I bought 2 Tuesday on ebay for example. I picked them up today. One is 1899S and one is 1910S both shiny UNC. 420 and 422. Coin auctions also a good place as most biders stop at bullion price
I have some experience of collecting sovereigns and also half sovereigns. A good reference is the book "The Gold Sovereign" written by Michael Marsh. It does take some patience checking a coin against this reference but it attempts to list almost every coin produced from day one to 2002 if you buy the current issue published in 2002. There is a similar book for the half sovereigns. With this reference you will be able to check out mintages, rarity, mint marks and die numbers on some coins once you know where to look. As for prices, the vast majority of coins that will turn up on fee-Bay for example will be standard bullion. It is almost impossible to purchase gold coins at spot these days but you need a good reason to pay more than 5-10% above spot. Remember to factor into your calculation the ratio 22/24 in comparing to spot. Out of several hundred coins I have checked I only received 2 fakes. Buy good electronic scales and weigh accurately. A sovereign should weigh on average 7.98 grams so make sure your scales are that precise. My sovereigns range from 7.94 to 8.01 grams. Also try to measure thickness across the coin with callipers or a micrometer. Don't take the rim thickness, try for centre. A real sovereign will be 1.52mm thick and 22.05mm diameter. My fakes were much thicker so that is generally the case with fakes to make up the weight. Half sovereigns - weight 3.98g ; thickness nominal 0.992mm ; diameter 19.3mm; Au content 3.6575g My favourite are Victorian shields. My theory is that so many people are selling inherited old coins that are getting melted as bullion. That makes the older bullion coins rarer and collectors will pay higher premiums. In two years aside from spot increases I have seen these premiums rise considerably. That makes the Marsh books very useful in determining coins that are less common but do pop up from time to time but not that often !
I agree with Projack - I go for quality over bu value - Also for those with relatives in UK or who fancy a rummage when on hols - the major pawnbrokers there similarly do not have the faintest clue what they're selling. I waded thru about 60 Sovs a few wks ago and pulled out 5 pearlers at one sitting, the 1919 Perth, a 1964 & 3 stonkin' 1978's all UNC/mint. Last one I bought was a stonkin' 2004 proof for $395.
Where was your pawnbroker VRS? PM me if you prefer. The best I can find is 20% over spot in pawnbrokers who mostly send them off for melting, and some of them expect premiums of 60%.
Hey J - and Yule-ish Greetz again. Albermarle & Bond and Mays were the 2 I hit hardest simply because they're national companies and have lots of branches. Best route to find quantity to rummage thru is in the larger cities - obviously the smaller balls-on-a-stick guys are more clued up because they have to be. The larger co's operations seem to cater more for mass-melting or flipping than numi value, so they basically have all the grades of scrap sorted but keep the Sovs & Krugers to one side to sell on as bu value - they're not sophisticated recyclers lol! Just grab a phone book - sure you'll find some - the only other thing is that Cash Converters seem to send off all hocked/sold gold to some central point - they pay for, but do not resell at all any of their pm's, so unless you know the mgr of a city store, forget 'em. Happy rummaging! Ps. PM me with the city you're in & I'll try to get some more info to you on specific stores - I'm on the scout for about 20 more right now & can advise you at a basic level of what's worth having or not if you can take some pics with a digi camera & email 'em over - gotta be sharp - Sovs are moving pretty fast over there so I found - the mass market isn't picky either, so better that the gems end up in our pockets rather than the grockels' lol! Pps. 20% over spot!?!?! They're pulling your chain - toughen up Chucklet lol! If you're buying quantity, ie: 4+ minimum then you should be able to take 5-10% OFF the sticker price (as far as you're concerned, arguing the bullion corner & weakness of the pog right now - IT IS ONLY BULLION ISN'T IT lol!?!?!?)
The cheapest sovereigns I found in the UK on the web is: http://www.atkinsonsthejewellers.com/shop.php?sec=cat&cat=5
Great prices there - you won't get much cheaper short of mugging someone (quaint old English custom) J - The price on the Britannias is 3 less than what I pay on a minimum 10 order too - Nice one PJ!
Yes of course you can Nug - no import duty on bullion is there? Postage only? Actually they have a lot of nice pocket-sized gold product don't they Export order also = no VAT to pay
They say in the FAQ's International Shipping: We offer an International shipping service, prices vary subject to size of order. Please contact us for further information. Do you ship outside the UK? Yes, we will ship outside of the UK; however the customer will need to accept the cost of postage and insuring the parcel. This will be discussed at the time of order.
Looks good except I think paying would be an issue since they don't accept CC or PP. An international bank transfer with CBA costs $22.
I recommend finding a Victorian era sovereign tester. Mine is in my pocket whenever I visit a coin show in search of sovereigns. You can check the weight of both full and half sovereigns and determine if the thickness is correct. In my experience the only genuine soverigns that do not fit through the thickness gauge are 1925 London re-issues (they have a raised rim). These scales are commonly available on eBay.
I've been looking at the Atkinson prices on half sovs for a while - I have some funds in the UK doing sod-all, so I'm pondering bringing in a parcel and stacking at the same time. A newbie question for the assembled minds: What is the import classification of bullion sovs? If the value is over $1,000 is there a GST or import duty hit? The customs website is a little obscure. Thanks!
...I'm sorry to comment on my own posts, but the variables that confuse me are as follows: Under the 1999 system apparently to be 'precious metal' zero-rated, gold has to be 99.5%; Sovs are much less. However, in the UK they are treated as legal tender (no VAT, no CGT) and I don't know if there is historical carry-through in the Australian system. Finally, the impact of classification as bullion rather than coins with substantial value over spot. For personal walk-through importation, are sovs treated under the currency limits (must declare over $10,000 but effectively no limit) or the GST provisions (anything over $1,000)? What it boils down to is personal experience/advice, please. Thanks again
