I’ve Been Buying The Wrong Things. Need To Get Back On Track

[Silverlocks]

1 hour ago, Organics said:

WOW! 😳 Didn’t think so many would either be, or have been, in a similar situation to me. It’s interesting to read all the comments. Thank you 🙏 

When I first started I had no idea what to buy, but was advised to go for 1oz gold and 1kg silver as the premiums were lower. Now like many I prefer the fractional gold as it seems more liquid and have stopped buying silver. 

The question now is, which I guess is probably for another topic, when is it enough? 🤔. 

Silver is hard to do in the UK because of VAT.  The spreads if you buy and sell from a dealer mean you've got about 1/3 of the value at risk if you need to make a quick sale back to the dealer.  It is possible to buy and sell off the secondary market; tubes of brits or other 1oz coins like Krugs or Maples, bars in the 10oz to 1kg range, and some other items can be traded on the secondary market fairly efficiently.

However, the secondary market still has a whiff of greater fool theory as you're buying and selling into your own market, and the alternative (sell back to a dealer) means you will take a big hit on price.  Other jurisdictions such as the US or Aus/NZ don't charge VAT on silver, which makes it far more cost-effective to stack there, but here we have to contend with VAT, with rather ganks the dealer market.  Here, you can only really do it as a sideline to buying gold. 

For gold, sovs are a good start, as they have a good combination of being liquid and having modest spreads.  Other fractional gold can be worth buying if you can get it a decent price - mostly through the secondary market, but sometimes through dealers.  1oz coins or bars sit in the intersection of selling onto the open market or selling back to a dealer.  If you don't overpay for them you won't carry too much value at risk.  I don't recommend anything bigger than 1oz or so as RMSD only insures up to £2,500, and couriers tend to be significantly more expensive.

 

[Sovhead]

4 hours ago, Petra said:

Unfortunately lots of people are in the same situation 🤔

I have tried to stop buying more silver but keep getting tempted back, gold, need to stick to my main bits …. 1/10 Britannia, half and full sovereigns. Trouble is, even with gold it is easy to get tempted. Not really sure now why I bought any proof sovereigns, probably because they were a decent price🤔😮🙁

Sometimes you’ve money burning a hole in your pocket there’s no Sovs or halves available/you like and 1/4 Brits and proof 1/10ths rear their head and before you know it the postman is at the door….🤣🤣

[Organics]

30 minutes ago, Sovhead said:

Sometimes you’ve money burning a hole in your pocket there’s no Sovs or halves available/you like and 1/4 Brits and proof 1/10ths rear their head and before you know it the postman is at the door….🤣🤣

Me all over 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[CazLikesCoins]

3 hours ago, Petra said:

🤔😮oi! Not so tiny! If you want tiny you should see my 1/40ths😮🤔

Little things ... good packages and all of that 😀 

#-I-luv-1-gram-bars!

[pricha]

2 hours ago, refero said:

I am a collector and happy to be. I consider what i am paying as numismatic value over spot as a fee to enjoy something rare, or uncommon, full of history or symbolic value. Still, When and if i will ever decide to sell i am pretty sure i ll get all my money (if no more) back 

I think you're right. Coins have held up well when you consider the collapse of stamps , postcards and cigarette cards as hobbies . Coins will soon dissappear out of circulation same as those items but people are  still paying record prices for them.  I think the reason is , as previously stated , people start to stack gold/silver as an edge against inflation etc then get bored and move on to numersmatic stuff. Maybe they move back to stacking but either way prices are still holding strong.  At the end of the day. Postcards, stamps. Football programmes, cigarette cards are just bits of paper.  But gold is gold. 

[Petra]

3 minutes ago, pricha said:

I think you're right. Coins have held up well when you consider the collapse of stamps , postcards and cigarette cards as hobbies . Coins will soon dissappear out of circulation same as those items but people are  still paying record prices for them.  I think the reason is , as previously stated , people start to stack gold/silver as an edge against inflation etc then get bored and move on to numersmatic stuff. Maybe they move back to stacking but either way prices are still holding strong.  At the end of the day. Postcards, stamps. Football programmes, cigarette cards are just bits of paper.  But gold is gold. 

Thing is all those hobbies you mention do have one thing going for the…. the bullion equivalent can be at times really worthless, however some of the numismatic erosion of those things can still change hands for amazing prices. As they say, quality will always sell … cards, stamps, coins ….

🤔😮😮

[Petra]

21 minutes ago, CazLikesCoins said:

Little things ... good packages and all of that 😀 

#-I-luv-1-gram-bars!

