Full Sovereigns vs. Half Sovereigns

[Fastnick]

For me, a bit part of the fun and enjoyment of adding to one's stack is seeking out good deals and keeping tabs on prices....

For much of this year thus far, I'd been very happy with the prices I'd been paying for full sovereigns from H&B and then later from The Buckingham Collection, but with the recent sharp increase in the price of gold, I switched to picking up half sovereigns from a variety of sources.

Typically, I was paying around £130-£135, then £140-£145, and lately it has proven almost impossible to pick up any under the £150 threshold (and then usually with P&P costs to be added on top of the purchase price figure), so now it's back to H&B for their full 2019 sovereigns at £289 (inc. P&P ) - at least until I can unearth half sovs again at under £145! 

I really do so enjoy the "digging around for deals" aspect of PMs 

 

[Elements]

Will h and b let you order from them if you got them earlier in the year? 

The £289 site says 3 limit per household per year and I know earlier in the year they cancelled some people’s orders if they spotted previous transactions

[Fastnick]

Let's just say I have a very wide circle of trusted friends and family 😉

[Pete]

They will all get buried in the H&B mailers that follow.

[RacerCool]

The hunt is part of the fun. Happy hunting! I still don't have any sovereigns in my stack, though I will some day. 🤔

For me it's been US half Eagles (sovereign) vs quarter Eagles (half sovereign). The quarters are almost always waaay over the spot price, sometimes being as much or more than a half. I can never bring myself to spend that much over spot. 

So I just end up buying another Mexican 5 peso, since they're the same as a quarter Eagle, and can be had for very little over spot. 🤑

[sovereignsteve]

26 minutes ago, Pete said:

They will all get buried in the H&B mailers that follow.

People say that, but I ordered some when the £224 offer was on (oh those were the days!) and I haven't had a single communication from them at all.

[5huggy]

 well in that case people don't ever even reply to "Danbury Mint" 

Or you will need an extra bin for waste paper

[Pete]

Just now, sovereignsteve said:

People say that, but I ordered some when the £224 offer was on (oh those were the days!) and I haven't had a single communication from them at all.

Your are lucky as I get at least 2 mailers per week.
Received today their offer to purchase a piedfort sovereign 2017 proof for only £1,999
That kind of sets the bar.
PS I only know the contents because I retrieved from the bin and opened it to respond.

[sovereignsteve]

2 minutes ago, Pete said:

Your are lucky as I get at least 2 mailers per week.
Received today their offer to purchase a piedfort sovereign 2017 proof for only £1,999
That kind of sets the bar.
PS I only know the contents because I retrieved from the bin and opened it to respond.

mmm maybe they'll have forgotten me if I try to buy some more then 😜

[5huggy]

3 minutes ago, Pete said:

Your are lucky as I get at least 2 mailers per week.
Received today their offer to purchase a piedfort sovereign 2017 proof for only £1,999
That kind of sets the bar.
PS I only know the contents because I retrieved from the bin and opened it to respond.

Hey @Peteim sure the likes of "Westminster", "Danbury Mint", "H&M" and others are just out to deforest the Planet !

and most of the time I am of the belief that they just put "DECIMAL POINTS" in the wrong place!  🤫🤪🙄

[MarkW]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

They will all get buried in the H&B mailers that follow.

I made a small purchase from them a while ago and have been subject to the very same bombardment.

If they continue sending correspondence at the same rate, they will, in very short order, completely erode any profit made from my purchase.. 🤔

[Coolsmp]

My shredder gets a regular workout thanks to Harrington & Byrne!!

[oooootini]

Email H&B the Cease & Desist letter shared by Serendipity, got a reply same day, junk mail stopped within a week.

 

[Fastnick]

And then, somewhat "out of the blue", I pick up a 1913 Half Sovereign for £141.....

