If you were to start stacking again from scratch, what would be your first purchase?

[Gildeon]

Started theoretically with stacking but turned to collecting very quickly. I was collecting one series after the other but when I realized I was spread too thin and tried to sell some, most of them went at a loss. Or needed plenty of time to go if you want to get your money back (again not guaranteed). So by the end of last year I decided to convert a part of my stack/collection to highly liquid bullion stuff.

About 60% at the moment is in junk silver, which I personally like and can be purchased with low premiums. The rest is pure bullion (up to 10 oz) and some more speculative items (higher premium with a hope to rise) but not very expensive proofs etc. One other trap: try not to buy bullion you like much, as it can turn to collecting easily (pay more premiums and not wanting to sell). As for gold to silver ratio, my plan is to keep it at 1:100 for the moment. This is because I see more potential for the silver price to rise in the next few years. Later, when space and portability are becoming more of an issue, I will probably increase my gold percentage. Middle term plan for bullion weight is 1000 oz of silver and 10 oz of gold.

If I was starting again, I would follow my present course: some series and collections for pleasure and long term keeping (up to 20-30% of total budget) and the rest bullion in any proportion you feel comfortable with.

[HawkHybrid]

11 hours ago, vand said:

someone needs to do one of those flowcharts with 700 separate branches that all come back to "buy sovs" at the end

 

at the very least it'll be more honest than 'all roads lead to

physical silver'.

 

HH

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

5 hours ago, Gildeon said:

try not to buy bullion you like much, as it can turn to collecting easily (pay more premiums and not wanting to sell).

I agree with this completely. I think its important to like what you buy but this is definitely a trap that is easy to get caught in. One other thing I'd personally warn against is try not to hop on the bandwagon for whatever the coin or series of the day is. If I've learned anything from all the collecting as well as buying and selling I've done over the years it is that what is popular today is rarely popular tomorrow. The Queens Beasts series is one I think of here. Many people were smart to get in on those when the first coins came out but mostly I see people paying rather absurd prices to backdate a collection. Its hard to imagine those coins holding that value let alone increasing as time goes by and they spot, tarnish and collectors move on to the next thing.

[EdNug]

For silver I'd go with 10 oz coins - Valiants and/or Queens Beasts atm. Buy in bulk and order from a reputable European dealer to minimise overheads and premiums. Both are limited mintage, reasonably close to spot, easy to trade and their premium will rise moderately with age - stackers with a small premium potential.

For balancing the stack sovs are hard to beat in the UK, often picked up cheapest at local auctions or bargains through TSF.

With Gold:Silver at 1:88 I'd definitely start with silver first though, right now it is least favoured, ridiculously cheap, bottomed out and its nice to get some hefty weight for your bank notes. If value ever turns to reflect natural abundance that 10 oz silver lump will be worth the same as four sovs.

Don't ignore crypto or silver/gold shares either. Bitcoin might only exist in the digital aether and be reliant on 3rd party tech but it has earnt its place in the contrarians basket whilst gold/silver shares may keep your cash in the financial system but, like BTC, should the markets turn in favour of PMs then both of these will reward much higher and more liquid returns than raw bullion.

In cash terms I'd go 25:25:25:25

[DarkChameleon]

I'm going to shock you, don't buy bullion, buy jewelry, you can get 14k and 18k at almost spot, not sped hundreds if you don't want to, Get eBay bucks if you're stateside and use the same to buy more, you can spend amounts that are doable and if you get a good deal buy things you could actually wear or sell more profitably privately because there's always someone willing to pay more then spot for a piece of jewelry that appeals to them.

[TonyS]

I’ll be perfectly honest, I don’t know.

I bought a couple of Britannia’s for my god daughters christening, it snowballed from there.

[RacerCool]

On 21/05/2019 at 04:45, HighlandTiger said:

Silver stackers seem to come in two types. The "Collector/Flipper", and "The world's going to end and I need to buy toilet roll with a silver coin guy"

I fall into the second category. And therefore when I first began to stack in earnest I bought a $100 face value lot of junk silver. That was the base of the stack. After that I generally alternated my purchases between fractional gold coins, and rolls of generic silver rounds or more rolls of junk silver, sprinkled here and there with coins/rounds of interest.