Nice, put price with postage is a killer!😮🤔

[pricha]

10 minutes ago, Petra said:

Thing is all those hobbies you mention do have one thing going for the…. the bullion equivalent can be at times really worthless, however some of the numismatic erosion of those things can still change hands for amazing prices. As they say, quality will always sell … cards, stamps, coins ….

🤔😮😮

 True but I don't really see a younger generation getting excited and jumping in to collect say stamps  when they have never used a stamp in their lives and spending thousands building up a hobby to the point where they move on to the really expensive stuff. So you're saying basically rich people will just buy all the rare stuff as assets and not really be collector's as such ? I can see that. 

[Petra]

22 minutes ago, pricha said:

 True but I don't really see a younger generation getting excited and jumping in to collect say stamps  when they have never used a stamp in their lives and spending thousands building up a hobby to the point where they move on to the really expensive stuff. So you're saying basically rich people will just buy all the rare stuff as assets and not really be collector's as such ? I can see that. 

🤔unfortunately, sounds about right🙁

[SidS]

I started out collecting numismatic material (pre-decimal) decent grades etc. I seem to have wandered away from quality material and started hoarding junk silver. So I'm a collector turned stacker.

[CazLikesCoins]

10 hours ago, Petra said:

Nice, put price with postage is a killer!😮🤔

I usually wait until my order gives free postage. A one ounce Silver Britannia here, a Paddington Bear stamp there, and wallah, a box of goodies with p&p thrown in 🤩

[Britannia47]

On 27/01/2024 at 08:12, SidS said:

I started out collecting numismatic material (pre-decimal) decent grades etc. I seem to have wandered away from quality material and started hoarding junk silver. So I'm a collector turned stacker.

Oh no, Don’t leave me!  You will regret going to the dark side - loads of get rich quick merchants live there!😀

Edited January 30 by Britannia47

[Stuntman]

I'm more of a collector than a stacker, but most of my collection is modern UK bullion.  I suppose the difference for me is that I tend to buy just a single example of a coin or bar that I like, rather than (say) buying five 2024 sovereigns (which would be better value for money, but less interesting). The few duplicates I do have will be sold and the proceeds spent on daily living.

I expect all, or very nearly all future purchases will be bullion.

I like numismatic predecimal coins but I stopped buying about 4 years ago.  Ideally I would love to buy a few more, but not until I think I have finished adding to my bullion collection.  I have my eye on a few coins that I think the RM will release in future.

Maybe I'll be in the market for a 1691-93 William & Mary half crown in about 3 years' time!

[cjbcomm]

Think you'll find plenty of people on a similar place.

Mine are mostly bullion with a few proof coins when the premiums aren't that big. Some of the larger denomination sovs in proof are often as good value as bullion sovs when you look at the premiums.

Try and stick to bullion as know where I'm at with those. Graded and the like are a bit of a mystery value wise! 

[Sovhead]

I swore on sovs and halves and I’ve already stated I’ve been side tracked and need to get back on track….i’ve nearly 5 oz of Silver arriving tomorrow 🤦‍♂️

[Bars]

Said in the new years resolution thread that it would be 1/2 or full bullion sov a month, so of course I bought 2 tubes of brits and started a half sov proof collection

[Darr3nG]

44 minutes ago, Bars said:

Said in the new years resolution thread that it would be 1/2 or full bullion sov a month, so of course I bought 2 tubes of brits and started a half sov proof collection

Hate it when that happens 

[artalien]

On 29/01/2024 at 23:08, Sovhead said:

.i’ve nearly 5 oz of Silver arriving tomorrow 🤦‍♂️

Ag ftw! Go free style, do as you will shall be the hole of the law etc etc

[SilvergunSuperman]

Interesting thread. Other than a few silver Christmas & birthday gifts, I haven't acquired any new PMs for several years but have recently developed the urge again and am considering the best strategy. Initially thought I'd 'keep it simple' and buy brits or sovs, but my head is being turned by Swiss/French 20 francs which are also a nice size and cost for monthly buys.

I recall many years ago on this forum there was someone who had a target of 100 20 franc coins, not sure who that was? I already have quite a few so was thinking something similar for the long-term... however I also have quite a few full & half sovs.... decisions!

[GoodAsGold]

On 26/01/2024 at 18:52, MrStacker said:

Sometimes temptations and excitement can get the best of us in this beautiful hobby/passion but one must always try and stay focused on the end goal. 

Just revisiting this thread and the above comment sums it up perfectly for me.