Pete

Could you shed some light on this please before we all head to the cliffs like Lemmings.

I think with many silver proof coins there is always a risk of price collapse once the hype of owning dies down.
It will be interesting to compare prices in a couple of years time for the Una & Lion etc that commanded astronomic prices.
Same applies to the Britannia / Horse Mule which was selling for many hundreds of pounds, even a thousand pounds or more early on, but can be purchased for £40 today.
Sucks since I found I had a full tube in my stack.

 

bit of a random post with no explanation...

Could you shed some light on this please before we all head to the cliffs like Lemmings.

Being Canadian you may have some interest in ice hockey.
When the ice is repaired and looking smooth, the first thing the goalie does is cut it up.
There's your answer !!
Coins that are not shipped from the original mint in capsules tend to be supplied to dealers in tubes.
Whilst inside tubes, the highest points can sometimes rub a little and create minor scuff marks but the damage usually occurs when a "packer" tips them out for bagging individually.
They are bullion so why care ? I am sure some dealers take much more care than others though.
Some coins, especially British Britannias are shipped often in poor condition as if they have passed through a tumble dryer.
If a coin is dusty or showing a finger mark the temptation is to wipe it with a soft cloth.
95% of the time this will introduce very fine scratches observable more on a highly polished coin than a matt or frosted coin.
Silver is a soft metal so tiny grit particles which are harder ( Mohs scale ) will scratch the surface so easily.

A quintuple sovereign especially a flawless proof is definitely something to admire.
When I sold all mine I could barely beat spot and selling to dealers like HGM and BbP made absolutely no difference paying 97-98% of spot and the same with full and fractional Britannias.
For showing friends get the QS but for future trading get sovereigns or 1oz bullion coins ( 24ct preferably ) at lowest premiums, maybe 50g bars.

An unmeasurable rise really but some will say a doubling of the rate blah ... blah..
I bet the mortgage lenders will be quick out of the starting blocks and poor savers will see an extra 30 pence a year on their savings, still depreciating in purchasing power by over 5% per annum and forecast to get even worse. This is how to settle your national debt - print money to devalue it whilst adding inflation to make it worth even less so you never have to pay back what you borrowed. In times of inflation and QE you would assume the big bankers would prefer gold.

An unmeasurable rise really but some will say a doubling of the rate blah ... blah..
I bet the mortgage lenders will be quick out of the starting blocks and poor savers will see an extra 30 pence a year on their savings, still depreciating in purchasing power by over 5% per annum and forecast to get even worse. This is how to settle your national debt - print money to devalue it whilst adding inflation to make it worth even less so you never have to pay back what you borrowed. In times of inflation and QE you would assume the big bankers would prefer gold.

An unmeasurable rise really but some will say a doubling of the rate blah ... blah..
I bet the mortgage lenders will be quick out of the starting blocks and poor savers will see an extra 30 pence a year on their savings, still depreciating in purchasing power by over 5% per annum and forecast to get even worse. This is how to settle your national debt - print money to devalue it whilst adding inflation to make it worth even less so you never have to pay back what you borrowed. In times of inflation and QE you would assume the big bankers would prefer gold.

I never had the opportunity to consider children's ISAs but the way I see it ( correct me if I am off-course here ) - you put money into an ISA and of course if it remains in cash it just looses value unlike equities and various funds etc so got to get something that earns interest / dividends etc. Hopefully with reinvested dividends the funds will grow compound.
By way of an example if you start with £100 and assume a miserly 4% annual growth at the end of 10 years this would be worth £148 and after 15 years £180. All growth tax free.
A child reaching 18 that is handed an account containing cash is most probably going to blow the lot on a wild party and maybe some fancy clothes, shoes or phone.
NOT A GOOD IDEA !!!
I think what is much better is to open a SIPP for a child and start putting money in to get instant significant gains.
For every £100 you invest the government adds £25 so you can select exactly the same funds etc as you would for an ISA but instead of starting with £100 you start with £125.
The maximum you can put into your child's SIPP every tax year is currently £2,880 which is grossed up to £3,600 !
The drawback >> BUT A GOOD THING FOR SURE << is that your child cannot raid the piggy bank until aged 55 ( that might change in future in line with pension age ).
Tax may have to be deducted on withdrawals depending on circumstances but the benefits of compounded growth tax free inside the SIPP plus the free money is significant over the long term.
Please always check financial stuff and research suggestions as everyone has a different outlook and attitude to risk etc. and from my side I am not qualified to make any recommendations so always take financial advice if necessary.