If I was going to start over again I'd do it the exact same way. 😎

[blindguy]

I like racercool"s response. I stack for profit later on when silver goes up in price but I also stack silver fractional bars just in case the world goes to hell. I like Valcambi bars, Mapleflexbars and other fractional bars and rounds. And I know some of you think the world will never get that bad but I wonder. If you live in the U.S. just watch our House of Representatives. The theme song for our congress people sound be BRING IN THE CLOWNS!!! And its not much better in the rest of the world. I have no faith in politicians so I will stack silver and gold. Jim

[Frost]

I'd buy all silver at spot deals once again 🤑 around 46 oz of silver at spot price!

[DarkChameleon]

On 24/05/2019 at 09:08, blindguy said:

I like racercool"s response. I stack for profit later on when silver goes up in price but I also stack silver fractional bars just in case the world goes to hell. I like Valcambi bars, Mapleflexbars and other fractional bars and rounds. And I know some of you think the world will never get that bad but I wonder. If you live in the U.S. just watch our House of Representatives. The theme song for our congress people sound be BRING IN THE CLOWNS!!! And its not much better in the rest of the world. I have no faith in politicians so I will stack silver and gold. Jim

I moved from England to American and now hold two passports...so for me it was a case of 'out of the frying pan....'....lol

[MetalMandible]

I would buy $100 face value of Constitutional Silver as a base and for the fractional pieces.  From there I would probably jump between Morgans, Peace dollars, and silver Eagles for a while until I grow bored and move on to bars. 

[Serendipity]

I’ve never regretted my first purchase of a sovereign which started me off on my stacking and collecting adventure. My advice to you would be to buy a 2019 sovereign from a reputable dealer such as Chards, Atkinsons, Bullion By Post, etc. Everything will develop from there and you’ll end up buying and selling to forum members.

[campbellgs]

On 22/05/2019 at 07:26, Gildeon said:

Started theoretically with stacking but turned to collecting very quickly. I was collecting one series after the other but when I realized I was spread too thin and tried to sell some, most of them went at a loss. Or needed plenty of time to go if you want to get your money back (again not guaranteed). So by the end of last year I decided to convert a part of my stack/collection to highly liquid bullion stuff.

About 60% at the moment is in junk silver, which I personally like and can be purchased with low premiums. The rest is pure bullion (up to 10 oz) and some more speculative items (higher premium with a hope to rise) but not very expensive proofs etc. One other trap: try not to buy bullion you like much, as it can turn to collecting easily (pay more premiums and not wanting to sell). As for gold to silver ratio, my plan is to keep it at 1:100 for the moment. This is because I see more potential for the silver price to rise in the next few years. Later, when space and portability are becoming more of an issue, I will probably increase my gold percentage. Middle term plan for bullion weight is 1000 oz of silver and 10 oz of gold.

If I was starting again, I would follow my present course: some series and collections for pleasure and long term keeping (up to 20-30% of total budget) and the rest bullion in any proportion you feel comfortable with.

In terms of gold bullion, any tips on best places to pick sovereigns or Britannia's? 

And is your main bulk of gold bullion made up of these coins.

Cheers

 

[DarkChameleon]

2 hours ago, campbellgs said:

In terms of gold bullion, any tips on best places to pick sovereigns or Britannia's? 

And is your main bulk of gold bullion made up of these coins.

Cheers

 

Sovereigns are a great choice for bullion, they are not pure gold but they ooze history especially when you can get Victorian and early coins for the same as mid age Elizabeth...the British history seems to promotesovereigns, movies talking about them with reverence, the upper class using them for their opulent purchases...they are recognized throughout Britain for when it comes time to sell...and the jewe,ry produced by them will always give an air of exclusivity to them.

[Gildeon]

23 hours ago, campbellgs said:

In terms of gold bullion, any tips on best places to pick sovereigns or Britannia's? 

