Do you buy new or secondhand gold?

[Amazing]

I'm looking to get into gold, and it seems like random year sovereigns and 100 Euro German coins are the chepeast, with only a few percent over spot. What's your opinion on second hand gold?

Trying to decide if I should buy a new 1 oz Krugerrand or a few sovereigns and a 100 euro coin. ?

 

[AgD]

I'm going sovereigns lots of different varieties and can assume a greater collection than just saving for a 1oz coin ?

[MancunianStacker]

I like sovereigns and quarter oz sizes because if you are not selling back to a dealer, someone (e.g on this Forum) can usually afford to buy them back.

Should gold double in price (you never know), less people will have £2,000 to hand than £500. Just a thought! ?

You want a smaller coin / bar with the lowest % over spot possible I think.

[Foolssilver]

I started with new coins as I was obsessed with mint condition but now six months in ive moved to bullion sovereign from all sorts of years. I enjoy having all the different types and sometimes you even get lower premiums this way 

[MickB]

I like buying older sovereigns as I try to imagine where the coin has been all those years and then look up what went on in that year as well. Makes it more interesting to collect compared to new sovereigns where they come straight from a bullion dealer and into storage for me.

When I first started buying gold I only wanted 24 carat coins but the price went up and sovereigns being a little more affordable made me start buying them. I still buy 1/4 oz gold coins but not as much as when I began.

[StackerNoob]

Its an interesting question. Stacking in general is so much easier to maintain when you are happy with your stack. For example, the scattershot of my silver stack was seriously denting my enjoyment of stacking generally. I've now made concerted efforts to tidy my stack and develop a deliberate stacking technique and Im so much more content. The question is does it matter to you if a coin is less than perfect? If so, is that for all coins or only a subset?

For me, as long as the gold coin has been well looked after Ill take it. It doesnt have to be brand new, but as close to perfect as possible is what I go for. I know people say gold is gold etc but what fun is there in looking at a beaten up coin when for a few quid more you could get something thats nice to look at too. Sovereigns are different though in that they are mostly in obviously used condition, but thats ok with me as sovereigns are a special coin. In fact I would go as far as saying an uncirculated sovereign looks really odd and not at all attractive, whereas a 100 year old with some wear looks lovely.

[JB3]

I don't care what my coins / bars look like because I don't look at them.

I go for functionality and reduced cost so, as Mancunian Stacker said above: "You want a smaller coin / bar with the lowest % over spot possible...".

 

I buy the smallest fractional I can get for the lowest premium I can afford.

[Roy]

Have you seen this guy's videos?

Good advice. Free too.

 

 

[SpotBottomFeeder]

A healthy mix of fractional gold (mostly sovereigns and francs) and some 1 oz coins mixed with some bars, is my way of spreading the risk. If I can pick up a sovereign or gold francs close to spot, I never hesitate. The fractional coins get a good premium on the secondary market, and will be more manageable if the gold price should go to the moon. My 100 g. bars will be much less liquid if only the market makers can afford them.

[kimchi]

I don't buy gold whatsoever, and I definitely do not bury it in the gardens of trusted family members around the country

[Xander]

2 hours ago, Roy said:

Good advice. Free too.

He said not to quote him, though.? 

I wish he wouldn't have shown that 50 Peso Coin.

[mgcardello]

I would first go around to local coin shops and see what they will buy from you at the best price.  I live in Boston and started buying 1/4 oz Queens Beasts only to find out that if I wanted to sell them locally I wouldn't get nearly as much for them as I would for 1/4 oz American Eagles or pre-33 American gold, simply because it would be harder for the local shops to sell QB's than American coins. For some it isn't an issue because they don't plan on selling them, but you never know what could come up and you need cash immediately and can't wait for the best price on eBay or from Apmex. I still plan on completing the 1/4oz QB set because it is only a small part of my gold stack. But I wish I had done my research first. 

[RacerCool]

Second hand, since I've recently been focusing on older Mexican and Russian coins.

[KevinG]

Most of the gold that I buy is second hand. With the old coins you can't find them new lol. 
But once a year I buy a brand new coin with my christmas bonus. Last year it was a 2018 Panda.

[sovereignsteve]

On 11/06/2018 at 20:15, JB3 said:

I don't care what my coins / bars look like because I don't look at them.

I go for functionality and reduced cost so, as Mancunian Stacker said above: "You want a smaller coin / bar with the lowest % over spot possible...".

I buy the smallest fractional I can get for the lowest premium I can afford.

Not trying to be funny, genuine question.

If that's your only motivation, why do take any notice of what coins are out there and specifically, why do you you bother with a forum like this?

Apologies if I've mistaken your meaning.

[AndyMacKay]

If you are buying in person so you can pick and choose the quality of the coin then I would suggest random year and pay the absolute lowest premium.  If you are buying sight unseen  online from a dealer then realize random year has a greater chance of having a lesser quality because the coin may have had years or decades changing hands.  You will find more dings, scratches and abrasions on random year than current year.  

If you are going for strictly bullion then maybe you don’t care about that level of perfection.  But if you want the most pleasing coin on average then buy current coins that have not been polished or cleaned.  

Personally I would not buy bars.  You might save a little on premium when buying buy you will find fewer natural buyers when comes time to sell.  The bars are harder to authenticate so fewer buyers.

[Pete]

On 10/06/2018 at 08:34, MrGeorge said:

I usually always buy pre owned coins because you can get them for 1% above spot. I personally prefer 1oz coins sovereign coins are too small for me but if you like the history of the coins then there a great buy.

Are you regularly able to buy physical in your hand at 1% above spot ?
Haven't seen prices this low for quite a while especially sovereigns and even the best deals on Krugs seems to be around 2% unless of course you are buying bulk quantities.

[AndyMacKay]

1% over for good coins?  I think you’d need to be buying from an individual 

[RacerCool]

Yeah 1% over is insanely good. Clue us in where you're scoring such deals.

[Kieran95]

On 11/06/2018 at 16:33, StackerNoob said:

Its an interesting question. Stacking in general is so much easier to maintain when you are happy with your stack. For example, the scattershot of my silver stack was seriously denting my enjoyment of stacking generally. I've now made concerted efforts to tidy my stack and develop a deliberate stacking technique and Im so much more content. The question is does it matter to you if a coin is less than perfect? If so, is that for all coins or only a subset?

For me, as long as the gold coin has been well looked after Ill take it. It doesnt have to be brand new, but as close to perfect as possible is what I go for. I know people say gold is gold etc but what fun is there in looking at a beaten up coin when for a few quid more you could get something thats nice to look at too. Sovereigns are different though in that they are mostly in obviously used condition, but thats ok with me as sovereigns are a special coin. In fact I would go as far as saying an uncirculated sovereign looks really odd and not at all attractive, whereas a 100 year old with some wear looks lovely.

Good in site enjoy your YouTube videos too

[StackerNoob]

13 hours ago, Kieran95 said:

Good in site enjoy your YouTube videos too

Thanks dude I really appreciate that!

[BoredGit]

I'm some what of an oddity. I buy for long term and only buy bullion. I don't buy proofs (and don't think I ever will). I have just started to collect the Queens Beast 1/4oz's. Even though its a long term investment/wealth preservation, I like it as nice as possible. As I want it to look as good as possible in the future when I eventually do sell.