Advice how to allocate £3000/4000 for teenage son

[grace2much]

Hi all,  After reading many articles and 100's of you tube videos on silver investing Im overwhelmed and need some guidance. Let me as a silver newbie try to explain what I'm trying to achieve.  I want to encourage a desire (bug) of investing/saving in my teenage son and whilst a 1% interest bearing bank account may have its place it does not inspire too much.  So I think silver bullion is perhaps away to try to combine longterm (10 years +) investment with beauty and hopefully a growing interest in silver. You  will have to excuse my lack of silver terminology as I just don't have much knowledge. 

I am in my mid 50's (retired) and trade forex in a semi serious way for enjoyment and the challenge so i have a good understanding of risk. I realise that although silver spot prices have fallen these past few years it could even fall further or rise.  I have not any idea:-)  But you have to jump in someday and now seems a fair time.  If spot prices fall I will buy more in the dips and as I mentioned this is a long term strategy so I'm not fooling myself that I can "time" the spot price.

My main core aim is investment (thought if my son gets the bug he may become a collector/investor) but I want to try to capture my sons imagination with the "feel" and beauty of silver as well as its value.  So as a confused newbie I was thinking of this as a plan.  Please feel free to tear this apart and add advice freely.  All this is coming out of a confused silver brain right now!!!

I thought about buying 1 of every (don't know how many that is) new minted coin each year so for example the 2oz "beast" etc and some others of a few years ago this will hopefully add the beauty, interest but maybe not the best for pure investment.

Then I would buy 1oz coins say mainly Canadian maples or american eagle or Britannias as my core investment ....or....1oz bars?

Also I was thinking of some of the 10oz or larger bars, again more for the silver per £ ratio as pure investment.

I know my very basic and perhaps flawed idea above needs lots of work but I hope this is where you can help me.

Bars or coins?

Is the idea of buying 1 new minted coin each year for the collecting/beauty and then buy a more common coin for investing?

Where should I buy from I have looked at the UK traders online but coinivest and silver-to-go (are these the same company?) 

Should I keep all my coins in air tight containers, If so where is the best place to buy these?

Thats all for now but I'll be back with more questions and thanks for your patience in reading my ramble.  Any replies will be greatly appreciated and thanks......

 

 

[Roy]

Is he a good boy?

[grace2much]

 

1 minute ago, Roy said:

Is he a good boy?

he sure is.....

[Roy]

With the greatest respect..

We've had this discussion on here before. Why do people have to 'gift' their kids, most of us here started with nothing and worked hard. We weren't *helped.

I think it a bad choice. Give him your knowledge and expertise and let him make his own place in the world.

Please look at Paul's comment on Time. Your time with him is more valuable than £3/4000 of silver.

Sorry if this sounds like an attack, it's not, but I can't stand privileged kids! Grrrrr....

[grace2much]

23 minutes ago, Roy said:

With the greatest of respect..

We've had this discussion on here before. Why do people have to 'gift' their kids, most of us here started with nothing and worked hard. We weren't *helped.

I think it a bad choice. Give him your knowledge and expertise and let him make his own place in the world.

Please look at Paul's comment on Time. Your time with him is more valuable that £3/4000 of silver.

Sorry if this sounds like an attack, it's not, but I can't stand privileged kids! Grrrrr....

If you only knew our story you would never use the term "privileged kids!" but with the greatest respect you said ...."most of us here started with nothing and worked hard. We weren't *helped....You don't know anything about me and you just straight away assumed the worst.  If you only knew our journey.

The other quick to judge comment is that its a "gift" to my son.  I never said such a thing believe me he has more than earned it I am helping him to invest it wisely.

But thanks for you thoughts and i wish you well....

[Roy]

I wish you well too.

Most people introduce themselves in the New Members section. This may have helped.

Roy

[grace2much]

I apologise for not doing that it was an oversight on my part....thanks for the info.

[Roy]

Then, good sir, let's begin again 

[Oldun]

Personally, I would buy an old fashioned lump of silver (half kilo or kilo bar, something solid)  at close to spot) to introduce him to the raw material and let him look at it and then go look at the changing price/value of it (should happen organically if you don't tell him the price of it but just ask him to go find out for himself) . That will introduce him to looking out for the value of possessions etc......

 

p.s. Tradition here is to go say hello in the introduction area of the site

[grace2much]

7 minutes ago, Roy said:

Then, good sir, let's begin again 

agreed....

