I've never see anyone here selling earlier 1oz silver Britannia silver coins. Are they rare, or just not popular? Any tips on finding several of each going back a few years but still somewhat affordably? Or is this impossible now?
2012 and earlier 1oz BU had mintage limits of only 100,000 each, so they are somewhat rare in comparison to other bullion coins. A bunch of the earlier years did not reach the 100K maximum.
Hey silverpete, those are some of my all-time favorites. I have a 'truck load' of the 2003's and 2010's I bought a couple years ago. I have all the years prior to 2012. Some issues I have several. I really, really liked the series. Ashame they did away with it, and went with 'pure bullion.' I know they have that other series, which are very nice, but it was nice to get a semi-numi play at bullion prices, you know? And you can't go wrong at 100K mintage or less. I'm not sure if these places apply since I think you're in Aus or NZ, but worth a shot. Or I can buy them, and ship them, and you pay me the actual cost. I'm more then happy to help if you'd like (I've done it for a few folks here on the forum). Just a thought. Take care. I bought most of mine here back in the day: http://www.apmex.com/category/28615/silver-britannias They have good issues here too http://www.goldeneaglecoin.com/buy-silver/silver-uk-britannias
For information, Mintages direct from the Royal Mint are:- Britannia Mintages 1998 - 88,909 1999 - 69,394 2000 - 81,301 2001 - 44,816 2002 - 36,543 2003 - 73,271 2004 - 57,000 2005 - 57,000 2006 - 50,300 2007 - 94,000 2008 - 100,000 2009 - 100,000 2010 - 129,086 2011 269,282 2012 361, 870
at times you might bump into proof Britannias being put on sale as bullion, those are hidden gems! Proof Britannia mintages: 1997 - 16,005 1998 - 3,044 1999 - n/a 2000 - n/a 2001 - 4,596 2002 - n/a 2003 - 2,016 2004 - 2,174 2005 - 1,539 2006 - 2,529 2007 - 5,157 2008 - 2,500 2009 - 6,784 2010 - 6,539 2011 - 4,973 2012 - 2,500 2013 - 8,500 2014 - 5,300
Smart buys Bob. Imagine having bought blobs with the same cash....seems like a no brainer to buy coins instead every time. .
So far I've found plenty of 2011 Britannias for sale, but those earlier ones are a struggle to find without an enormous premium. The Apmex link above has the most affordable ones I've found so far.
Provident Metals has some good prices too. The 2008 is a good price. I have a boat load of those too. http://www.providentmetals.com/bullion/silver/foreign-slv/silver-britannias.html One day, I'll dig up all mine and do a video. I have all kinds. I have some nice gilded ones too. These are some of my favorite of any bullion I collected (lunar, kooks, koala, pandas, etc...).
I'm in the same boat as you...my stacking only began in the later part of 2012. My point was that, in my view, popular coins are a better purchase than blobs in most cases even if you are paying a higher, though reasonable, premium. That's because when it's time to sell in 5, 10, 20, 55, or whatever number years, the pool of people who might be interested in buying your stack will be larger if that stack is in the form of coinage. .
I just happened to get involved right around end of 2010...as as Missing mentions, there were a lot of school of hardknocks. Figuring out what I liked, and didn't like. What had staying power, what didn't. Do you scrub a coin to get all the 'imperfections' removed. Yeah, I pulled some real doozies. I would wash coins in a dish washer (almost) to get them spic and span. But the great thing about the internet is you can learn what to do and what not to do. And fortunately, I learned quickly from folks. I now never, ever clean a coin. Ever. If it's something I don't like, I sell it. If I receive it that way, it gets returned. Missing, they don't need to be perfect...but need to be decent to the naked eye. I have to say, I'm thankful for folks slapping me upside the head to understand the world collecting, buying and selling precious metals...and in my case, more silver than gold. One day I'll show my stash of brittannias. I agree Missing. I think the brit coins from about 1998 - 2012 will be very valuable many years down the road. They have a very unique look, and they are a rare bullion coin. These were one of my better purchases. The designs are simply awesome. I wish they continued the series. It was awesome getting a bullion coin for bullion prices, but it was a semi-numi play. The new bullion brits, the same design every year are junk (for me personally), and they have unlimited mintage.
One thing I like bout the pre-2012 Brits is that they tone nicely... Most of the time they turn pale gold. And best of all they never never spot! Too bad they switched to fine silver for 2013 onwards.
These are some of my favorites. I have a stack of all years from 1998 - 2011. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmWfeP28Xm4[/youtube]
I was lucky enough to discover them a while back. 2002 Britannia by TomD77, on Flickr 2003 Britannia by TomD77, on Flickr 2001 Britannia Silver Coin by TomD77, on Flickr 2007 Britannia by TomD77, on Flickr
