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Purchasing gold coins


SJK

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Hi all,

I'm hoping to start purchasing gold coins as a way of saving and to balance out my portfolio, I was drawn to sovereigns and britannias due to VAT & CGT.

As I'm relatively risk adverse all my purchases were going to be from the Royal Mint that way I know they are genuine and there will be no shocks later down the line.

I read that liquidity is fairly important so the lower denominations can be worth purchasing, so was thinking 1/10oz and half sovereigns could be worth purchasing, obviously there is less gold per £ than if I go for sovereigns and oz britannias. I'm able to buy in larger weights if its wiser, do the smaller coins keep some of the premium on the second hand market?

Also, what I have no idea about is the premium some coins achieve over time, so would I be better to go for something like the oz or half oz lunar or beasts coins?

I had dismissed the coins in presentation boxes etc as the £ doesn't go as far.

Any thoughts or help would be gratefully received.

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You will pay more premium with the smaller sized coins and with the Royal Mint, but as peace of mind goes buying direct from the people that produce them is a good bet. There are, however some great dealers out there that will give you some great prices. 
 

This brilliant website was put together by a forum member. It’s extremely helpful and the dealers listed are all reputable. You can gauge where’s best to put your money. http://goldprice.eu5.net

The Beasts are a great and popular series of coins and carry a premium from the start. The older ones have seen their value rise. My personal picks would be the 1/4oz Beasts, Britannia’s or Gold Standard and of course the Sovereigns, all CGT Exempt. If you have the funds you can push a little higher to the 1/2 or 1oz coins. 

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1 minute ago, SJK said:

Thanks!

I will have a look at that website, I'm happy to go up to 1oz that's not a problem at all.

You’ll pay far less premium with the 1oz coins and if you happen to not be that bothered over condition some places have a good pre owned section. If you are comfortable enough, dip your toe in here on the forum, there’s often great deals on the types of coins you are looking for. 

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3 minutes ago, Mkman123 said:

buy from reputable collectors such as those on here,  you'll save a lot of money compared to paying retail prices!

Unless I'm missing something there only appears to be less than £20 difference on the 1oz britannias?

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2 minutes ago, SJK said:

Looking at the QB coins, is it preferable to go for the 1/4 or 1oz coins?

That’s down to your preference and that of the potential person who buys it from you! :) 

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Lots of reputable dealers - ones I have used and have been faultless:

HGM

Atkinsons

Chards

Plus the forum - if anything the forum has been better as members post pictures of what you will receive.   I had one incident with a forum member where a Delivery from myself went missing and the forum member could not have been better to deal with - restored my faith in human nature!

Enjoy your purchases

Dicker

Not my circus, not my monkeys

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IMO buying directly from the royal mint will limit your saving potential. Whilst you don't seem too concerned with much difference on an oz price, you should be as that's the whole point of converting paper money into gold, especially if you are planning to change it back later. 

There are so many reputable collectors on this forum, plus well established bullion dealers. If you are smart with your purchases you'll be able to buy a lot more gold with you pounds.

Also, and this is just my opinion for which I'm sure I'll be told is wrong, I believe the Queens Beast series ship has sailed and as a new purchaser of coins I would avoid them unless you can buy them without the ridiculous premium for bullion. I would question if those premiums will still be there in 30yrs time after the novelty has gone and the royal mint has released another must have series. 

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I have purchased from HGM, Bairds and Atkinsons. Oh and 3 sovs from Harrington and Byrne.

If you can get to Farringdon station fairly easily, a visit to HGM and Bairds is a couple of minutes from the station and 30 seconds from each other. HGM is cheap and cheerful over the counter and Bairds is more luxurious (upstairs). I liked going down to the basement though.

Understand your concerns, I'm sure we all do. But you are looking at expensive 'insurance' by only buying from the mint.

The 3 I mention (and others besides) would have their reputation destroyed if they sold something which wasn't right and they didn't sort it. You post something on here and it's proven to be true, bad product and no recourse, that dealer would suffer major reputational damage.

