mr-dead

I can confirm I have shipped a wad of gold from Canada to the UK and there are no fees or taxes due on investment grade gold.
I just had to sign a declaration for FedEx confirming it was investment grade therefore exempt.

Hi, I just wanted to know why nobody in either the  stacking and collecting community. It baffles me as there are so many beautiful ancient coins that are at amazing prices. I know it’s probally not a good investment but fascinating never the less, lately I decided to pick up some roman denari and just find then fascinating none of these coins are above 100 pounds so hopefully you can see what I mean by them being great value. Don’t forget these are two 
thousand year old coins the oldest dating back to 78 BC when looking at the amazing detail they have kept.

@jonrms and I are live on chat now. Come see his poured HALLMARKED silver!

Added 0 minutes later... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-x-DzDS-Go&feature=youtu.be

Comes in a very nice wooden box, inside the coin sits nicely on a velvet cushion and there is a 3d printed stand designed for the shape of the coin and that sits nicely.

If anyone is interested in this coin/piece of art I have a video going out on Saturday showcasing it!
Incredible stuff!
Also, the discount code is as follows...
$50 discount use the code:
BYB50
In aid of full transparency I will receive a very small kickback from the use of this discount code.
In addition I would like to add that the coin I have in hand is one that I purchased for myself at full price (minus my own $50 off code!) So I am not just pumping this coin, it is something I like. I don't view it as an investment, it is a luxury plain and simple. 
https://hotco.co/collections/roman-booteen/products/the-trap-coin

Beautiful coins, only %3 premium, not bad at all.

The pundits blame the Internet for the death of the high street. Frankly its the government and landlords that are to blame. 

some impressively high coin grades

some impressively high coin grades

Winner

some impressively high coin grades

Wait until this weekend, I have a discount code coming - this coin is incredible in hand and fun to boot!

4 X 10oz gairsoppa recovered silver bars arrived from Canada.
Ready for a project
 

Welp, that's it. I've registered a hallmark with the assay office. I guess that means I've got to set up an etsy shop now, right?

Good day to bury news...I would be checking laws being voted on/passed or enacted today or yesterday/tomorrow or some such thing...

Good article on Chards:
https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/special-scheme-silver/259
 
VAT Margin Scheme on Silver
The British government introduced a VAT margin scheme which taxes the difference between the price that the dealer has paid for the item and what it is then sold for. This can be applied when we sell second-hand silver, medallions and coin sets which are not legal tender.
 
Who said Britannia's + Queens beasts were the way to go lol

I think the wife would cut my nuts off if I switched my gold for over a tonne of silver lol

Here are some more thoughts in video form!
 

Got 3 of these back today to add to my other. I have 2 more out for grading & 1 more to go out
 

1 oz bars don't come better than this!