Don't you just love life's little surprises 

[MickB]

I picked up my 2005 half sovereign last week for £150 but I'm sure it was dearer than that a few months ago. The lady who sold it to me commented on the price of gold had gone up again on the day so it made me wonder if their other half sovereigns are cheaper? They also have an Isle of Man half sovereign in their display so I may go back to ask their prices.

Just can't bring myself to pay near or over £300 for a full sovereign at the moment after being used to lower prices for the past few years.

[Derv]

21 hours ago, sovereignsteve said:

People say that, but I ordered some when the £224 offer was on (oh those were the days!) and I haven't had a single communication from them at all.

I was inundated with them until they phoned me to cancel a sov order a while back as I'd breached the limit, in return I told them to stop sending me there pish and it seems to of worked. Not a single letter since.

Though funnily enough I've managed to but two more sovs from them. So much for their limit..

[MarkW]

On 31/08/2019 at 21:51, Fastnick said:

And then, somewhat "out of the blue", I pick up a 1913 Half Sovereign for £141.....

Don't you just love life's little surprises 

You must have good connections!

[Fastnick]

15 minutes ago, MarkW said:

You must have good connections!

Not particularly @MarkW - though I do take the time to keep a good look out for well-priced buys

[Fastnick]

10 hours ago, MarkW said:

You must have good connections!

One Half Sovereign tonight for £146.50, and then another for £147.50 (both plus P&P)

Not exactly the "bargains of the Century", but there are some reasonable prices to be had if you are prepared to look.....

[MarkW]

9 hours ago, Fastnick said:

One Half Sovereign tonight for £146.50, and then another for £147.50 (both plus P&P)

Not exactly the "bargains of the Century", but there are some reasonable prices to be had if you are prepared to look.....

Those are some good prices with the current gold rate..

Now I know why there are no half sovereign bargains around.. They don't call you Fastnick for nothing 

[Foster88]

I managed to buy a 2002 half sovereign on eBay for £144 at the weekend and today I’ve bought a 1914 half sovereign for £150 and a 1915 half sovereign for £142 including auction fees so they are still out there for reasonable ‘ish’ price

I bid on the local auction house online today and wasn’t quite quick enough to get the 1878 full sovereign that went for £240 or the 1907 full sovereign, also for £240. With fees they were £282 each. 😩

Ah well I got two half sovereigns at reasonable prices so it wasn’t all bad.

Yes you read that right, I kicked myself when I saw it as I was going for the half sovereigns. 🙄 

Ah well I got two half sovereigns at reasonable prices so it wasn’t all bad.

Now I’m just hoping the 1915 has a little M on it as only 125,000 were made. I live in hope. 😆

[Abyss]

The lowest domination in Gold I own are full Sovereigns and even those initially felt a bit underwhelming. I was only initially stacking 1 oz Gold coins then with H&B offer that was to good pass purchased nine full H&B sovereigns. Only other fractional gold I have two 1/4 Gold standard coins. I am not a fan going below 1/4 oz Gold or below full Sovereign so my vote for Full Sovereigns. But at the end of the day Gold is Gold and it does not matter what form it takes and provided not paying 3% over spot to purchase it (bullion).

Should You Buy Fractional Gold Coins?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpwOEcpK3-g&t=934s

Shadow Stack

Published on Sep 1, 2019

[RacerCool]

2 hours ago, Abyss said:

The lowest domination in Gold I own are full Sovereigns and even those initially felt a bit underwhelming. I was only initially stacking 1 oz Gold coins then with H&B offer that was to good pass purchased nine full H&B sovereigns. Only other fractional gold I have two 1/4 Gold standard coins. I am not a fan going below 1/4 oz Gold or below full Sovereign so my vote for Full Sovereigns. But at the end of the day Gold is Gold and it does not matter what form it takes and provided not paying 3% over spot to purchase it (bullion).

Should You Buy Fractional Gold Coins?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpwOEcpK3-g&t=934s

Shadow Stack

Published on Sep 1, 2019

I'm holding up the lower end, since the largest I have is 1/4 ounce coins. 😁