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1 hour ago, dicker said:

Lots of reputable dealers - ones I have used and have been faultless:

HGM

Atkinsons

Chards

Plus the forum - if anything the forum has been better as members post pictures of what you will receive.   I had one incident with a forum member where a Delivery from myself went missing and the forum member could not have been better to deal with - restored my faith in human nature!

Enjoy your purchases

Dicker

I have good experience with Chards and Atkinsons and also with Bairds and Co and bullionbypost but stay away from HGM. I ordered a Queen Elisabeth II Young Head and got a 2019 Sovereign. No apology, no nothing. I told them to delete my data in their system, they still sent me spam emails. They are the scum. Stay away!

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5 minutes ago, TopHatsTales said:

I have purchased from HGM, Bairds and Atkinsons. Oh and 3 sovs from Harrington and Byrne.

If you can get to Farringdon station fairly easily, a visit to HGM and Bairds is a couple of minutes from the station and 30 seconds from each other. HGM is cheap and cheerful over the counter and Bairds is more luxurious (upstairs). I liked going down to the basement though.

Understand your concerns, I'm sure we all do. But you are looking at expensive 'insurance' by only buying from the mint.

The 3 I mention (and others besides) would have their reputation destroyed if they sold something which wasn't right and they didn't sort it. You post something on here and it's proven to be true, bad product and no recourse, that dealer would suffer major reputational damage.

I was down there at the basement at Bairds too. Very helpful. I had a half Sovereign I thought might be a fake, they tested it for me for free (when I was buying Sovereigns there) and even gave me a certificate for it stating it was 18K gold.

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They had 2020 Brits on their website, so thought I could walk in and get some.

They had them elsewhere, but said they could have them there for the next morning. They even looked in the display cabinet, but they didn't have any.

They showed me their stock and I got to choose. 

They didn't rush and were very polite.

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40 minutes ago, silenceissilver said:

stay away from HGM.

I have been buying from and selling to HGM for a couple of years now, never had one problem, in fact, I wouldn't hesitate recommending them. Chards on the other hand, I have experienced problems with, having said that, I still purchase from them. 

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32 minutes ago, Xander said:

I have been buying from and selling to HGM for a couple of years now, never had one problem, in fact, I wouldn't hesitate recommending them. Chards on the other hand, I have experienced problems with, having said that, I still purchase from them. 

I assume you never ordered a Elizabeth Young Head and got a current year Sovereign instead. I did and it must be faulty programming of their webpage. I assume 2 people klicked on it at the same time. I appriciate errors can happen. But how did they deal with it? Straight after I ordered it, I got a confirmation - for a 2019 Sovereign, so I wrote back straight away, don't send this to me, that's not what I have ordered, send me what I have ordered, Elizabeth Young Head. How did they react? Not at all. Is this professional? No! It shows they are passive aggressive a....s.

Later, I wrote to them I want them to take me out of their CRM as I will never make business with them ever again.

These f...ing ar...s never ever replied to anything but had the impudence to send me advertising emails, later on.

They are F...G AR...S

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30 minutes ago, silenceissilver said:

I assume you never ordered a Elizabeth Young Head and got a current year Sovereign instead. I did and it must be faulty programming of their webpage. I assume 2 people klicked on it at the same time. I appriciate errors can happen. But how did they deal with it? Straight after I ordered it, I got a confirmation - for a 2019 Sovereign, so I wrote back straight away, don't send this to me, that's not what I have ordered, send me what I have ordered, Elizabeth Young Head. How did they react? Not at all. Is this professional? No! It shows they are passive aggressive a....s.

Later, I wrote to them I want them to take me out of their CRM as I will never make business with them ever again.

These f...ing ar...s never ever replied to anything but had the impudence to send me advertising emails, later on.

They are F...G AR...S

That isn't good.