Howdy all - this should be a fun and interesting topic, so please feel free to comment/PM me directly if you want!
Quick disclaimer
First off, I want to make it abundantly clear that this thread is not in any way meant as financial/tax advice.
I am in no way telling you what is or is not the law or how it applies to your situation and circumstances. The purpose of this thread is to raise awareness of some of the forgotten or overlooked issues that come with buying and selling Gold & Silver coins on a regular or even semi regular basis. Also, this applies to pretty much everything else you buy and sell, not just coins. 
I would highly recommend that if you are in doubt to contact HMRC directly or seek professional advice on your situation. 
Selling Silver & Gold as a hobby or a trade - it really matters so take heed!
You might ask, whats the problem? Selling some silver and gold is a great way for me to top up my stack budget, it raises my seller profile for when the time comes to sell other things and it is fun at the same time - not to mention that because it is gold and silver I am selling that it is a capital asset, not a trade so I am good to go!?
The answers to the above are Yes's and no's - in short it is very complicated.
So, it is no secret that I have been buying and selling silver and gold for a while now. I started, like many of you out there most likely, buy buying some cheap silver from Europe. My intentions at that time were to buy for £XX.XX price and then when the value of silver has risen to sell for £XX.XX price and make a profit. 
Sounds great - and it was/still is the aim of the game for some of the silver and gold coins that we (Mrs BYB and I) buy.
Most of us are probably drawn to Silver and Gold that are deemed to be Capital Gains Tax (CGT) exempt - Sovereigns, Britannias and the like. Let's say you buy £10,000 worth and in 20 years time it is worth £50,000. No CGT to pay on the profits, happy days!
But, things are not always as simple as they seem. 
It is very easy for your buying and selling to be interpreted as a trade rather than just a capital asset being sold. 
Ever heard of the badges of trade? 
If not, then have a look at this link: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim20205
In a nutshell they are tests that HMRC will use to decide ultimately whether something is a capital asset being sold, or whether the sale constitutes trading. If the latter is deemed to be applicable, that means you have to pay Income Tax on your profits! All of a sudden your CGT investment could very well turn into just any other income and you may lose out on a significant part of your return. 
I don't really want to go into too much detail on each badge, because they are going to apply differently to each and every person - but it is something to be aware of if you are a regular seller of silver/gold/coins or even anything else.
However here are some key points to take note of:
Is the intention to make a profit? Yes could indicate trading..... How often do you make similar sales? Selling on eBay, Social Media or the forum every few weeks? Sounds like a trade..... Did you borrow money to get stock?  Transactions are similar to other traders or trades you make? - are there other people doing what you are doing and operating as a business? Did you modify or repair the item? Coin grading comes to mind here..... How long did you own the item and did you get personal pride from it. If you bought it last week, sold it this week then this is probably a trade as a business.  But sellers get £1000 profit allowance - so we are all good. 
You may or may not know that everyone has a £1000 tax free allowance for hobby trading/selling. Its the Governments way to encourage people to make a little bit of money on the side. However, this comes with a stark downside if you go over £1000 profit. You will be required to register for self assessment tax reporting (which basically means registering as a sole trader). You then need to declare all profits on your tax form, which you are then taxed on. 
So, be aware that if you are a seller on this forum, eBay or even your own website that if you are making more than £1000 profit in a year and you are (under the badges of trade) trading rather than simply selling some of your assets, then you really need to start thinking about the good old Tax man. 
There are stiff penalties for not declaring such income and you can be back taxed (I believe up to 7 years), charged interest on taxes not paid as well as penalties for late payment/non payment. 
Be careful how much you sell as well -  you might have to register for VAT. 
Recently you may have seen that we (Backyard Bullion enterprises) has had to register for VAT. This is because our Turnover was more than £85,000 in a rolling 12 month period. It does state that all "exempt" items from VAT are excluded in this - which means gold does not count at all on your turnover, in theory. But having spoken to a few accountants their thoughts are that if you are selling £100,000 worth of gold in a year, whilst no VAT should have been collected you may still draw the attention of HMRC for having such high turnover and be asked to account for yourself. 
Who here wants to have that to deal with in their lives.
£85,000 turnover sounds like a lot, believe me in the world of precious metals it is not. You sell 1 oz gold coins, 85 of them at £1000 each and there is your trading turnover threshold right there. 
Becoming VAT registered is a VERY BIG HEADACHE and may cause issues for your own personal silver and gold investments 
So, we in the Backyard Bullion household have had two very separate stacks of silver and gold. We have the business assets, coins we buy specifically to flip in a short time for profit. There is no doubt in my mind that these are trading assets and for the last 2-3 years of doing this they have been included in my books as that, I have declared each and every one down to the copper coins I sell and the £1000 proof coins. They go on my tax form and I pay income tax and NI on the profits. 
But, there is a separate stack of metals which we are holding as (in our minds) capital assets. We intend to sell them well into the future. We are carefully looking at the badges of trade and have to take special precautions in terms of record keeping, purchasing records being especially important. The goal here is that we will be above reproach if we get accused of selling a private asset as a private asset and not as a business asset. 
This is especially important when you are VAT registered and brings some really harsh realities for us. 
For example, Silver Queen's beasts coins - we are going to hold these for a while and at some point we will want to cash those in for a profit on the premiums. If we satisfy the badges of trade for it to be a private asset then great. No VAT needs to be charged, no income tax needs to be paid. But, if our situation changed suddenly and I needed to sell the 20x 2 oz Yales I bought last month then we will likely be deemed to be trading. We will be forced to charge VAT (making them not practical to sell) or sell them for a loss after paying the VAT man what we may owe in their eyes. 
This could be a big issue. 
In summary
This is a long post, I hope you have enjoyed reading to this point. It is very important for a lot of sellers on here to take heed of what I have had to say and to either seek advice of your own or at very least have a look at the situation as it applies to you and ask yourself, should you be registered for self assessment and/or VAT?
Please let me know your thoughts on this very interesting topic!
Backyard Bullion

About £90 on ebay.

About £90 on ebay.

Another slow and steady colletion.