[Oldun]

I'd get a 1/2 kilo brick of silver and then after he has had time to get his head around that, drop a gold sovereign on him having bought both at the same time (both are about 200 quid retail UK right now, although you could get silver cheaper by buying in Europe apparently - someone here can help with that I think)

 

Might be a fun way to get him started......at least have some fun by making the kid think about what he has been given.

[Cornishfarmer]

Welcome, my advice is don't buy anything for at least 6 weeks, do a lot of reading, work out now where and who you are thinking of selling...... You might spend £4K and it only worth £3k (what the dealer will offer).   Good luck

[grace2much]

6 minutes ago, Cornishfarmer said:

Welcome, my advice is don't buy anything for at least 6 weeks, do a lot of reading, work out now where and who you are thinking of selling...... You might spend £4K and it only worth £3k (what the dealer will offer).   Good luck

thanks cornishfarmer, yes no rush, as my dad would say to me......"its like a wheelbarrow, always in front of you"  

[Cornishfarmer]

I wish I'd taken my advice when I started stacking, it can get very addictive and when you see some of great coin in designs in hand you can end up buying some not so good coins that you don't really want.     Some good deals on eBay but don't trust anyone until they prove otherwise.     If unsure ask here lots of different opinions but alway make your mind up and do what you think is best.       Also don't chase coins if you miss out on one they will come available again. If buying from Europe try www.gold.de it's a good place to compare prices

[grace2much]

12 minutes ago, Cornishfarmer said:

I wish I'd taken my advice when I started stacking, it can get very addictive and when you see some of great coin in designs in hand you can end up buying some not so good coins that you don't really want.     Some good deals on eBay but don't trust anyone until they prove otherwise.     If unsure ask here lots of different opinions but alway make your mind up and do what you think is best.       Also don't chase coins if you miss out on one they will come available again. If buying from Europe try www.gold.de it's a good place to compare prices

I'll have a look at gold.de and I agree all the advice you can gather pays off in the end.  I never would have believed that even now after a few weeks i would be so fascinated.

[Scuzzle]

Personally If I had 3-4K to invest I would buy soon probably from Goldsilver.be as they seem cheaper than STG at the moment.  I would just spend 1.5K - 2K to give you a cost average figure you can aim to lower in the future with the rest of the fund.  I would aim for a 70/30 split of the cheapest bullion to semi numismatic stuff that is a couple of pounds an ounce dearer.  The idea being if spot goes up you are winnning on everything but if spot goes down the semi numismatic stuff will preserve it's value.

If you can get your son started early then it's a huge advantage, if he gets into it and builds his stack as insurance he will undoubtedly see an event in his lifetime where it will see him OK, in the correct circumstances he may even be able to swap out his metals for a house.

[grace2much]

1 minute ago, Scuzzle said:

Personally If I had 3-4K to invest I would buy soon probably from Goldsilver.be as they seem cheaper than STG at the moment.  I would just spend 1.5K - 2K to give you a cost average figure you can aim to lower in the future with the rest of the fund.  I would aim for a 70/30 split of the cheapest bullion to semi numismatic stuff that is a couple of pounds an ounce dearer.  The idea being if spot goes up you are winnning on everything but if spot goes down the semi numismatic stuff will preserve it's value.

If you can get your son started early then it's a huge advantage, if he gets into it and builds his stack as insurance he will undoubtedly see an event in his lifetime where it will see him OK, in the correct circumstances he may even be able to swap out his metals for a house.

Thanks scuzzle this is very helpful and gets me thinking. Could I ask you for a few recommendations in both splits i.e a few for the cheapest bullion my newbie idea was a spilt between maples, Britannia and america eagles as the core or should i just focus on one core coin?

 And maybe a few ideas for the initial semi numismatic (I have no idea where to start here) I did like the new 2oz beast what do you think?

Thanks again for your help....

[Cornishfarmer]

https://www.kettner-edelmetalle.de/Silbermuenzen/Somalia-Elefant/1011646-1-kg-silber-somalia-elefant-2016.html

not got one but I love the look of it

[grace2much]

3 minutes ago, Cornishfarmer said:

https://www.kettner-edelmetalle.de/Silbermuenzen/Somalia-Elefant/1011646-1-kg-silber-somalia-elefant-2016.html

not got one but I love the look of it

Nice!  Maybe this is a silly thought but could buying a 1kg coin (instead of a pile of 1oz coins) like this give me a good oz/£ price but at the same time look great and have some extra value due to its style in the future so killing 3 birds with the one stone?

