella too.

@SilverTrader is a member here too.   

[Pipers]

Hello my advise would be, do not buy from BBP.  Always check around for prices, keep to a budget.  In the end you are buying Gold/Silver and that is the minimum you will get back, the scrap value please remember that. On the other hand you could do well and sell the coins for a premium. 

You have chosen a good time to start stacking collecting, well better than most on here.  Good luck and welcome   

[SilverTrader]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the honorable mention :-) I am indeed a member but sadly not on here as much as i would like lol

very busy building up my business but I will try to make amends, Nice new Forum

Sincerely martin

[Danny-boy]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the honorable mention :-) I am indeed a member but sadly not on here as much as i would like lol

very busy building up my business but I will try to make amends, Nice new Forum [emoji4]

Sincerely martin

We need some super duper forum only deals!!! [emoji1]