Gold stacking strategies

[campbellgs]

I am very new to PMs and started by going for sheer weight, bought a few Oz's, then went for 1/4oz QBs and slowly started edging towards more collectible coins. I'm now getting "urges" to start grabbing proof sovereigns but feel like I'm drifting from my original plan, which is ultimately stack weight but in an easy to liquidate manner. 

Think I prefer 1/4oz coins or sovereigns purely because they seem to be more affordable for people and therefore can be easier to liquidate.

Think I might diversify and have my main bulk as bullion coins e.g Britannia's/Sovs and maybe along the way grab some more numismatic proofs if I have the expendable funds for it.

I'm sure this topic has been covered in other threads but I'm skiving at work, so decided to start a new discussion.

Interestedto hear other people's opinions and their own personal strategies.

[HighlandTiger]

Too many people think of buying strategies, but very few ever think of selling strategies. 

1. You could sell on Ebay, the items will almost certainly sell, but with the ebay fees and paypal fees, you'll struggle to get spot value for ordinary gold coins

2. You could sell here, you'll get spot or a fraction over, but it will take time. If you sell under spot it should shift quite quickly

3. You could sell to a dealer, don't expect spot value unless the coins are perfect, but anything from 95% of spot upwards is easily obtainable.

All of which though are not instant, and must be factored in in all stacking strategies. 

 

If you want instant buying and selling of gold, like me, you might want to think about companies like Bullionvault. 

[Norskgeld]

Stacking strategies, just like opinions, often change as you're world view changes and also once you see how the coin world works.

Bullion Sovs are great in the UK as they are easily available and easily sold and as a base for a stack are almost unequalled.

I started stacking with the intention of buying silver but quickly changed my mind thanks to discovering the silver price doesn't move very much and the 20%VAT.

Now I buy bullion gold coins...mostly half sovs but also other European countries.

Any silver I buy will be numismatic slabbed and graded.

When I have a decent gold stack I will buy a few numismatic gold, slabbed and graded coins to top it off...but I might change my mind tomorrow!!!😃

[campbellgs]

56 minutes ago, HighlandTiger said:

Too many people think of buying strategies, but very few ever think of selling strategies. 

1. You could sell on Ebay, the items will almost certainly sell, but with the ebay fees and paypal fees, you'll struggle to get spot value for ordinary gold coins

2. You could sell here, you'll get spot or a fraction over, but it will take time. If you sell under spot it should shift quite quickly

3. You could sell to a dealer, don't expect spot value unless the coins are perfect, but anything from 95% of spot upwards is easily obtainable.

All of which though are not instant, and must be factored in in all stacking strategies. 

 

If you want instant buying and selling of gold, like me, you might want to think about companies like Bullionvault. 

Yes I agree, I am actually in the process of an exit strategy test...not going well. However I'm very new and still have lots to learn but enjoying the process.

Thanks for the input mate.

[HawkHybrid]

1 hour ago, HighlandTiger said:

but very few ever think of selling strategies.

this, buy what you can sell on for a profit.

 

HH

[trozau]

I would suggest choosing a series that appeals to you and changes designs every year. A few comes to mind like the UK QB series,  Lunar series, Perth Australia Kangaroo, Australia Lunar series (Perth & RAM), China Panda, etc. Issues that come in individual mint lucite holders add convenience and protection. The changing design appeals to more folks (including collectors) and makes for a more interesting stack.

[campbellgs]

35 minutes ago, Norskgeld said:

Stacking strategies, just like opinions, often change as you're world view changes and also once you see how the coin world works.

Bullion Sovs are great in the UK as they are easily available and easily sold and as a base for a stack are almost unequalled.

I started stacking with the intention of buying silver but quickly changed my mind thanks to discovering the silver price doesn't move very much and the 20%VAT.

Now I buy bullion gold coins...mostly half sovs but also other European countries.

Any silver I buy will be numismatic slabbed and graded.

When I have a decent gold stack I will buy a few numismatic gold, slabbed and graded coins to top it off...but I might change my mind tomorrow!!!😃

Very similar to my outlook at the moment, the only silver I have is whatever I dig up whenever I go out metal detecting.

thanks for the input mate.

[campbellgs]

3 minutes ago, trozau said:

I would suggest choosing a series that appeals to you and changes designs every year. A few comes to mind like the UK QB series,  Lunar series, Perth Australia Kangaroo, Australia Lunar series (Perth & RAM), China Panda, etc. Issues that come in individual mint lucite holders add convenience and protection. The changing design appeals to more folks (including collectors) and makes for a more interesting stack.

I have the 1st 4 QBs in 1/4oz but was thinking about liquidating and re-investing in standard foundational bullion, mainly because I'm falling behind and the urge to pay way over the odds is unbearable.

[goldmember44]

I have now recorded all my gold coin/bar purchases on an Excel spreadsheet, and added columns to add current retail prices, spot price, etc, in order to calculate variances to show my profit & loss. It is very useful and I can recommend everyone doing this to keep a tab on what's going on with your stack. 

As for stacking strategies... I see many people start off just stacking weight, but then get pulled in by numismatics. I'm no exception. It makes things a lot more interesting. I think one can mix weight stacking and numismatic collecting to a certain degree if you want.

[Shergar]

Am I imagining somebody on here offering a bells and whistles excel spreadsheet to share?

[campbellgs]

4 hours ago, goldmember44 said:

I have now recorded all my gold coin/bar purchases on an Excel spreadsheet, and added columns to add current retail prices, spot price, etc, in order to calculate variances to show my profit & loss. It is very useful and I can recommend everyone doing this to keep a tab on what's going on with your stack. 

