[UK Stacking] Did the 2021 Britannia change anything (vs the Sovereign)?

[B33TR00T]

I understand that the Sovereign is usually #1 for stacking in the UK, but Britannia's were never far behind and even a preference for a good number of people.

The pros and cons or each are generally understood, but what about now with the 2021 Britannia and the new security features, does that put it ahead? - or is the Sovereign still your primary gold bullion to stack?

Edited July 10, 2021 by B33TR00T

[Coverte]

I don't like the colour of new  Sovereign, so I'd be firmly in the Britannia camp; since I don't anticipate selling, the faster/ease of sale for Sovereigns is acedemic to me - that'll be for my kids/grandkids to deal with.

[kimchi]

The Britannia's new 'security feature' is meaningless for me, indeed unnecessary even - maybe it's useful for new stackers though (?).

It wouldn't sway me either way tbh - I would buy Sovs or Brits as suited me at the time regardless.

[pricha]

Logic says the Britannia is the better buy, but 200 + years of history make the sovereign irresistible for me.

[B33TR00T]

45 minutes ago, pricha said:

Logic says the Britannia is the better buy, but 200 + years of history make the sovereign irresistible for me.

Hey can you elaborate on your logic for the Brit being a better buy?

[27carrots]

I think it boils down to if you are happy having to sell an ounce at a time when you need to cash in or if you want to be able to sell smaller pieces. I'd say the first few thousand pounds of your stack should be small coins and then after that buy what you like.

[pricha]

1 hour ago, B33TR00T said:

Hey can you elaborate on your logic for the Brit being a better buy?

Well they are 24K v 22K . So a  1/4 oz Britannia  is 1/4 oz of pure gold . A 7.9 gram sovereign is 7.32 gram fine gold.   Slightly more confusing .  So from a purely stacking point of view a Britannia would make more sense. 

[SilverDrum]

For a UK citizen, which ever CGT free coin has the lowest premium is the winner. Cost on entry(premium) and tax on sale are all a stacker should be looking at IMO. 

[Mcgrimes]

14 hours ago, pricha said:

Well they are 24K v 22K . So a  1/4 oz Britannia  is 1/4 oz of pure gold . A 7.9 gram sovereign is 7.32 gram fine gold.   Slightly more confusing .  So from a purely stacking point of view a Britannia would make more sense. 

I’m not certain that makes sense, you pay for the weight of gold so the fact one is 22k has little significance.

 For me it’s all about whatever is cheapest per gram

[HawkHybrid]

1 hour ago, Mcgrimes said:

I’m not certain that makes sense, you pay for the weight of gold so the fact one is 22k has little significance.

 For me it’s all about whatever is cheapest per gram

 

technically the more refined it is the more valuable it could be. eg 999 silver versus 925 silver.

 

... I vote sovereigns

 

HH

Edited July 11, 2021 by HawkHybrid

[B33TR00T]

1 hour ago, Mcgrimes said:

I’m not certain that makes sense, you pay for the weight of gold so the fact one is 22k has little significance.

 For me it’s all about whatever is cheapest per gram

I'm strongly attracted to the 1.25% less premium on Brits (at the lowest volume)...

The kicker for me is the frequency at which I can buy, let's say it's either (x2 sov / 30days) or (x1 brit / 60 days) - if on day 45 gold has increased by 10% since your last purchase, with sovs you have already locked in 2 at a lower price on day 30, with brits you still have 15 days of potential further increase... of course there's also the bearish version of this argument to consider but what fool in shorting gold right now?

Edited July 11, 2021 by B33TR00T

[Geovest]

The security features on the 21 Britannia doesn't change things at all in my opinion (unless maybe you buy on ebay or facebook etc).

I stack both, depending on the premium. Hate the colour of the new Sovereigns so I avoid them where possible. I prefer Britannias as you can generally get them at very low premiums and they stack (literally) easy.

[papi1980]

My humble view is that, if you are stacking, there is little difference between the two, but if you collect for numismatics or semi-numismatics reasons, sovereigns are the superior ones. I believe that the ‘rosy’ colour of the 2021 Sovs will be sought after in 20-30 years. My vote: two hands for 2021 sovereigns.  

[pricha]

Will Sovereigns have security features in the future , similar to the Britannia ? 

[DBCooper]

the new security feature on the brits makes no odds to me what so ever.

speaking as a stacker not a collector, gold is gold end of.  I buy whatever is available at the lowest premium when and where  I want to buy gold.

 personally I like the design of the modern Brits over Modern Sovereigns but for me it always comes down to what I can buy cheapest and that tends not be new Brits.

regards 

DB

 

Edited July 11, 2021 by DBCooper

[Foster88]

7 hours ago, pricha said:

Will Sovereigns have security features in the future , similar to the Britannia ? 

I hope not. I don’t think they can ruin the sovereign with security features.

Where would they go?

[Fishface220]

Either or for me.... only a small scale stacker so which ever has the lower premium at the time. (Thou will buy a 1/4 brit if only just a tad higher in price) 

[Nugget]

Echo the above really.  If and when possible I buy the 1 oz, but I have more sovereigns than Brits.

[Mcgrimes]

On 11/07/2021 at 15:13, B33TR00T said:

I'm strongly attracted to the 1.25% less premium on Brits (at the lowest volume)...

The kicker for me is the frequency at which I can buy, let's say it's either (x2 sov / 30days) or (x1 brit / 60 days) - if on day 45 gold has increased by 10% since your last purchase, with sovs you have already locked in 2 at a lower price on day 30, with brits you still have 15 days of potential further increase... of course there's also the bearish version of this argument to consider but what fool in shorting gold right now?

True, 4 coins or 1 coin?

i love me some fractional silver - if I won the lottery I’d bathe in 1/10ounce silver coins

[dicker]

If your are a stacker, just buy the lowest

over spot… The shape / design doesn’t matter   

Best

Dicker

[StackemHigh]

Sovs all day long. Good £ to Toz.

[RDHC]

Can some one please tell me what is the 'new' colour of the sovereign, and why has it occurred? Not easy to see on the photos, unless some one can point me to a particular dealer's photo. Thank you.

On 11/07/2021 at 16:26, Geovest said:

The security features on the 21 Britannia doesn't change things at all in my opinion (unless maybe you buy on ebay or facebook etc).

I stack both, depending on the premium. Hate the colour of the new Sovereigns so I avoid them where possible. I prefer Britannias as you can generally get them at very low premiums and they stack (literally) easy.

 

[RDHC]

I think I have found a good set of comparative photos - on Bullion by Post. I can see that the 2021 sovereign is indeed less yellowy gold in its colour than, say, the I oz Britannia, and the £2 sovereign looks positively pink. But the question of 'why?' remains.

[Nugget]

Older sovereigns were mixed with Silver I believe, whereas newer coins are copper (same gold content).

I quite like the new colour, doesn't bother me too much at all.  That being said, when I do occasionally get the ounce Brits out, they are lovely to look at.

I've fancied a couple of Krugerrand coins to add in, but stop myself as I am moving away from my keep it British approach lol.

[Geovest]

16 minutes ago, rdhcustance said:

Can some one please tell me what is the 'new' colour of the sovereign, and why has it occurred? Not easy to see on the photos, unless some one can point me to a particular dealer's photo. Thank you.

 

Sovereigns are 22 carat, which means 11 parts pure gold and 1 part another alloy, typically copper and/or silver. Pre 1957 Sovereigns used copper and a small part of silver, resulting in a yellow colour. From 1957 onwards the Royal mint used copper only (cheaper) resulting in a "rose" colour. See attached

https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/analysis-of-alloy-content-of-gold-sovereigns/180