[Scuzzle]

For me American Eagles are very overpriced for what they are, a coin minted in the umpteen million with no yearly design change yet it commands a huge premium.  The Britannia has the advantage of the capital gains tax exemption so they are worth considering if you think you will venture near this threshhold.  If spot price ever takes a huge hike upwards if you have bought a fair amount of just whatever was the cheapest like a Maple or a Philharmonic then you maximize profit.  You have to have an exit strategy to sell your metals when the time is right, for me I have resolved to hold mine as long term insurance but if spot price ever goes above double my cost average then I will weigh in half my stack to make the remaining half effectively "free"  

For semi numismatics you can't go wrong with Chinese Pandas or Australian Lunars or Kookaburras, I think the 10oz coins are a good buy, instead of weighing these in you can sell these individually on Ebay to collectors who will pay the premium for coins they need to complete their set, if you do some research on Lunars you will see they typically gain year on year regardless if spot goes up or down.

[Roy]

The 10oz and kilo coins are a good idea. Like Scuzzle says, they should sell well on eBay and have the semi-numi angle/bonus.

If Danny-Boy comes on later, he knows more about this.

Will storage be an issue?

 

[grace2much]

3 minutes ago, Scuzzle said:

For me American Eagles are very overpriced for what they are, a coin minted in the umpteen million with no yearly design change yet it commands a huge premium.  The Britannia has the advantage of the capital gains tax exemption so they are worth considering if you think you will venture near this threshhold.  If spot price ever takes a huge hike upwards if you have bought a fair amount of just whatever was the cheapest like a Maple or a Philharmonic then you maximize profit.  You have to have an exit strategy to sell your metals when the time is right, for me I have resolved to hold mine as long term insurance but if spot price ever goes above double my cost average then I will weigh in half my stack to make the remaining half effectively "free"  

For semi numismatics you can't go wrong with Chinese Pandas or Australian Lunars or Kookaburras, I think the 10oz coins are a good buy, instead of weighing these in you can sell these individually on Ebay to collectors who will pay the premium for coins they need to complete their set, if you do some research on Lunars you will see they typically gain year on year regardless if spot goes up or down.

great stuff!  I like the idea of yours

........"If spot price ever takes a huge hike upwards if you have bought a fair amount of just whatever was the cheapest like a Maple or a Philharmonic then you maximize profit.  You have to have an exit strategy to sell your metals when the time is right, for me I have resolved to hold mine as long term insurance but if spot price ever goes above double my cost average then I will weigh in half my stack to make the remaining half effectively "free" .... 

This is interesting, I like this.  Is there a clear favourite between maple or philharmonic or Britannia or is it really just on price for these? Would each be easy enough to sell based on purely a spot price jump. 

thanks so much for this advice

[grace2much]

8 minutes ago, Roy said:

The 10oz and kilo coins are a good idea. Like Scuzzle says, they should sell well on eBay and have the semi-numi angle/bonus.

If Danny-Boy comes on later, he knows more about this.

Will storage be an issue?

 

I like this 10oz/kilo idea. At this stage I don't think storage is a problem I have a secure though a bit strange (like me)  location  Roy Have you any ideas which of the on the cheaper ones ie: Maple or Philharmonic or Britannia .....thanks

[Roy]

Big coins? Perth Mint stuff (Kooks, Koala, Lunar).

1oz coins? Cheaper the better! But Maples and Phils are soooo boring!

Brits are a better choice, IMO.

@grace2much  I'm a gold guy, others on here have more knowledge than me, but I like to help.

Next question: Exit strategy? 

[Scuzzle]

Ultimately if you are selling on the spot price then it's just a case of silver is silver, all the government minted coins give a guarantee of purity, weight and quality, if one is £12 an ounce and another is £14 then if spot ever hits £30 an ounce all you are achieving by buying the more expensive one is costing yourself £2 an ounce in potential profit.  However the "experts" do say to specialise in whatever the native coin of your own country is so it would be Britannias however if something like a Maple or an Australian Kangaroo was a £1 or two cheaper then I would have no hesitation in having these instead.

It's entirely different when it comes to the semi numismatic stuff but just taking bullion then it's just what you can get at the best price IMO.

As said it comes down to your exit strategy, I have no problem selling some of my stack on Ebay but I don't want to be listing hundreds of individual auctions so I would reserve this for the semi numismatic stuff only, if spot were to go to a nice high price I would happily just take my entire box of cheap bullion to get weighed in just for spot price even though I paid slightly more initially for the privillige of getting my ounce of silver stamped into a coin shape.