Premiums & Where to Buy — Melbourne-based Stackers?

T

tora0515

Member
Hey everyone. New to the forum and to stacking. I started recently while in the US, but I’m finding a lot of the advice from over there doesn’t translate too well here. (in Melbourne).

One of the biggest thing I’ve noticed so far is the size of premiums. My short-term goal is to get a tube or two of 1 oz sovereigns like Kangaroos, Maples, Britannias, etc., but when I look at Melbourne dealers and other online sellers, the premiums are much wider than I expected (the buy/sell spreds are wild too!). Are prices regularly $6–$10+ over spot? Add in shipping, and it starts to feel like every purchase costs me an extra ounce or two.

I’ve been browsing online, but it’s hard to tell which dealers are actually competitive. There doesnt seem to be any real deals around like those buy @spot, $1 over spot sovs, or free shipping over $100, etc.. deals back from the US sellers. Some offer free shipping over $500, but I’m not looking to spend that much every time.

So I guess I'm after:
  • What do you consider a good premium for 1 oz sovereigns? (And 10 oz bars too — some of those seem surprisingly high.). Has this been fluctuating a lot recently or are these premiums the norm?

  • Are there any online dealers worth using regularly for smaller buys? and,

  • Does anyone have a recommended local coin dealer in Melbourne outside the big CBD ones (preferably in the southeast suburbs but all suggestions welcomed)?
Thanks for reading this far, and looking forward to learning and getting more involved.
 
Shaddam IV said:
Are you looking for gold only or silver as well?
Click to expand...

From what I read, he refer to Silver Ag Bullion.
Is call Bullion not Sovereign

"My short-term goal is to get a tube or two of 1 oz sovereigns like Kangaroos, Maples, Britannia"

We knows Sovereign don't comes in tube or rolls in open market. unless direct from the mint.
Rarely seen like hen teeth.
 
Golden ChipMunk said:
From what I read, he refer to Silver Ag Bullion.
Is call Bullion not Sovereign

"My short-term goal is to get a tube or two of 1 oz sovereigns like Kangaroos, Maples, Britannia"

We knows Sovereign don't comes in tube or rolls in open market. unless direct from the mint.
Rarely seen like hen teeth.
Click to expand...
I see the confusion. Yes, I should have said: silver bullion sovereign coins. The ones that are backed by a government as legal tender and not just a round of silver. In the US, most of the dealers just called them sovereigns. Maybe a regional or random thing?

And my goal is to get to 20 or 25 to put in a nice tube like this: upload_2025-5-25_17-38-9.jpeg
 
Plenty of good, reliable stackers on here from Melbourne.
You should be able to to pick up generic bullion for spot.

Have a shortlist of what you are looking for and put up a WTB (want to buy) thread on here, or leave it open ended and people will let you know what they got to offer.

Look at people's profile which will have trade feedback on all the trades they have done. Most people will leave feedback which is how this site trusts one another.
 
StewyD321 said:
Plenty of good, reliable stackers on here from Melbourne.
You should be able to to pick up generic bullion for spot.

Have a shortlist of what you are looking for and put up a WTB (want to buy) thread on here, or leave it open ended and people will let you know what they got to offer.

Look at people's profile which will have trade feedback on all the trades they have done. Most people will leave feedback which is how this site trusts one another.
Click to expand...
This is great advice. Thank you. Been having a tough time navigating the online dealers. I'll have a look and try here. Appreciate the reply ☺️
 
It has been call Bullion for A Long Time ( Government backed as legal tender ) anything with denomination.
Never been call Sovereign
They are all 999% Ag.

Some years of Britannia bullion maybe lesser up until 2012.

Sovereign are refer to Gold Sovereign commonly.

You can pick up Tube or Sealed Rolls.

Tube size 15x , 20x, 25x ( generally no capsules provided )
Roll size 20x ( Normally with capsules )
Monsters box 300x , 500x
 
All good, so things like Perth Mint coins that have a legal tender face value as opposed to rounds that are not legal tender?
 
Golden ChipMunk said:
It has been call Bullion for A Long Time ( Government backed as legal tender ) anything with denomination.
Never been call Sovereign
They are all 999% Ag.

Some years of Britannia bullion maybe lesser up until 2012.

Sovereign are refer to Gold Sovereign commonly.

You can pick up Tube or Sealed Rolls.

Tube size 15x , 20x, 25x ( generally no capsules provided )
Roll size 20x ( Normally with capsules )
Monsters box 300x , 500x
Click to expand...
This is good, thank you. Helps that I can get the correct terminology for here. Appreciate it.
 
Shaddam IV said:
All good, so things like Perth Mint coins that have a legal tender face value as opposed to rounds that are not legal tender?
Click to expand...
Yes. But even then, probably just Kangaroos from the Perth Mint. Seems the others, like the Kookaburras and Koalas command a higher purchase premium but a similar discount to spot when selling. They are beautiful coins though.

I found that most places here also heavily discount rounds when selling back. A bit different to the US where you'd just get a little bit under spot for things like buffaloes, etc...

