Is Graded gold worth acquiring?

[SovCollector]

On 14/11/2022 at 09:10, AndrewSL76 said:

Late to the discussion, but here is my view.

I collect graded coins (mainly PCGS) and I stack bullion. My attitude towards buying is totally different when ‘collecting’ or ‘stacking’. My passion is half sovereigns and I would happily pay premiums for a rare, high graded half sovereign, but for anything that is bullion, I would not pay above the odds on spot price. 

In terms of collecting - there are the different population reports from the main grading companies and so you can see what is common or not. It makes me smile when you see people listing an MS65 coin and they say ‘super high grade’ but then you look at the population report and there are 87 of them in 65 and 32 in 66 and then only four in 67. The money being asked for the 65 is what you would pay for the 67. The key here is to do your research, understand the population reports, the scarcity and how rare the coin is before buying. If someone tells you a graded coin is ‘rare’ then do not be afraid to question it and check the population reports. For me, building a collection, I want to have top and high grade coins, but I am equally happy to buy an MS63 until a more reasonable priced MS64/65 coin comes along (which it inevitably will if the population reports high numbers).

For stacking, I am lucky to have easy access to Hatton Garden and you can always find going coins at spot price or thereabouts. There are of course times when the dealers are either not selling (because they bought at a higher price) or they are selling high about spot (for the same reason) but generally you can always get something there. The other day I bought a bullion 2012 QEII Sov for spot. It’s in fairly good condition but still, spot price regardless of the design. Had the dealer wanted even a small premium I would have passed.

And, yes, I agree with everyone above. If someone calls you to tell you about an investment opportunity ask yourself this: if the investment opportunity is so good, why are they having to flog it over the phone to me?

 

 

Hi @AndrewSL76. I'm quite new to collecting graded sovereigns, so I'm hoping you would be able to shed some light between NGC and PCGS graded coins. 

Do you mind sharing your reasons as to why you prefer to collect PCGS graded coins rather than NGC graded coins? 

Thanks.