Coins or bars?

[smokestack]

I asked this in another topic thread and then thought i should ask it on its own thread. . So do you think it is better to stack coins or bars and if so why?.

[Keithoil]

My personal choice is coins, the Australian coins IMHO are the best around at the moment, and they do seem to appreciate quite well, just look on the bay for evidence.

 

You have a lot more choice in coins, I like the semi numis ones NGC slabbed coins, but not big over here I guess.

 

Again buy what you like it is all silver.

[smokestack]

Sorry Keith, i realize i did not make my question specific enough, i was asking more from an investment prospective. I am not always the most articulate person , sorry about that.

[HawkHybrid]

there's more variation with coins. bars are mostly sold for their metal content.

you need to decide if your investment should grow in value based purely on

the price of silver rising or also have some numismatic premium growth.

 

decide on an exit strategy(how do you plan to sell it?) to determine which option

makes most sense.

 

semi numismatic coins are sold on their desirability. with bullion type items like bars

the focus would be on price.

 

HH

[silversword]

The trouble with bars, is the VAT. New bars all have a lovely 20% tax on them which puts the price up, and in the UK and Europe we are stuck with it, there's no way around it. There are some EU sellers who for various reasons can avoid full VAT on legal tender silver coins, which makes the coins cheaper to acquire per ounce. 

 

A 500g Umicore Silver bar (approx 16 troy ounces) costs (at time of writing) about £218 ex VAT (£262 including VAT/delivery) from Bullion Store. A respectable £16.38 per ounce, for a decent size bar. Kilo bars are more impressive and even cheaper per ounce, but I digress.

 

16 1oz Canadian Maple leaf coins, same silver content as our 500g bar and some of the cheapest coins available, costs £239 (£287 including VAT and delivery) from Atkinsons, or £17.93 per ounce. So if not shopping outside of the UK then clearly the bar wins hands down.

 

But, the same 16 Maples from Silver-to-Go in Germany will cost you £221, or £236 after delivery, coming in at £14.75 per ounce. In fact you could pick out a couple of each of STG's 1oz coin range (Eagle, Britannia, Koala, Libertad, etc) and still be ahead on price. The variety, coupled with the cost savings, is therefore an excellent reason to stack coins. 

 

My advice, which I learned the hard way, is this: If buying bars, the bigger the better. You'll take a VAT hit, but larger bars still give a reasonable £/oz average. Small bars like 1oz and 100g are not cost effective. Only buy these if you personally like them. On buying coins, get what you like - an oft-repeated mantra for good reason. If you're not bothered about numismatic/collector value, then stick with the common bullion coins, they are still very attractive in their own right.

[SilverPirate]

I agree with the above sentiment about buying big silver bars just for the metal content,it depends on how deep your  pockets are and how often you need a buying fix.Premium stuff will give you two options on the get out plan, metal content and desirability,with attractiveness to look at as a bonus.

It also depends on how and where you store your metals and what space you have,if metal only 10 oz bars are the best bet in my opinion stack in a safe well affordable and resalable in a price rise. 

If premium investment is your choice buy a case to display and collect the new released premium stuff don't go chasing past releases to expensive.If you have deep big pockets buy rolls of new premium coins and stack away till the dust is thick on them.

Bars and coins are the same in my eyes it is just personal preference.

If you watch these T.V. programmes on collecting and antiques ect, they only give under the current spot price for the Gold/Silver item regardless of what it is, that's why i go for metal content only , with the odd exceptions now and then because i like something.

[a_a]

I think it would be cool to have a few 1kg bricks, although if silver went up in value many many times over, it would be easier to sell a few coins and stay under the radar

 

I might be a bit apprehensive as to what is inside the bars if buying second hand, I assume it's more effort to fake coins than a stamped cast bar. I'd definitely buy a coin bar if I could get one VAT free

 

the potential future numismatic element is just a bonus for my basic bullion, but the pictures are enjoyable whatever happens. The collector in me is only drawn to old US coins which makes it much easier to separate investment and hobby when it comes to selling later on

[a_a]

also I'd definitely buy some 1kg bars if silver ever went into single digit $ spot, wouldn't care about VAT then

[ChrisSilver]

If you buy coins which change design each then there is a chance they will increase in premium more than spot price due to the collect-ability of them. This is of course if selling directly to the market. If selling to a dealer you will only get spot (or worse)

Bars in the EU attract VAT, so better to buy second hand bars if you can. Or buy coins from Germany VAT free.

[smokestack]

Thank you so much for everyones replys, you have given me plenty to yhink about thats for sure.

[thesoundman]

I really only wanted bars when I started, however the more you look into it there is a massive market for second hand coins.

 

You only have to look at things like Britannia's which are 5 years old and they go for premium over new ones.

 

Stupid really   it's the same coin with a different date.

[tael]

I've been around a while and have seen this very question, in slightly different forms, many, many times...

I don't really have an opinion and my stack reflects that. 60-70% coins - 30-40% bars.

There are reasons for both.

[smokestack]

Thanks for the replies, i am sure that in the course of time i will probably buy some bars and some coins, i was just wondering if there was any advantages to each type.