Advice for a newbie

[dicker]

Forum membership is a fantastic investment.  I am a member of a number of organisations / societies, none which offer the value of TSF.

I have no “association” other than being a member.

Best

Dicker

[scotwasp]

As a fellow newbie (just over a year) , the advice here is great and gold is probably best, but I spend about 30% of my money on silver to spread things about a little and importantly,,, because I love how it looks 😉 I think you have to like what you’re buying if you’re going to enjoy the early part of the PM journey..  just an opinion of course. 

[chrisdobb]

Hi Winston

My opinion, for what it's worth.

I only started stacking a few months ago but this forum is really educating me greatly.

I have started to only buy Sovreigns and Gold britannias when I can afford them.

I am attempting to make up a collection of sovereigns by year, what I have discovered is that should you buy a number best value sovs from the same dealer, at the same time, you tend to get all the same year.

What I do now is to buy them one at a time, that way I seem to get a better mix of dates.

I would be interested to know if others have also noticed this.

[TringSilver]

My advice would be low premium sovs. Premium is key as remember if you're ever in a bind and need to cash them in at pawn shop or dealer then you'll only be getting spot if lucky and probably a percent or two under. Check the buy prices on the common dealers to get an idea of what I mean. 

Also Chards and Atkinsons have great online resources that will cover all of your questions too. BBP has good info too such as sovereign mintages but I tend to steer clear of them as pricey compared to most. 

[chrisdobb]

Chards do not seem to carry much stock, so much is shown as out of stock, is the usual way they operate?

[scotwasp]

I think so, but having tried them for my latest monthly purchase, they were every bit as efficient as BBP and a bit cheaper. Gave me confidence to try them again.

I don’t mind that they show items as “out of stock “  I would be annoyed if they didn’t and tried to fulfill an order they didn’t have stock for which I understand some dealers do. 
 

 

[Centauri167]

On 09/12/2021 at 14:35, Sovstacker said:

Sovereigns are the most prestigious bullion gold coins in the world.

LOL 🤣

The South African Krugerand has that place, and I think many will come before the Sovereign like the American Eagle and the Maple Leaf but the Sovereign has a historical place in the stacking community.

[Centauri167]

On 09/12/2021 at 13:23, WinstonSmith said:

Appreciate your reply, thanks.  Was a bit worried I'd come across as paranoid, but reading some of the other threads, it seems hedging your bets against fiat is quite common, not just buying for collecting sake.

I don't mind admitting I know nothing about precious metals. What are your thoughts on Silver? My initial thought was spread any risk across the two metals.

I would try to buy as much gold ( like sovereigns ) with the lowest premiums, so no proofs, graded or numismatic coins.

You can also buy some silver but as you are starting and knowing the reason why, I would buy at least 3/4 of your budget in gold.

[TringSilver]

44 minutes ago, Centauri167 said:

LOL 🤣

The South African Krugerand has that place, and I think many will come before the Sovereign like the American Eagle and the Maple Leaf but the Sovereign has a historical place in the stacking community.

I think this needs clarification.

The sovereign is the "chief" bullion coin.

It pre dates those you mention by Hundreds of years.

Krugs are probably the most "well known" bullion coin.

[arcticfox]

Welcome to the forum pal.

As a newbie myself, I started on silver "Do have some gold" but I have got to a certain point in silver so I'm now buying gold coins, I do like silver as its fun and does not break the bank "I'm collecting certain types unless I see a bargain".

Plenty of spot on advice above so not much to add bar be sensible, don't panic buy/sell and wait for the bargains.

[Darr3nG]

1 minute ago, arcticfox said:

be sensible, don't panic buy/sell and wait for the bargains

Great advice

[CaptCaveMan]

Firstly, welcome to the forum @WinstonSmith

Some really good advice already shared in this thread and only started hunting down the shiny stuff myself earlier this year.  As a newbie I bought a few Brits via flee bay at first before delving more into the rabbit hole and fortunately found TSF soon after, best thing I've done.

I have only a few Oz in Silver and soon realised that after Brexit I'd missed the boat on cheap Brits via Europe, 20% VAT as well as Silver being at such a high I switched metals.  YouTuber's such as our great @BackyardBullion as well as 2 is 1 were/are a great way to sit back with a coffee or something stronger over a few evenings to listen to and possibly help shape your knowledge and direction before committing.

One thing I picked up quickly was to keep records of your purchases verses spot so you know when your eventually in the black (although it's a long term goal/savings plan/investment/wealth management etc.) and a few members have been kind enough to upload templates/ideas in Excel etc. you just need to search...