And is your main bulk of gold bullion made up of these coins.

Cheers

 

I am not buying gold from UK, mainly from local sources in Ireland and some more specialized from the internet. Since I am still buying mostly silver, my gold buys are mainly half sovereigns and 1/10 gold various.

[aggiyama]

If it is definitely silver you are investing in, then I would say start really small. It doesn't really matter what you buy in the beginning because you don't know what you are into yet. I started buying britannias but quickly moved onto other designs. It was intended to be an investment but now gold has become that for me and silver has become an interesting collection which has an intrinsic value which puts it ahead of most other collector items. you won't know what kind of investor/collector you are until you are holding it in your hand. so take the plunge and buy a single coin/small bar and be aware it can be very addictive in the beginning so try not to be too crazy with acquisitions at first. 

[DarkChameleon]

3 hours ago, Gildeon said:

I am not buying gold from UK, mainly from local sources in Ireland and some more specialized from the internet. Since I am still buying mostly silver, my gold buys are mainly half sovereigns and 1/10 gold various.

Local sources in ireland, you mean gypsies?...cos they are pure pm when you can get them to part with the bugger....my dad was partners with some in a junk yard...im amazed they could lift their hands with all the rings and bracelets...but you get them to deal and you got a source for tons of the stuff.

[DarkChameleon]

12 minutes ago, aggiyama said:

If it is definitely silver you are investing in, then I would say start really small. It doesn't really matter what you buy in the beginning because you don't know what you are into yet. I started buying britannias but quickly moved onto other designs. It was intended to be an investment but now gold has become that for me and silver has become an interesting collection which has an intrinsic value which puts it ahead of most other collector items. you won't know what kind of investor/collector you are until you are holding it in your hand. so take the plunge and buy a single coin/small bar and be aware it can be very addictive in the beginning so try not to be too crazy with acquisitions at first. 

collection = I paid too much and now am needing silver to go to $20 or more to even stand a chance of getting my money back....iow the same position as most of the silver forum...lol.

[Gildeon]

Just now, DarkChameleon said:

Local sources in ireland, you mean gypsies?...cos they are pure pm when you can get them to part with the bugger....my dad was partners with some in a junk yard...im amazed they could lift their hands with all the rings and bracelets...but you get them to deal and you got a source for tons of the stuff.

No I am not that advanced in my dealings yet! 😁

I mean mostly local coin shows and antique fairs, there are some dealers with pretty competitive prices.

[aggiyama]

2 minutes ago, DarkChameleon said:

collection = I paid too much and now am needing silver to go to $20 or more to even stand a chance of getting my money back....iow the same position as most of the silver forum...lol.

it's a collection because I collect it and never intend to sell it but rather pass it on to my family when I die so its value is irrelevant

[DarkChameleon]

10 minutes ago, aggiyama said:

it's a collection because I collect it and never intend to sell it but rather pass it on to my family when I die so its value is irrelevant

Mine I intend to pass on,but I intend to deal and reread several times between gold and silver, gold and cash, silver and cash and to and fro, it's their money but I get to play with it..lol.

[DarkChameleon]

14 minutes ago, Gildeon said:

No I am not that advanced in my dealings yet! 😁

I mean mostly local coin shows and antique fairs, there are some dealers with pretty competitive prices.

I used to love auctions but people started getting too educated and greedy, they were weighing the silver, allowing for weighted, calculators in hand for silver coinage and gold grsdes...bloody tv hurt the experienced over the couch invsstors...they should have stayed indoors while the rest of us took their money and pms...lol.

[Nortypeter]

My first purchase would be a...bigger Treasure Chest,im on my 3rd one now,and each time they have gotton bigger than the one before 😉

 

[DarkChameleon]

1 hour ago, Nortypeter said:

My first purchase would be a...bigger Treasure Chest,im on my 3rd one now,and each time they have gotton bigger than the one before 😉

 

Preach.

[Paul]

On 21/05/2019 at 08:44, Estron said:

If you were to start stacking again from scratch, what would be your first purchase?

NOT Silver {drops mic, and walks away }