As for stacking strategies... I see many people start off just stacking weight, but then get pulled in by numismatics. I'm no exception. It makes things a lot more interesting. I think one can mix weight stacking and numismatic collecting to a certain degree if you want.

Yeah we are gonna need this excel spreadsheet! 😁

Its trying to find the balance between stacking weight and picking up a few nice, interesting numismatic pieces along the way. So much temptation, not enough fiat currency to sling at them. 

[goldmember44]

It is a very basic spreadsheet and easy to create, but I realise not everyone is used to creating such sheets... I used to do loads in my previous jobs  So yeah if you want I can share a copy for downloading if this forum permits it.. I'll just have to blank out my personal stack's entries

[HawkHybrid]

6 minutes ago, campbellgs said:

Yeah we are gonna need this excel spreadsheet! 😁

Its trying to find the balance between stacking weight and picking up a few nice, interesting numismatic pieces along the way. So much temptation, not enough fiat currency to sling at them. 

 

money allocated to 'investment for profit' should go

on things that you can sell on easily. money

allocated to 'disposable income' can go on whatever

you want. numismatics should only be acquired

using disposable income and don't listen to those

saying how much numismatics are worth and how

easy they are to sell on at full value.

discipline

 

HH

[AlL]

7 hours ago, campbellgs said:

 exit strategy test...not going well.

Exit plan all together from stacking or changing "strategy" 

[Stuntman]

I suppose I've collected gold rather than stacked it, but I've mostly bought bullion coins (sovereigns and 1 oz) close to spot.  I have also bought the 1/4 oz QBs but these are for pleasure rather than for profit.  I also have a bullion quintuple sovereign bought for close to spot.  

I have 2 sovereigns and 2 1oz bullion duplicates which will be sold at some point and recycled into future gold purchases. 

I could sell this entire stack to Atkinsons tomorrow for a pretty decent profit over what I paid 😊

I'll finish the QBs in both 1oz and 1/4 oz, and buy one or more new bullion sovereigns each year for a little while longer.  Then I'll just enjoy looking at the stack/collection from time to time!

I do have two numismatic quintuple sovereigns which are totally for pleasure and I intend never to sell these.

[Pipers]

If you want to stack gold coins then think about where are you going to sell them.  This is why sovereigns are popular in the UK.  You can sell them in any town in the country quickly up to 4 in one go no questions asked.  If you are going to want to sell fast then i would recommend a vault eg one of the many London vaults goldmoney bullionvault use them plus many other companies out there though be warned do not use a bank as the bank owns deposits unlike goldmoney and bullionvault etc.  

[campbellgs]

1 hour ago, AlL said:

Exit plan all together from stacking or changing "strategy" 

Nah never out of stacking altogether! It allows me to spend without really spending. Just a shift in strategy...for now.

[Coolsmp]

18 hours ago, Norskgeld said:

Any silver I buy will be numismatic slabbed and graded.

I would be careful with graded slabbed silver coins if they tone there goes any premium. Graded slabs dont stop toning! 

[goldmember44]

20 minutes ago, Coolsmp said:

I would be careful with graded slabbed silver coins if they tone there goes any premium. Graded slabs dont stop toning! 

I've seen very toned slabbed American Eagles sold on Ebay for high prices... I guess for some people they look "authentic" or something.

[mae]

My personal strategy is just buying close to spot. I never buy below 1oz and recently I started to pick pseudo numismatics like Sovereigns (the only no 1oz I have) and pre 33 American Eagles at spot . Originally I started buying a little bit of everything: Krugerrands,  Maple leaves, American Eagles, Kangaroo,  50 Mexican pesos, and 50g bars but my strategy going forward is to stack only 1oz American Eagles (I love them) and maybe picking pseudo numismatics while the premiums are still low as they are now. I'd like to pick 1kg gold bars just for the fun of it but fake coins are easier to spot and usually selling more than 10k$/€/£ involves showing your ID and filling up some form.

As for selling, it's not in my plans. Why would you want to sell for a depreciating 'asset'? You can borrow monopoly money instead even against the Gold.

I only hope the bull market hasn't started, I'm not done buying. I'm quite young in relation to the Gold market and I started to have money and started buying in 2011, never with the intention of watching the price going up but to exit fiat. Now I start to believe Gold is going to go ballistic. 

[HighlandTiger]

46 minutes ago, mae said:

and recently I started to pick pseudo numismatics like Sovereigns

Wash your mouth out with soap. Pseudo indeed!

[DarkChameleon]

On ‎19‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 07:32, campbellgs said:

Very similar to my outlook at the moment, the only silver I have is whatever I dig up whenever I go out metal detecting.

thanks for the input mate.

So not much silver then...lol..

[campbellgs]

21 minutes ago, DarkChameleon said:

So not much silver then...lol..

😅

1850 sixpence, 1922 one shilling & 1944 two shilling, and 2 unidentifiable love token...that's my lot.

 

[DarkChameleon]

6 hours ago, campbellgs said:

😅

1850 sixpence, 1922 one shilling & 1944 two shilling, and 2 unidentifiable love token...that's my lot.

 

I metal detect two, took me over one year to cross 1 oz of silver finds...lol.mind you I was just learning my at pro so I blame the machine...still took in over $180 in clad from one site...so I could have bought 12 ounces...lol.

[campbellgs]

Just now, DarkChameleon said:

I metal detect two, took me over one year to cross 1 oz of silver finds...lol.mind you I was just learning my at pro so I blame the machine...still took in over $180 in clad from one site...so I could have bought 12 ounces...lol.

Haha the AT Pro is exactly what I'm using. Was gonna get an XP Deus but went with the cheaper option.

I've probably only been out a total of 20 or so times. Finding permissions can't be tricky around my way. But this is a whole other subject 😂