h103efa

Since i was taking photos here's my stack/collection. Sticking to Gold, but did divulge in some silver for colour balance! Don't even mention whats at the back, my "schoolboy" error commemorative RM coins (still have a little bit of silver in them i suppose).
A couple of proof sovereigns (2005 & 2017) missing as off for grading!

Ha thanks @LawrenceChard
Actually in my family network, most people treat these as gold gifts (ie what weight "guinea" are we gifting) and dont even think of these becuase of the sovereign design. There are so many of these lurking away.
even the restrike for the veinte pesos?

As i mentioned earlier today in another thread (@NRSovereign, @MickB), its often customary (indian heritage) to receive gold (jewellry and coins) during weddings or birth of children.
Some of the gold received is often in the style of sovereign coins but are not actually real sovereigns, just gold copies. The reason is people just buy for the gold weight, they dont know or care that it is in the form of a sovereign look.
Here is a selection of such coins we have received as gifts. They have been verified as real gold by a jeweller friend of ours. Also ive put a photo of a Full Arabic guinea we received for your interest.
Coins are shown in order of weight
Top ~1g (1/8 sov)
2nd row ~2g (1/4 sov)
3rd row ~4g (1/2 sov)
Bottom ~8g (full sov)

As i mentioned earlier today in another thread (@NRSovereign, @MickB), its often customary (indian heritage) to receive gold (jewellry and coins) during weddings or birth of children.
Some of the gold received is often in the style of sovereign coins but are not actually real sovereigns, just gold copies. The reason is people just buy for the gold weight, they dont know or care that it is in the form of a sovereign look.
Here is a selection of such coins we have received as gifts. They have been verified as real gold by a jeweller friend of ours. Also ive put a photo of a Full Arabic guinea we received for your interest.
Coins are shown in order of weight
Top ~1g (1/8 sov)
2nd row ~2g (1/4 sov)
3rd row ~4g (1/2 sov)
Bottom ~8g (full sov)

Something in this i guess. I completed my PhD while working full time with a small biotech company in Cambridge - tough 4.5 years!

Something in this i guess. I completed my PhD while working full time with a small biotech company in Cambridge - tough 4.5 years!

I am sure there are many, which was why I said "some... ...don't always appear"

I'd like to stick up for some with PhDs that may have some intelligence but also common sense!

Probably.
Doug has created his own workflow, and does produce our images quite efficiently. It is always a pleasure to work with people who don't need micro-managing.
Don't mention Fiji, or he will probably expect us to send him there for a photoshoot.
😎

What you needed @LawrenceChardis someone who does microscopy of cells and analysis of those images for a day job. Plenty of life science students around could build a simple workflow to take the image and count the ridges using software like ImageJ or Fiji.

Since i was taking photos here's my stack/collection. Sticking to Gold, but did divulge in some silver for colour balance! Don't even mention whats at the back, my "schoolboy" error commemorative RM coins (still have a little bit of silver in them i suppose).
A couple of proof sovereigns (2005 & 2017) missing as off for grading!

I like the G & D design on the £5 coin for Prince George's 5th birthday @LawrenceChard

I like the alternative designs of the George & Dragon too @h103efa, particularly the 2018.  I also think @LawrenceChard the George & Dragon theme for Prince George’s Birthday fits nicely- a distinguished and powerful theme for our future King- what do you think they could have chosen to depict his Birthday instead of the G&D Lawrence?
Anyway, for those who are unaware, or might be interested, the George & Dragon was depicted on three Celebratory Silver Proof £5 Crowns (as well as in Cupronickel Bu & Proof) for Prince George.  Here’s the three from my collection.
The 2013, his first Birthday, is the classic Pistrucci design, which looks splendid in Silver Proof.  The 2015 2nd Birthday reverse was designed by Christopher Le Brun, and the 5th Birthday 2018 reverse design was designed by Jody Clark.  Coincidentally Lawrence, I purchased both the 2015 & 2018 issues from Chards.