If your stacking, just look out for the deals - some of the best prices are here on TSF in the Buy & Sell section once you know what you after.  If your collecting, I'd say your still find great deals here but the dealers like @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer can also often help with those hard to find pieces.

It's fairly addictive but I've learnt that a steady amount of pocket money set aside monthly soon reap rewards rather than going all in at once.

The people here IMHO are really stand-up types and help whenever they can, there's a wealth of knowledge -  just remember to do a search prior to asking as most questions have been answered one way or another.

Most of all, enjoy the journey...

[spoon]

 Welcome to the forum.

I only started stacking during the  February 2021 silver squeeze hype and I did not know about the silver forum so i made lots of mistakes and ending up buying a couple of kilo bars and 30 oz of coins from dealers paying an average of £27.80oz.........not good.

If i could have my time again i  would buy from the forum and get gold  sovereigns and silver Britannia coins .

I would also consider 0.500 pre 1947 coins as you can get them at spot price with no premium or vat which is amazing. If i had only purchased the pre 1947 coins form the forum i would have got silver at £17 rather than £27.80.

On the forum you can get silver Britannia's for £23oz, pre 1947 at £17oz and gold sovereign's for spot plus 4%.

Wish i had seen the silver forum before i wasted that cash.

I am now saving for gold sovs, silver brits and pre 1947. 

Good luck

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by spoon
Spelling mistakes

[Centauri167]

With only a budget of 1K, stay away from silver and buy golden sovereigns with the lowest premium over spott price. Don't buy proofs or special numismatic edition's.

[dicker]

Treat YouTube experts with extreme scepticism.  I have watched some content over the last few days and have been horrified.  

[modofantasma]

On 11/12/2021 at 11:12, chrisdobb said:

I am attempting to make up a collection of sovereigns by year, what I have discovered is that should you buy a number best value sovs from the same dealer, at the same time, you tend to get all the same year.

What I do now is to buy them one at a time, that way I seem to get a better mix of dates.

I would be interested to know if others have also noticed this.

Tend to get a mix when buying multiples more often than not but time to time same years on sovs

[SlowFrog]

Not been stacking long either but the one bit of advice I wish I'd have gotten (which some members have thankfully shared with you), is to go for older sovs whenever possible. I threw a couple of grand straight into sovs from Atkinson's and received a bunch of 2015 and 2020. After since buying some older sovereigns I've realised how much uglier the newer ones are! Maybe it's just me and I'm lucky that I didn't pay much of a premium but I'd definitely swap new for old if given the chance.

For what it's worth, I'm not keen on the composition/colour of the newer sovereigns and they look like they're wrapped in cling-film 

[MonkeysUncle]

Lots of good advice. I've been hoarding silver for years but only started acquiring gold having sold a property earlier this year. 

I would emphasise the good advice about avoiding ebay: there are plenty of dodgy folk selling dodgy stuff and you could easily end up in a paddleless vessel up a creek with a lump of gold plated tin. I take my chances with silver coins but only buy the odd coin until I satisfy myself a seller is kosher - and I'm confident I can spot a dud (famous last words!) With gold I wouldn't know - I've a fake Kruger I was given and I can tell you now I can't tell it apart from a real one!

Good luck, and most importantly, enjoy!

[silenceissilver]

On 09/12/2021 at 18:55, dicker said:

Hi Winston

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

My advice would be to avoid Silver and the premiums that it attracts, especially if you are on a budget.  

Sovereigns would be my recommendation - they are priced keenly over spot, and sell very quickly and easily anywhere in the world.  

I personally would aim for Gillick Sovereigns (QE2 before decimalisation).  Cracking coins and well priced.  

Save for full sovereigns and the forum is a great place to obtain them at very sane prices

Best

Dicker
 

It should also be noted for newbies, it's considerably more difficult to store than gold because unlike gold it can tone over time (if exposed to air), not to mention milk spots. Well, that's another 5 topics in their own right but at least it should briefly be mentioned. Also, if the budget is low, I assume there is no budget for a proper safe, and silver isn't that easy to hide because of its volume. That being said, I started with both metals and would do the same again, specially when your total stack is only about 3 Sovereigns, you'd need to break up ca 30% of your total stack, if you needed to sell something. I think at least a bit of silver should be part of every stack. You can then tick it off, if you want and focus on gold.

Edited December 23, 2021 by silenceissilver

[chrisdobb]

ebay has got to be more of a risk, it seems to me dealer prices are around about in line with ebay plus, with most, no delivery charges and lots of consumer purchase guarantees.

These are the reasons I stay away from ebay.