Marks On New Silver

[Arganto]

Hello!

Anyone who read my post in the gold section will know I have a touch of the ol' OCD when it comes to the condition of things, but that was 135 year old coin in that post...

Is it normal for fresh new silver to bear marks/dinks/minor scratches? I've had two lots of Brittania's from two different dealers with minor nicks on the edges that are obviously from stacking and been told by both dealers it's normal and any replacements would likely be the same; so I've come to terms with that. I recently had a 10 Oz Valiant delivered in an order and it's got a mark or two on Liz's face. The worst is only a very minor nick but it's noticeable as soon as you look at the 'coin'. 

Yes, it's 'only' bullion and 'only' silver, but these things are made to look pretty and are supposed to be looked at, especially the big showy items. Otherwise you'd just stack bars surely?

Or, am I just a really fussy plonker that needs to get real when it comes to new silver? I am willing to concede that is possible. It's a bit of a rock and hard place situation even if it is abnormal as it was purchased from an EU supplier, so I'll likely just have to suck it up anyway. 

Thanks for reading!

 

[sixgun]

i suspect the bottom of the pile is being sent out - you get what is left or nothing at all.

[Arganto]

1 minute ago, sixgun said:

i suspect the bottom of the pile is being sent out - you get what is left or nothing at all.

That does make sense, I ordered 18th March when the sites were showing stock for most/all things and there were special offers on, a lot of stuff started showing as out of stock following that time.

[davehard24]

The question is how do you know it is new silver and not from the aftermarket unless it is packaged. This is me speaking as a noob.

[Arganto]

27 minutes ago, davehard24 said:

The question is how do you know it is new silver and not from the aftermarket unless it is packaged. This is me speaking as a noob.

I am quite new to this myself, but it was sold as new from a reputable dealer. Outside of that I'm not sure. The capsule it was in was a little chipped where it had been prised open, but then the big lipless capsules they use for these are a pain to open in the first place.

These pieces go from the mint they are made in right through the supply chain and then back out again when sold so there's a fair bit of movement and scope for careless handling.

[Stuntman]

I think that generally the newly minted bullion coins are pretty good, but there is an element of the luck of the draw. 

Most of mine have been decent,  with perhaps a few tiny marks visible under an 8x loupe, a few have been flawless or virtually so, and a few have had noticeable marks visible with the naked eye.  
I have kept them all, but occasionally I have ordered an additional coin of the same type when the first one has a mark that you can't unsee once you've noticed it.  At some point I will move those coins on.  They are still a long way from being terrible, and perhaps better than plenty of secondary market coins as I will have kept them in the same condition as they arrived..

[cypressc]

Britannias are bullion. Their value is in their weight an the fact that they are government issued. You can take your key to one and scratch the hell out of it and it will sell to a dealer or coin shop for the exact same price as a pristine one. 

If it were a Queen's Beast, different story. But since blemishes do not affect value, it's hard to find a dealer who will understand the complaint. 

[Arganto]

I had a reply from the dealer from whom I purchased the 10 Oz 'The Valiant' . They said that marks as shown in the picture I sent them (or dirt) can happen as part of the manufacturing process or from storage. They reaffirmed that the piece is bought for investment, not for collecting. They offered a £10 discount on postage the next time I order from them.

I understand the difference between bullion and collector's items/proofs/numismatics but I would have thought that part of the premium attached to certain pieces is to do with their aesthetic desirability/cost of creating a design etc. It's a funny thing, it's not considered a collectors piece but I bought that one and other pretty silver things like it to collect them rather than stash them away and not worry how many dings they have or how many boogies they have stuck to them. Otherwise wouldn't each mint price their bullion silver at roughly the same level whether coin or bar or blob as it's all just the same...?  I would also like to think that if i did want/have to sell that they would fetch more on the private market if they were nicely presented.

All that said the fact that they responded in a very polite manner and offered something rather than nothing is appreciated. That last paragraph reads as quite a rant but I'm not in a bad mood about it; I just thought I'd share what's happened as I think it's nice when threads are documented to close.

[cypressc]

I think what you're going through is a common thing new stackers run into. A lot of new stackers will put their American Silver Eagles into Air Tite capsules.

While it's true that someone may buy a piece of government bullion from you because it looks nice, that is the exception - a collector looking to complete a set or someone wanting a nice example of a key date. Any collector who wishes to have something like an ASE pr Britannia in perfect condition should get into collecting graded coins. There is a market for MS70 ASEs and they command a nice premium. 

 

[Arganto]

7 hours ago, cypressc said:

While it's true that someone may buy a piece of government bullion from you because it looks nice, that is the exception 

 

I understand what you're saying, but although the Valiant is from the Royal Mint and is bullion not proof I didn't think a 10 Oz lump of shiny loveliness would be considered the same as a humble British legal tender Britannia. It's all a learning curve I suppose. 

[Stuntman]

If you like the 10 oz lump of shiny loveliness that you have bought, then your life is already the richer 😉

(I have a 2018 10 oz Valiant and a 2020 10 oz Royal Arms, and love them both very much!)

[Arganto]

4 hours ago, Stuntman said:

If you like the 10 oz lump of shiny loveliness that you have bought, then your life is already the richer 😉

(I have a 2018 10 oz Valiant and a 2020 10 oz Royal Arms, and love them both very much!)

That is true, it is pretty awesome. In the process of figuring out a way to mount it so I can look at it more...😁👍