 

I like the G & D design on the £5 coin for Prince George's 5th birthday @LawrenceChard

isnt the plan 4 or 5 releases every year until 2025?

Proclamations for the next Monarch Portraits...
 
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3988957
 
For the obverse impression Our effigy with the inscription “· ELIZABETH II · D · G · REG · F · D · XXX POUNDS ·” and the date of the year, and for the reverse either:
(a) a portrait of James I with the inscription “· IACOBVS · D : G : MAG : BRIT : FRAN : ET · HIB : REX ·” or;
(b) a portrait of George I with the inscription “ GEORGIVS · DG · M · BR · FR · ET HIB REX · F · D ·” or;
(c) a portrait of Edward VII with the inscription “ EDWARDVS VII DEI GRA : BRITT : OMN : REX FID : DEF : IND : IMP :”.

Nah joking aside, it's frustrating when you don't get something you want and are stuck having to pay more. It's like when I went into Woolworths and they didn't have those coconut mushroom I like but the pick and mix stall did outside but they were 10p per 1/4 more so I went all out for Woolworths and said they need to change their business model and reported them to trading standards and everything... And where are they now huh.... Yeah I did that people. 
I did buy the sweets from the other seller also for the extra money.

This!!!!
It is comedy gold though.

Hey @BarryWoods,
Is this the first time you are buying into the Royal Mint hype? This has happened before and several times too.
Nothing will change - no matter who you speak with, in the Mint
I don't know how many of these so called Gothic Crowns you have bought. If you can keep them, great. Else, cut your losses and take some time off from new releases.
I also don't know who this "dealer" or "trade partner" is. It was made very clear that only Mint Marque customers will be offered the plain edge. I know two fellow collectors / flippers / hobbyists who spend enough to be "Platinum Mint Marque" members, but, deliberately choose not to. Both have account managers and weren't offered the "plain edge" version since it was strictly for Mint Marque Customers. Therefore, whoever you bought these coins from would have bought from a Mint Marque customer. 
Yes, there are exceptions to the rule (there always will be). For example, the Mint Marque customers were offered a choice between the plain and the milled edge versions. They couldn't get both. However, there are some select few who received both. Most people here will know who the exceptions are. However, that's not the point. The point is, there is no way these things can be enforced. Also, as it has been mentioned somewhere on the thread above, the model is working well for RM. They already know what is happening. Their staff are on this forum as well as the Facebook Group I think you are referring to. Interestingly, I sometimes get asked by fellow numismatists if they didn't get offered a certain denomination by their account manager because they "flipped" the coin on Facebook! Although they are "watching", nothing will change. Nothing will change, because this is not the first time this has happened. They know it is a cycle. And I know nothing will change because I had discussed this with key staff at RM, during what was then, my monthly catch-up with them. Now these are less frequent. However, the same personnel, a key decision maker had tried to explain to me the rationale behind having a Mint Marque exclusive plain edge version. I don't buy the rationale. I mostly do not agree with their thinking. However, this brings them the most profit and hence why will they do anything different?
Did you know that even you could become a reseller of Royal Mint coins if you wanted to? However, did you also know that if you did decide to do that, you won't just be able to buy the Great Engravers series. You will also have to buy the Peter Rabbits and the Little Miss Sunshines. You won't just be able to buy the 2oz gold proofs. You will also have to buy the silver proofs. How do you think these dealers manage to stay in business? They end up making losses with the less popular releases and then these key releases (usually just once or twice in a year) make up for those losses. Did you also know that these dealers wouldn't have got the plain edge variety directly from the Mint? They would have had to buy them from Mint Marque customers at a premium. 