A quintuple sovereign especially a flawless proof is definitely something to admire.
When I sold all mine I could barely beat spot and selling to dealers like HGM and BbP made absolutely no difference paying 97-98% of spot and the same with full and fractional Britannias.
For showing friends get the QS but for future trading get sovereigns or 1oz bullion coins ( 24ct preferably ) at lowest premiums, maybe 50g bars.

A quintuple sovereign especially a flawless proof is definitely something to admire.
When I sold all mine I could barely beat spot and selling to dealers like HGM and BbP made absolutely no difference paying 97-98% of spot and the same with full and fractional Britannias.
For showing friends get the QS but for future trading get sovereigns or 1oz bullion coins ( 24ct preferably ) at lowest premiums, maybe 50g bars.

A quintuple sovereign especially a flawless proof is definitely something to admire.
When I sold all mine I could barely beat spot and selling to dealers like HGM and BbP made absolutely no difference paying 97-98% of spot and the same with full and fractional Britannias.
For showing friends get the QS but for future trading get sovereigns or 1oz bullion coins ( 24ct preferably ) at lowest premiums, maybe 50g bars.

A non tax payer can, every tax year, put up to £2,880 in to a SIPP - drip feed or lump sums it doesn't matter - and the government tops it up to a maximum £3,600 so you automatically get 25% of your investment up to £720 as a free gift.
This is not guesswork as I have done this every year for many years for my wife.
You cannot access your SIPP until aged 50 ( maybe 55 needs checking ) so good to lock away your investment.
Making withdrawals you will get the first 25% returned tax free thereafter taxable - if you pay tax.
With a stocks & shares ISA all your withdrawals are of course tax free but you weren't given the 25% free boost to start with.
SIPPS and ISAs mostly use all the same funds if thinking about equities and trackers etc.

 

If silver ever recovers to a respectable level, dump some and switch to gold and / or platinum.
Try to get overseas on holiday a couple of times and maybe hit Vegas for a few rounds of craps.

If silver ever recovers to a respectable level, dump some and switch to gold and / or platinum.
Try to get overseas on holiday a couple of times and maybe hit Vegas for a few rounds of craps.

Yes several times in winter but for skiing - love it there but prefer to see jagged mountains i.e. the Alps.

If silver ever recovers to a respectable level, dump some and switch to gold and / or platinum.
Try to get overseas on holiday a couple of times and maybe hit Vegas for a few rounds of craps.

If silver ever recovers to a respectable level, dump some and switch to gold and / or platinum.
Try to get overseas on holiday a couple of times and maybe hit Vegas for a few rounds of craps.

Has anyone succeeded in working around their 1 per household yet ?
Last time there was a similar offer it was easy to order more than 1 but their website restricts you to only 1 coin.
( One for each of my two kids )

Buying high value items on eBay requires trusting the seller.
If the seller has 100% feedback selling similar goods and has been selling for a while then that's a positive thing.
If the seller has built up feedback selling bric-a-brac from car boot sales only then that's a negative thing.
When purchasing a high value coin the seller needs to show the actual coin and not a picture downloaded from the web.
It should also be good quality - no excuse for out of focus etc.
You then hope that you receive the actual coin exactly as described.
What would happen if you received an empty box or a box containing something else, or even a fake ?
The package would show delivered so back to mutual trust and reputation when using the eBay resolution process.
If you do not sign for the package and the courier cannot show proof of delivery then the buyer is covered for non-delivery and the seller looses out.
I always feared a buyer purchasing a proof gold coin would possibly substitute a coin stating mine was marked, maybe the perfect coin was taken out of its capsule and scratched etc. Lots of plausible excuses and unless you, as the seller, could provide hard evidence that the coin you sold was as described, eBay tends to take side with the buyer.
Would I buy a £5 - 10k item on eBay ?
If the seller is trustworthy from past & recent history ( check value of items sold ) - yes - otherwise no.
If hesitant or concerned about the what-ifs - best avoid unless it is the 'genuine' bargain of the century or something you are so desperate to acquire.

With a release date expected January 10th you would imagine the primary dealers would have a pre-order in place.
Looks as if this coin could be (a) hard to source and (b) relatively expensive for a regular bullion ounce.
Chards is showing the coin but price TBC.
I fear the worst and perhaps a reason to stop collecting this series should the price become unreasonable.

Thanks for the link - just ordered.

Thanks for the link - just ordered.

Thanks for the link - just ordered.