Last time out, they were more than Bairds and I walked past their door en route.

I have found them cheap and cheerful for bullion grade coins.

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1 hour ago, silenceissilver said:

I was down there at the basement at Bairds too. Very helpful. I had a half Sovereign I thought might be a fake, they tested it for me for free (when I was buying Sovereigns there) and even gave me a certificate for it stating it was 18K gold.

18K gold 😱

If you're talking about Carats shouldn't to be 22 Carat

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Bairds are the best but i'm also looking at Malcom Ellis Coins as well, anyone had any dealings with them in the past, great prices on sovs and krugs on their website but haven't taken a bite yet

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2 hours ago, TopHatsTales said:

The 3 I mention (and others besides) would have their reputation destroyed if they sold something which wasn't right and they didn't sort it. You post something on here and it's proven to be true, bad product and no recourse, that dealer would suffer major reputational damage.

Interesting I have a bit of a thread going about 2 coins I purchased from one of these dealers at the moment about potential 'not right' sovereigns. My belief being they are real 22kt gold, but some doubt from more experienced members as to whether they are original coins or replicas - further images and measurements will be added to the thread shortly and I look forward to getting peoples views.

Not conclusive yet on those specific coins and I hold out hope they're legit, but what's interesting to me is the feeling I get is that when buying low premium generic sovereigns, people don't necessarily view the dealer as being particular responsible for anything beyond guaranteeing the purity and weight. I thought it would be a bigger deal if replica sovereigns were sold by an established dealer, but reading between the lines nobody seems to have suggested that or even suggested taking them back. Learning curve for me I guess! Thread is here if it's of interest; 

2 hours ago, silenceissilver said:

I was down there at the basement at Bairds too. Very helpful. I had a half Sovereign I thought might be a fake, they tested it for me for free (when I was buying Sovereigns there) and even gave me a certificate for it stating it was 18K gold.

Interesting, I've not got a pre-existing relationship with Bairds as-of-yet, but do you think they'd test a coin for me as well? Or is that something that came about through a lengthy relationship? Per my above comment there's a couple I have concerns on and I'd value a professionals viewpoint. 

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4 minutes ago, Melon said:

people don't necessarily view the dealer as being particular responsible for anything beyond guaranteeing the purity and weight. I thought it would be a bigger deal if replica sovereigns were sold by an established dealer, but reading between the lines nobody seems to have suggested that or even suggested taking them back

If just bullion coins sold for a couple of points above spot, then yes, as long as the purity and weight is good, you may as well keep them. Although I have returned a couple of fakes to HGM even though they were sold at about 3 - 4%. Yes I am fussy, and even when I am buying bullion I am always looking for something worth a bit more than melt.

I have ceased to be surprised anymore by the ignorance of some dealers when it comes to fakes, or maybe there's a bit more to it at times?😎

Profile picture with thanks to Carl Vernon

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1 hour ago, silenceissilver said:

I assume you never ordered a Elizabeth Young Head and got a current year Sovereign instead. I did and it must be faulty programming of their webpage. I assume 2 people klicked on it at the same time. I appriciate errors can happen. But how did they deal with it? Straight after I ordered it, I got a confirmation - for a 2019 Sovereign, so I wrote back straight away, don't send this to me, that's not what I have ordered, send me what I have ordered, Elizabeth Young Head. How did they react? Not at all. Is this professional? No! It shows they are passive aggressive a....s.

Later, I wrote to them I want them to take me out of their CRM as I will never make business with them ever again.

These f...ing ar...s never ever replied to anything but had the impudence to send me advertising emails, later on.

They are F...G AR...S

I know what it's like to have wrong coins posted , I had a £850 1/2 sov sent to me, it took months for the coin company to sort the mess, I also asked them to stop emailing or sending me junk mail, no success there. I suppose that's part of living in the digital age.

I don't think naming the company and calling them "scum" ( unless there is an underlying reason for doing so) could possibly help your situation.

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