Lets say you have an issue with the Mint Marque customers reselling these coins. Although there are five levels of Mint Marque customers, majority of the limited editions go to the Platinum Plus and Platinum customers. Do you personally know any genuine collectors who never sell coins after spending more than £100,000 a year with a single mint? Let's take the example of the second coin in the Music Legends series - Elton John. The 2oz gold proof Elton John recently sold at an auction that only yielded 20% above spot price (and over £1,250 less than RRP) to the consigner after buyer's premium? The mintage of this coin is just 50! These were mostly exclusively snapped up by Platinum Plus Mint Marque customers. What does this tell us? There aren't even 50 genuine collectors of that series. However, the first coin in the series has rarely been seen for sale or auction in the past year. The series got ruined as the mintage numbers for the third coin in the series were tripled! and even more for the fourth coin. This is how RM function. The Mint cannot sustain a business such as theirs solely on the basis of "genuine collectors". The collectors only exist if there is exclusivity. You either take the risk and buy into a series at its inception or leave it alone completely. What are 1/4 ounce gold proof Queen's Beasts selling for these days? Not more than £500 a piece (there could be one or two designs fetching more than the others and this figure is an average; based on my own buying and selling experience). Once again, this is less than RRP for most coins in the series. Who would have thought that such a popular series will be fetching negative returns for long term collectors? Sadly, this is the reality. 
Why do you think these coins - Gothic Crown restrikes - will do well in the long run? Do you know that the total mintage of this re-struck Gothic Crown in 2oz gold proof is more than twice that of the Una and the Lion restrike? Did you also know that originally the basis of selecting the designs for the series was that the original would have been struck in extremely limited numbers? Gothic Crown does not even fit the bill of the original criteria for selection since they were minted in relatively large numbers. Ultimately it is a business and RM will do what the market will buy into. Similarly, the hype around these releases was always created by dealers who decided to buy into an idea as long as the mintages were limited and the average public weren't buying into the series. When RM launched this series with the Una and the Lion, did you expect it to do as well as it did? Did you think the subsequent releases will "perform" in a similar fashion. Most people hadn't even heard of "The Three Graces" - the marble statue perhaps yes, but surely not the coin. Una and the Lion has been a legendary coin and therefore the demand for the restrike somewhat makes sense. What also worked in its favour is that the average public didn't buy into the concept initially. Which meant most of the allocation was bought up by dealers around the world. This restricted the supply in the open market and hence the price went up. Immediately there were calls upon the Mint to increase the mintage as they could now see the demand. Moreover, the Mint also wanted a piece of this pie. The subsequent releases even saw a 10oz version in both silver and gold. 
What next? My advice to anybody who asks me about buying commemorative coins is that if you get it directly from the Mint on release day, go for it. Keep it, if you like it. Flip it, if others like it more. However, if you don't get it on release day from the Mint, do not buy it from the secondary market (whether you want to call them "Trusted Trade Partners" or "Dealers" or "Annabelle" - they all form the secondary market) because of the hype. In fact, do not buy it at all  Just wait and watch and in a couple of years (or less) if you still want it, you will probably be paying less than RRP. Unlikely for coins like Una and the Lion, but, applies to most others.
 
 

Yes, check the email they no doubt will send you Wednesday afternoon once everything has been sold. 

still a way to go, next stop nanodrive and then onto holographic memory...

The following is not formal tax advice. This is just my own understanding of the rules. Please seek professional advice if any of what I say does not make sense.
If the total profits from your capital gains is less than your annual allowance then you don't have to even report it or record it on your tax return.
Personal allowances are £12,300 per person.
If you are married assets can just be gifted to a spouse thereby making a married couples allowance £24,600
Remember, this is PROFIT allowance.
Any UK coin by the royal mint is CGT exempt so you don't even include it in the calculations.
Example.
You sell a gothic crown and make £10,000 profit, this does not count at all.
You sell a 100 oz gold bar and make £10,000 profit, this counts but if this is all of your gains in one year it doesn't need to even be reported.
Let's say you sell a second 100 oz gold bar for another £10,000 profit.
Your total profit is £20,000 
You will need to declare this on your tax return.
You will pay tax on the £7,700 that is over the threshold (rate depends on your income tax status).
If you were married, that second bar could be your partners allowance. So neither of you need to declare as each of you have only made £10,000 profit.
 

Some 1oz Silver coins that took my fancy from @Panda6Pack

Some 1oz Silver coins that took my fancy from @Panda6Pack