Hello all, I'm Jim and this is my maiden post! I'm pretty new to the world of precious metals etc, but am looking at purchasing some for my young nephew. I'm rather clueless as to the how's, what's and why's, and hope you veteran Silverstackers might be willing to answer a few questions and point me in the right direction! I live in Perth, Western Australia. Its a pleasure to 'meet' you.
How old is your nephew? I am buying some silver for my niece, I buy a different round/coin minted in the year she was born, pretty easy as it was only 2011 so plenty around at a decent price. She gets that on her birthday and for Christmas she gets a coin minted in the current year. Good thing is she is still too young to disappointed, it is shiny and makes a satisfying sound when you drop it, what more could you want? And welcome!
Hi Jislizard, and thank you! He's a month shy of turning 1, and is soon to be christened/baptised. I thought it might be nice to buy him a gold and a silver coin each year so that he will have accumulated something reasonably substantial by the time he is an adult. However, I'm in two minds as to whether gold/silver bullion or gold/silver proof coins are the way to go. Can someone perhaps advise? I was thinking of a 2012 Royal Mint 1/4 or 1/2 sovereign (with Jubilee St George design) might be a nice place to begin, as the design is strictly used in 2012, the year of his birth. Am I thinking along the right trajectory, or should I be considering something else? This is all so new to me.
Stick to bullion - you could buy three times the amount as you could for the same money you spend on proofs, which may all end up selling at bullion prices in future anyway.
That's what I am doing, no proofs or coloured or high premium coins. Just bullion, I have about 15 different designs minted in 2011 so she will have enough variety, no need to get anything too high premium as there is no guarantee that she will like them or take up stacking. I also wouldn't go with gold, you get more bang for your buck with silver, about 55 times more, as a kid I would have loved a box full of 55 giant coins on my birthday but a single gold coin lacks the WOW factor! I wouldn't buy a gold coin under an ounce in size anyway, very underwhelming when you hold it in your hand, worth a lot of money but most kids would prefer a coin and will probably swap it for some pokemon cards at the first opportunity. You can also get special coins for Christmas with the year etc. but what I have done is get some coin holders with loops like these from Maggie on this site. That way I just put a current year's coin in the holder and each year she will have another coin to hang on the tree. Maybe two silver coins a year isn't going to be enough for Uni or a car but she gets proper presents from the wife and is going to be spoiled anyway.
Thanks for your warm welcomes Maggie & Alexisio. goldpelican and Jislizard - your advice is invaluable, cheers! Im not a fan of coloured coins either, frankly. I figure bullion is the best idea, but we need to register if purchasing directly from the mint, right?
Not over the counter in the shop you don't. Plus if you are after coins you will find the dealers on this site will sell the same coins to you cheaper with a lot less hassle. The dealers buy in bulk so get a discount, which they pass on to the customer, if you just buy a few coins from the Perth Mint you pay full retail and their postage cost me about $17 last time because they had some weird and wonderful system and couldn't just use Australia Post like everyone else! Worth while registering anyway because by the time the next lunar coins come out you will want to be able to jump on the website to buy them and it takes a while for the paperwork to be completed.
Welcome zlatibor, good to see another local. One thing to consider is if you get a lot of coins that may have some meaning. It will be much harder to sell down the track perhaps. Such as his birth year etc... much easier to sell a lump or a card ie: Perth Mint certi cards. It depends on your intentions for the gifts. Is it something to pass down through generations, or here is a little something that may give you a bit of a head start. Just remember you may also be leaving out your own kids, who may say "Where's mine" lol
G'day Austacker. Sound advice, cheers. No worries on the kids front - my wife and I dont have any, hence why we want to do this for our nephew. We basically want him to have a few bits and pieces he can choose either to sit on, or cash out to help with finances when he comes of age. Im still a bit like a trembling sheep in the woods, but you gotta learn to walk before you can run, right? I have to say that the passion you stackers have here is COMPLETELY contagious!