Since I'm just starting just starting out, I want to focus on some pretty basic/vanilla stuff. So: Kangaroos, Maples, Britannica, Krugerands, Philharmonics, Libratad and Eagles. Probably some 1 or 10oz bars from the Perth mint too.

Would love some opinion on this. I'm finding the bars here often have higher premiums than ever the 1oz Kangaroos.

My very beginner stack, if you can call it that, is just Kangaroos right now. Figured that would be the best for starting in Australia.
 
In Colorado USA, Libertads are high premium and Eagles are probably the next highest followed by the rest.
I stacked the cheaper stuff for a few years before I felt comfortable paying a premium.
These days I buy what I want and what I like and it's not so much about premiums anymore.

Over the years your stacking might change but starting out on a limited budget, id go for the best priced ounces first and build a base.

Remember it's really just a savings that is converted into metals so go for ounces.
 
JohnnyBravo300 said:
In Colorado USA, Libertads are high premium and Eagles are probably the next highest followed by the rest.
I stacked the cheaper stuff for a few years before I felt comfortable paying a premium.
These days I buy what I want and what I like and it's not so much about premiums anymore.

Over the years your stacking might change but starting out on a limited budget, id go for the best priced ounces first and build a base.

Remember it's really just a savings that is converted into metals so go for ounces.
Click to expand...
Yeah, same. Eagles and Libertads were the highest premiums, I was in Washington. Got lucky with a local dealer and could get Kangaroos and Maples for just under $2 USD over spot. So I choose a few Kangaroos since I was coming to Australia.

The rounds at most places were similar, especially if they weren't the shiny stuff. But selling rounds here seems to attract a heavy discount to spot.

My main goal is not to stack and never sell, but to DCA a stack (especially now when the price is relatively high historically), then sell a portion when the price is right, probably to buy some gold, then start DCA staking again.

What I've found in my limited time so far is that while some rounds, bars, or other non-bullion coins may come at a slightly lower premium when purchasing in Australia, the spread here seems to destroy anything not bullion when selling.

So my starting goal is just to stick with the lowest bullion/bar premium per ounce. Which seems to be the Kangaroos for now.

But again, I'm super new to this and need to be flexible in my stacking, so open to all advice. My biggest challenge since starting was to not buy one of those Mandalorian Beskar bars. I'm a Star Wars dork, but at 70+ AUD for an ounce.... I think I must wait for a bit to indulge.
 
Maybe check out the "junk silver" in the country where you live. It could be a similar price or worth getting some anyway, i don't know how it is there.
It's worth buying it here in the States and might be there too.
 
This might work for you.
We put our money into 'savings' and 'spending' accounts. When buying bullion take the spot price out of savings and the premium out of spending. Then you have turned $x of savings into $x of bullion and don't worry about premium when selling. The spending is gone like all spending I don't expect to see it again. It makes you less worried about premium when selling.
 
Steveno said:
This might work for you.
We put our money into 'savings' and 'spending' accounts. When buying bullion take the spot price out of savings and the premium out of spending. Then you have turned $x of savings into $x of bullion and don't worry about premium when selling. The spending is gone like all spending I don't expect to see it again. It makes you less worried about premium when selling.
Click to expand...
It's a great way to think about it. Still don't want to over spend, just like on other products. But yeah, I like this mentality. Thanks.
 
StewyD321 said:
Not sure if Acorn is in Melbourne or not but this is a good deal if looking for silver close to spot.

This is their sales thread.
https://www.silverstackers.com/foru...wts-1966-round-silver-50c-pieces-spot.110381/

Look for sales on here rather than dealers if you are hung up on high premiums over spot. You should be able to pick up items here for spot.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this. Yeah, still new to this so think I'm purposefully hesitating to try a WTB post and instead just asking questions.

But probably best to just jump in, yeah?
 
tora0515 said:
Thanks for this. Yeah, still new to this so think I'm purposefully hesitating to try a WTB post and instead just asking questions.

But probably best to just jump in, yeah?
Click to expand...

I'd put up a thread and see what is on here, that way you can see and compare to what you have been looking at from bullion dealers and make a more informed decision and maybe get an idea of what you actually want.

I'm more of a spot hunter, anything near spot is good for me. Silver is silver and gold is gold at the end of the day, but that's just me. Sounds like you could be the same :)
 
StewyD321 said:
I'd put up a thread and see what is on here, that way you can see and compare to what you have been looking at from bullion dealers and make a more informed decision and maybe get an idea of what you actually want.

I'm more of a spot hunter, anything near spot is good for me. Silver is silver and gold is gold at the end of the day, but that's just me. Sounds like you could be the same :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll give it a go. Appreciate it.

I'm almost similar. Trying to take the emotion out of it, but not quite to silver is silver yet. With luck, I'll get their eventually.

For now I'm trying to learn what types of premiums on purchases and discounts/margins on sales I will face for the different type of silver while I start with bullion coins.
 
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