Hi, been lurking for a while and recently joined the forum - made my introductions on the UK forum a few days ago... I've been stacking for a month or so - 60oz silver and 1/4 oz gold...I like it, it's kinda fun So, as you may know, silver incurs tax at 20% in the UK and Im only looking to invest around 1000 - 1200 ($1600 - $2000US) a month on my new 'hobby'... Common sense tells me to stack gold because of the tax implications - but 1oz gold compared to 60oz silver is a tough decision....financially equivalent but 60 coins vs 1 coin adds an interesting dynamic... But I am leaning towards purchase of a 1oz gold coin - but undecided on what to go for...gold maple - .999 but talk of milk spots puts me off, gold eagle - not .999 but I kinda like the look of my ASE's and then you have a myriad of other 'pretty' coins such as the libertad... I think price and premium over spot will ultimately determine what I go for....but I was interested to gauge what other folks first gold coin purchase was and which coin, if any, stood head and shoulders above all others (not numis) with the understanding that gold is gold is gold...btw - i feel quite unpatriotic when I say I don't like the look of Brittanias (God Save The Queen etc - and we are kicking a$$ at The Olympics...kinda)... So, which coin was your first purchase?
The milk spot issue is only with the Canadian silver bullion coins, I've never seen or heard of gold maple leafs developing milk spots. I have lots of silver numismatic coins but when it comes to gold, I buy the cheapest .999 bullion. I mostly buy 1 oz bars which have a smaller premium compared to coins.
Milk spots are a problem on Silver Maples, not Gold Maples. When it comes time to sell, any of the internationally recognised 1oz bullion coins should be fine. I'd buy whatever has the lowest premium. I don't know about the UK, but in New Zealand gold bullion that is less than .995 fine attracts GST (VAT), so that rules out ASEs and Krugerrands.
...ahhhhh - thanks for the clarification on milk spots...I originally thought just a problem with silver but read on a forum that gold coins also affected... Lowest price is where I'll probably end up buying - i noticed that bars have a lower premium but they often come sealed and certificated...I'm kinda touchy feely type person :-S...and I'd like to hold the gold and with a bar I'd probably let it sit in said packaging...coins come 'loose' and are fair game...
This may be a dumb question, but can't you avoid tax by buying from o/seas, say from here? I have posted items o/seas in the past with descriptions like "machinery parts" or "medallions" etc. 1 oz PM kangaroo
@wrcmad - see, I'm new to this stacking lark...I knew there would be 'loop holes' to the tax thingme and joining the forum was a way of educating myself in how this was achievable...and making contacts to achieve this in a mutually beneficial way... I am very much in the market for machine parts and medallions...
Just be sure to specify to the seller what description you want and check whether they are willing to do that before buying. From Aus to UK: Reg post 2kg around $53 This is far less than 20%.....
My first gold coin was a one ounce Britannia. Stunning coin especially if you can get a proof. Added more Britannias from tenth ounce upwards including proof sets. Currently stacking half sovereigns. Cheapest gold I have seen in the last few days are one ounce Krugerrands at 2% above London am fix. Pretty ugly coin but for bullion it trades very well selling for spot. With a spend of yours it might be interesting to place regular orders on Apmex or consider a group buy in Germany with 7% VAT for silver of course !
Black_Sun - I don't know whether you're taking the piss or not. Can gold suffer similar afflictions? I've had crappy finish on bullion gold (and crappy designs on proof coins but no milk spot equivalents.
^ Blood spots, or rather copper spots. It is due to the small amount of non-gold metals in the item. Copper spots are not all that common on 9999 gold, but you still find them sometimes, from what I gather. This recent thread can tell you a fair bit about it actually: http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-29190-brown-stain-on-proof-1-2oz-nugget-coin.html
Holy Jeez! Even though I "know" it's all gold I'd be freaked looking at such a disfigured coin. Thanks. That is a very good thread. I'm surprised I missed it.
I coined that phrase "blood spots" because copper is known as a "red metal". The redness shows up really well in one of these Perth Mint nuggets. http://forums.silverstackers.com/message-380375.html#p380375
Far out! That's bloody horrendous! Blood spots is apt I feel. I'll be quite miffed if some of my oldies start bleeding.
Indeed. Christ was called a "King", and gold is the metal of kings, hence the copper stain is akin to "the blood of the king". And both milk and blood are very symbolic, and have been used as important symbols for millennia.
my first gold coins was a 1oz kangaroo from perth mint and a 1oz maple. gold is always the best option i personaly fell, i may be more expensive to purchase but return when price goes up is higher too.
I'd go with gold. It's a sexual thing, especially at the start. A Maple is cool enough, it doesn't really matter much for the first time, just go with a low premium.
So you're saying the proportional return on gold is higher? I'd argue that in the shorter term, silver has had the higher proportional returns. It had a spike from $20's to $40's within a 12 month period, ending about a year ago. I don't even like silver much myself, but if my aim was to book in 'maximum' speculative nominal gains in the short-term, i'd probably go with silver. Unless you have a specific reason you think gold would outperform everything else in nominal terms of course.
1 oz Kangaroo or a 1 oz Lunar. maybe worth not completely discounting fractionals just to be close to the Spot as not everyone can afford a 1oz.