New to Collecting

[chipthechip]

Hi, I decided to invest in silver and bought minted silver 1oz bars. I received them today and was surprised that they came without being covered in plastic. I guess that means they are pre-owned - something I should have checked before buying. My main concern, however, is that when I weigh them, they are not 31.1g but vary in weight from 31.35g to 31.39g. Should I be concerned? As a newbie, I do not wish to contact the seller -who are one of the 'big boys' in Britain, before I have the correct facts. I hope someone can help with this query. Edit - went onto you-tube and they were 31.3g so think it's all ok. Scales were calibrated beforehand.

[Gordy]

welcome to the forum, get yourself some Britannia coins as a start, and CGT free... best place to buy them is on here..

[chipthechip]

Thanks for reply Gordy. I'm panicking again as the bars do not have a serial number on them. I bought Asahi 1oz bars. That, along with slight discrepancy in weight....should they have a serial number?

[dicker]

Welcome to the forum!

[chipthechip]

Can anyone tell me if they could potentially be fake if they don't come with a serial number and if the weight is off?

[Relm]

First don't panic.  From a quick image search some asahi bars don't have serial numbers and the weight in bars and coins does vary slightly.  There are ways of detecting fake silver eg specific gravity and magnet tests

[dicker]

Hi chipthechip

(1) Do the magnet test (check YouTube for this - see below)

(2) Where did you buy them from?  If a reputable dealer then is is very unlikely

(3) A quick google seems to indicate some 1oz bars come with a serial number - others not

(4) Not sure they would come in plastic - but I have not bought these, so cannot be sure

Best

Dicker

 

[Bigmarc]

If you don't want to do it yourself go to a couple of cash for gold places and get some quotes. They will soon tell you.

If it was from a big dealer then I wouldn't be too worried. 

[chipthechip]

Thanks for replies Relm and Dicker. I got them from BBPost who seem to be well known. I'll get one of those magnets. I have cash to invest; dear son is a crypto guy, while I've always been a fan of property. Cheap ones in places like Greenock, Cumbernauld. With lockdown, couldn't go out of council area, hence dabbling with precious metals. 

[Bigmarc]

I think bbp are smack bang in the middle of the jewelry quarter in Birmingham. I've used the a few times now. Never had a problem.

[Relm]

If you have other investments then i would second Gordy's comment on buying Britannia's rather than bars due to them being exempt from capital gains tax

[dicker]

Or buy gold, where there is NO VAT and a decently low premium if you buy wisely AND no CGT.  

Sovereigns work well for this purpose if you would consider Gold.

Not for everyone, but just a suggestion.

Best

Dicker

[stefffana]

Hi, welcome!

You will not find too often two silver coins or bars having exactly 31.103g. The weight is not very accurate. Even on gold coins, where a little difference is 68 times more expensive than silver, you will not find exactly mint specifications. A new sovereign should have 7.98g, in reality is 8g. 

So, don't panic. If you have bought from reputable dealer you are safe.

Of course, play a little with your first bars, do gravity test to be familiar with this procedure, eventually buy a silver plated one from Ebay to see the difference. 

About your bars without plastic cover, it is normal, they just took them out from tube, probably.

Enjoy your new toys and buy more!😀

Cheers!

Stefan.

[SilverStorm]

9 hours ago, chipthechip said:

Thanks for reply Gordy. I'm panicking again as the bars do not have a serial number on them. I bought Asahi 1oz bars. That, along with slight discrepancy in weight....should they have a serial number?

I have an Asahi 1 oz bar, it has no serial number.   So don't worry about that.   

As for weight...as long as the weight is at 1 troy ounce or just slightly more, it's fine.   It should never be less.  Government mints and reputable private manufacturers will never sell PM that is under weight.  It would be bad for business and give them a bad name.   If it weighs less than 1 troy ounce, re-test again and/or recalibrate your scale by using a calibration weight set.   Or buy a more accurate scale.  Also keep in mind that a scale can be affected by the environment you are in.  Make sure there is no wind or vibration when you weigh the PM.   A sensitive scale will pick these up and give a variance to your readings.

