Premium of Proof coins over bullion grade

[SilverSheriff]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted some thoughts how much of a premium one should pay for a proof coin over say an equivalent bullion grade. I know its depends on the year, mintage, rarity etc

But 20% 30% Reasonable?

[Kman]

I think would really have to look at it case by case

 

[Stu]

Proof sovereigns are about £400 from the mint so a very big premium there. 2017 was a winner due to the 200 anniversary however I would not ordinarily buy one. Very much depends on many factors. You can get lucky with HGM and buy proof Britannia set for around 10%. I wouldn't pay too much above spot unless you have money to burn or you have done your research. 

[Xander]

14 minutes ago, SilverSheriff said:

Hi everyone,

Just wanted some thoughts how much of a premium one should pay for a proof coin over say an equivalent bullion grade. I know its depends on the year, mintage, rarity etc

But 20% 30% Reasonable?

I was reading somewhere the other day about the proof Gold Sovereign and it said, the proof coin was pressed around eight times which made it really defined, the BU, about 3 times and the Bullion, they were just fired out like a one armed bandit.

I like the BU.

[westminstrel]

I don't know about proofs being struck 8 times. There seems to be differing information on this.

I recently watched a Royal Mint video where they say their proofs are struck "up to 6 times". The dies for the proofs also use different tools than the ones for bullion and BU coins, are specially hand-finished for things like frosting effects, and the blanks are manually checked and placed into the press prior to each strike including clearing their surfaces with a vacuum.

I think "up to 6 times" could indicate the mint leaves it up to the striking experts to determine when a Proof coin is "done", so some coins may have less than 6 strikes.

This is just my deduction

[Avlis]

I always thought that they produced the proofs first followed by the Bu and then the bullion with one set of dies would be interesting to know. 

[sovereignsteve]

5 hours ago, Avlis said:

I always thought that they produced the proofs first followed by the Bu and then the bullion with one set of dies would be interesting to know. 

I don't see how that can be true as the finish on the 3 coins is different. They may use old proof dies for BU coins though; the different finish being achieved via the blanks themselves. If they used proof dies on bully coins you would see some sign of the frosted relief and some variable "proof like" results.

[Xander]

17 hours ago, westminstrel said:

I don't know about proofs being struck 8 times. There seems to be differing information on this.

I recently watched a Royal Mint video where they say their proofs are struck "up to 6 times". The dies for the proofs also use different tools than the ones for bullion and BU coins, are specially hand-finished for things like frosting effects, and the blanks are manually checked and placed into the press prior to each strike including clearing their surfaces with a vacuum.

I think "up to 6 times" could indicate the mint leaves it up to the striking experts to determine when a Proof coin is "done", so some coins may have less than 6 strikes.

This is just my deduction

Watched the RM vidio...brilliant.

[Avlis]

Would it not be a matter of simply polishing  eigther physically or chemically to remove the frosting from the dies to leave a bullion finish .i need a visit to Wales too steve ...

[sovereignsteve]

9 hours ago, Avlis said:

Would it not be a matter of simply polishing  eigther physically or chemically to remove the frosting from the dies to leave a bullion finish .i need a visit to Wales too steve ...

well I suppose it's possible but as the frosted relief will be a depression in the die it would need to be removed chemically rather than being polished. It's an interesting discussion though; is it worthwhile adapting proof dies rather than making bespoke bullion dies?

Sounds like we need a forum coach trip to Wales. Maybe we could negotiate a special tour with access to all areas?

More likely they'd tell us to "go away" at the mere mention of "TSF"

[Avlis]

I would imagine it takes weeks to produce the dies initially but only a day or two to modify them for bullion production, so more cost effective ......               I think we'll need a double decker at least.... Don't mention tsf we'd never get over the threshold just tell them   were a group of twitchers or something.   

[SilverSheriff]

Thank you everyone for your input, I was asking the question as I was enquiing about my first potenital gold purchase... which I went ahead with! I bought at a price which I believe to be great value,  A 2006 Proof 1/4 Brit.

On 14/07/2017 at 22:14, Kman said:

I think would really have to look at it case by case

 

Most definatley

[Kman]

1 minute ago, SilverSheriff said:

Thank you everyone for your input, I was asking the question as I was enquiing about my first potenital gold purchase... which I went ahead with! I bought at a price which I believe to be great value,  A 2006 Proof 1/4 Brit.

Most definatley

Id hope to pay about 300 

[SilverSheriff]

1 hour ago, Kman said:

Id hope to pay about 300 

With some comfort room I did pay less than that. Came with orginal box and coa so was pleased all round, I guess I was a bit anixous as it as my first gold purchase... I'll put some photos up on forum when I manage to take a decent picture