Foster88

Wonger [Below] when gold goes through $2,000 

Gold as a concealable form for potential payment in an Escape and Evasion situation...Special Operation Forces during the war behind enemy lines. And John Wick!! Seriously because it serves as a retention of wealth and not buying senseless goods that aren’t needed. 

Personally I don’t know anyone else who collects gold so I’m interested to learn how other people got started, their motivations and what it means to them. What’s your story?

I'll start with my own.


 
My initial fascination with gold started when I was a kid. Like many households we always had an Argos or Index catalogue lying around that I would flick through when I was bored. As you would expect I spent a lot of time looking at all the toys but it was the jewellery section that really caught my eye. I liked all the birthstones and gems but my favourite pages were near the end of the jewellery section, it was all the gold chains. I used to sit and stare at the weights, purity and price of them for a reason I can’t fathom even to this day. The first piece of gold ever bought for me was by my mother when I got my ear pierced. I got a 9ct gold stud and hoop. A few years later after a fair amount of begging at shop windows she bought me a half sovereign ring and my brother a full sovereign. They were either lost or sold I guess and my gold story goes cold for a decade.

The financial crisis and great recession was my induction into the world of economics. I remember watching the TV as the queues formed outside Northern Rock and then like dominos the banks started to collapse. The government started QE and the bailouts commenced. What caused it? Where did this money come from? Who was going to pay it back? Pandora’s Box was open and my studies began. All the cash for gold shops appeared on the high street as the price took off - gold was more than just jewellery - gold shone bright once again. I seriously considered buying my first gold during this period but never followed through although my faith in the financial system was gone never to return. In the following years new terms and trends emerged. Help to buy, 0% finance, balance transfer credit cards, PCP car loans, early pension drawdowns and negative interest rates. I reasoned this was totally unsustainable, can only end in pain and it was time to prepare. I cleared all my debts then began living well within my means and saving in earnest. I knew what I had to do.

I bought my first gold from the Royal Mint. Three and a half ounces of pure gold were delivered by post the next day. When I opened the parcel and held the coins in my hands I was taken aback by the density, the purity, the colour. It was outside the financial system, untaxable, free from manipulation. It was perfect. It was that day I became a goldbug.

I’ve accumulated more incrementally and now it amounts to around half of my total assets. I’ve learned more about golds history as money and its universal appeal across ages and continents. I still don’t fully understand our love of gold which seems irrational but so is much of what we do. Gold is many things to many people but I view gold as the perfect way to store time. Immutable from government policy and excess in perfect parallel to its physical properties. I don’t care too much about price fluctuations because in the long run I’m as certain as I can be that gold will serve that purpose. During times like these it brings me comfort to know that I own gold and I’m sure I always will.

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

For now....

I have sold it all. 33% profit. It will probably moon now but a 33% profit is to hard to turn down. 

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Couldn't agree more, it is a shame.
I think they are all stunning.
Always wondered how they would look in a 10oz version!! 😍
If anyone is on here from the Royal Mint ..... let's make that happen please! 😀😉
The more I think about this the more I want it to happen! 1 of each of the Oriental Border Britannias in a 10oz version ..... wow 
Can only but dream 

I too have a few of these, the 2018, 2019 and 2020 version.
How sad that the 2020 version is the last. It’s been very short lived, that’s for sure.

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

This month's gold added to the stack, I've been waiting for the sovereign from Atkinson's for weeks

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

Very happy to receive this 1930 Melbourne sovereign in the post today.
Now I just need to find a 1931 Melbourne sovereign, I might just have to save up first. 😆

A recent indulgent purchase - beans on toast it is for the next 6 months...😩





 

Narrowly missed out on an item on ebay and messaged the seller to see if he had another but he didn't, so instead he sent me this coin completely free as a consolation absolutely stunning and almost flawless 1924 Austria
Schilling first year of issue in .800 silver (before they reduced it the following year). Couldn't believe it when it arrived!
I've since bought a cheap coin off the seller and negotiated to pay an extra £10 for him to put in a few mystery coins in the parcel with it- no clue whats going to be in there or if it's worth £10! I'll post on here what he sent me when it arrives.

While I can't comment on Bairds as I've never used them, I would definitely recommend sovereigns.  While I *think* a sovereign contains a little bit less gold than a quarter ouncer (something like 0.4 grams?) gold sovereigns are super-liquid.  If you ever want/need to sell them then you will not have a difficult time finding a buyer.  Plus sovereigns have greater collector's value, there's numerous different monarchs, different countries' mints, special edition sovereigns,...these coins have been struck since 1817 so in my opinion collecting sovs is much more interesting than quarter-ounce coins.
Talking about the gold price in general, if the global economy sharply rebounded after this crisis and GDP growth rose to pre-Covid levels then that could lead to the price dropping as people take their money out of safe-haven assets - the big one being gold of course,...on the other hand that could also not happen.  Gold goes up in value when people are afraid, be it of defaults, a sharp rose in inflation, global crisis, etc and human beings are not the most rational of creatures.  So my answer to that is; who knows?  I'll leave that to more informed and experienced people than me to comment on.
Personally I wouldn't worry too much about the price.  Sometimes you buy at a price which turns out to be high, sometimes you buy at a price which turns out to be low.  It happens to everyone.  The important thing is getting that gold in your hand and either way it's still under-valued.
And worst case-scenario, if you did buy some gold and the price then dropped, you can just buy more at the lower price.