[Gordy]

11 hours ago, chipthechip said:

Thanks for replies Relm and Dicker. I got them from BBPost who seem to be well known. I'll get one of those magnets. I have cash to invest; dear son is a crypto guy, while I've always been a fan of property. Cheap ones in places like Greenock, Cumbernauld. With lockdown, couldn't go out of council area, hence dabbling with precious metals. 

My first ever investments were from BBPost and they are reputable however with a bit googling i found better and cheaper sites and i only use BBPost now for their price charts and tend to check them multiple times a day 

[Bigmarc]

13 hours ago, Gordy said:

welcome to the forum, get yourself some Britannia coins as a start, and CGT free... best place to buy them is on here..

Morning Gordy 

I am yet to purchase of the forum and was just wondering about CGT. When a sale is made is it common practice to receive a proof of purchase receipt?

[Gordy]

6 minutes ago, Bigmarc said:

Morning Gordy 

I am yet to purchase of the forum and was just wondering about CGT. When a sale is made is it common practice to receive a proof of purchase receipt?

If you ask for a receipt i guess there isn't any reason not to get one, i don't generally ask as i have bank or PayPal transactions i can use with ref numbers on, the CGT Capital Gains Tax is normally paid when you sell the metal over the personal tax allowances but as Brits are legal tender they don't fall into this bracket ... if you sold a big stock of metals not covered you would pay the tax on it

[pricha]

All this talk of CGT .  Has any member actually paid this tax from the sale of coins ? I thought the beauty of gold / silver coins is you can sell/buy small amounts quite anonymously from various sources . I like this idea as an alternative pension plan as gold generally holds it's value .  I would guess only a huge collection put up at auction would attract attention.

[Relm]

There is a threshold of 12.5k above which you start to pay CGT normally.  I don't get near this so unsure how it gets calculated

[Bigmarc]

30 minutes ago, Gordy said:

If you ask for a receipt i guess there isn't any reason not to get one, i don't generally ask as i have bank or PayPal transactions i can use with ref numbers on, the CGT Capital Gains Tax is normally paid when you sell the metal over the personal tax allowances but as Brits are legal tender they don't fall into this bracket ... if you sold a big stock of metals not covered you would pay the tax on it

Cheers, I genuinely don't know how it works. I have had other dealings with HMRC 😒 

In my experience they still like a paper trail. I would have thought that you get a exemption from a claim. Rather than a exemption from putting a claim in. 

Otherwise I would sell one Britt for £100 with the maple leafs for free.

[Gordy]

if you leave a stack when you pop off you're family could get hit with it as its part of your estate... so no CGT on cash or CGT free precious metals but CGT on property etc,

Selling small amounts wouldnt count and the only thing the taxman would be interested in then is if you are making a business profit and only count the profits you generate,..

Ebay dont tax you or inform HMRC.. thats up to you to do that if you choose.. 

[Bigmarc]

7 minutes ago, pricha said:

All this talk of CGT .  Has any member actually paid this tax from the sale of coins ? I thought the beauty of gold / silver coins is you can sell/buy small amounts quite anonymously from various sources . I like this idea as an alternative pension plan as gold generally holds it's value .  I would guess only a huge collection put up at auction would attract attention.

At the moment, probably not.

If all our cards come in and it hits £100 per Oz then we will all be calling the account. 😁

[Relm]

If it hits £100 per oz the country and pound will be in trouble and i be going gollum on my precious.

[Bigmarc]

6 minutes ago, Relm said:

There is a threshold of 12.5k above which you start to pay CGT normally.  I don't get near this so unsure how it gets calculated

So it doesn't work the same as a self assessment then? 

Still have to do the paperwork. If you earn over the threshold then you pay?

[Relm]

5 minutes ago, Bigmarc said:

So it doesn't work the same as a self assessment then? 

Still have to do the paperwork. If you earn over the threshold then you pay?

Seems to be the case