Starting to collect gold

S

Silvered

New Member
Hi all,
After recently selling off some gold jewellery, we have decided to collect gold for an investment for our (and our daughters future)
While this is a long term investment, we are not sure what would be best to invest in, coins or bullion. The wife likes coins and thinks if we are collecting it would be good to collect something that is also aesthetically pleasing!
We are planning to buy something every couple of months.
I guess we are just introducing ourselves, and also asking if you was to purchase for future investment what would you go for.

Dave & Terri
 
Welcome Dave and Terri. If you pop on over to Welcome New members you can say hi to everyone. Just click on "Report" and ask the Admin to move this thread there. :)
 
Welcome.

I buy sovereigns for my kids (each month if I can afford it), but it requires a bit of hunting around some times to get them cheap, as they are normally subject to GST if bought from a dealer.

Whether you pick bars or coins will partly be determined by your budget - the premiums on small coins are very high. The same maxim is true for both bars and coins - the smaller the gold, the higher the premium as a percentage of the cost.

Bars have lower premiums though - I just worked out some examples with gold at $1590 an ounce:

5 gram Certicard bar at ~$284 is ~11% over spot
1/10oz gold coin at ~$196 is ~24% over spot

So you will get more ounces for your dollars by buying bars than coins. Considering the retail markup on a 1oz gold coin is generally in the order of 5%, buying the smaller bars can be fairly cost effective without having to save up for a full ounce each purchase.
 
If you're in australia go with 5 and 10 gram perth mint wafers, unless you can afford 1 oz coins. They look good, are liquid, .999 and like pelican said they have a fraction of the premium. As well when the time comes to sell they're very liquid due to their affordability.
I've been a sucker for 5 grammers lately. ;)
 
Yep I stick with 1/2 oz or higher (pref 1 oz) for coins. The smaller (fractional) coins are nice, and do retain their premium when you sell them, but I just can't bear to pay such a high premium in the first place. Anything under 1/2 oz I stick with bars (and yeah, I love the 5g and 10g certicards).
 
Cimexus said:
Yep I stick with 1/2 oz or higher (pref 1 oz) for coins. The smaller (fractional) coins are nice, and do retain their premium when you sell them, but I just can't bear to pay such a high premium in the first place. Anything under 1/2 oz I stick with bars (and yeah, I love the 5g and 10g certicards).
Click to expand...



I know where you are coming from but I have to respectfully add another point of view from a small time stacker. The 1/10th, 1/4 and Sovereigns are highly liquid and are easier on the hip pocket if you are dollar cost averaging. If your selling to other stackers then the premium is sticky as well, just check out the dealers prices and sell for a little less unless you're selling a desirable coin that is.


Another option to consider is unallocated gold through Gold Stackers http://www.goldstackers.com.au/store/unallocated.html. You buy it by the gram and when you've got enough grams saved up convert 'em to physical gold in your own safe :)
 
Nugget said:
Cimexus said:
Yep I stick with 1/2 oz or higher (pref 1 oz) for coins. The smaller (fractional) coins are nice, and do retain their premium when you sell them, but I just can't bear to pay such a high premium in the first place. Anything under 1/2 oz I stick with bars (and yeah, I love the 5g and 10g certicards).
Click to expand...



I know where you are coming from but I have to respectfully add another point of view from a small time stacker. The 1/10th, 1/4 and Sovereigns are highly liquid and are easier on the hip pocket if you are dollar cost averaging. If your selling to other stackers then the premium is sticky as well, just check out the dealers prices and sell for a little less unless you're selling a desirable coin that is.


Another option to consider is unallocated gold through Gold Stackers http://www.goldstackers.com.au/store/unallocated.html. You buy it by the gram and when you've got enough grams saved up convert 'em to physical gold in your own safe :)
Click to expand...

Totally agree, good points.

Plus if gold doubled in price then 1/10 is slightly more liquid than 1oz.

Also consider if 1oz gets above the perceived $5000 ID threshold (i know it's 10k) then fractional becomes that little bit more desirable for some.

Just sayin.
 
Welcome to the Forum guys.

Id also suggest that you start off with gold coins.
Unless your budget will be $2k per month or something like that.

Start off with Half Sovereigns ( Should be able to get them for $190-$210 at current SPOT ),
You could also consider getting a bezel for them, like the one below

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COIN-BEZEL-...aultDomain_0&hash=item35a7ad8862#ht_958wt_908

Do not go after high premium sovereigns, those that are in very good condition or had relatively low mintages, or
were minted in Canada, India or South Africa.
Search for British and Australian Sovs firstly, as they are cheapest. ( Reason that they are cheapest is purely
due to very high mintage numbers, thus they are not as rare as those minted in Bombay for example, or other cities)

Perth Sovs cost more than Melb or Syd.

Gain experience with them, and later you can sell those and buy larger gold coins.
 
Also, see below for Half Sovereign listings on eBay.com.au

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...16&_trksid=m194&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSRCHX:SRCH

completed prices

http://www.ebay.com.au/csc/Coins-/1...&_dmpt=AU_Coins2&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m283


Full Sovereigns

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...16&_trksid=m194&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSRCHX:SRCH


and a worldwide gold coin scan on eBay

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...56&_trksid=m194&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSRCHX:SRCH


Also, SS has a world gold coin calculator on the top of the browser, you can look for it and use it to check the pricing
of the coins. But since you are a beginner with gold coins, stick with Sovereigns.

imo

:)

and have fun, as i am sure you will :)
 
Nugget said:
Cimexus said:
Yep I stick with 1/2 oz or higher (pref 1 oz) for coins. The smaller (fractional) coins are nice, and do retain their premium when you sell them, but I just can't bear to pay such a high premium in the first place. Anything under 1/2 oz I stick with bars (and yeah, I love the 5g and 10g certicards).
Click to expand...



I know where you are coming from but I have to respectfully add another point of view from a small time stacker. The 1/10th, 1/4 and Sovereigns are highly liquid and are easier on the hip pocket if you are dollar cost averaging. If your selling to other stackers then the premium is sticky as well, just check out the dealers prices and sell for a little less unless you're selling a desirable coin that is.


Another option to consider is unallocated gold through Gold Stackers http://www.goldstackers.com.au/store/unallocated.html. You buy it by the gram and when you've got enough grams saved up convert 'em to physical gold in your own safe :)
Click to expand...

Listen to this wise man.
 
Hi,

Thanks for all the replies!

Firstly I should mention that I'm british and not in Australia unfortunately, so like other Brits I'm having to fork out extra..

Geewiz I did purchase my first ounce of silver last night from thegoldbullion uk and plan to buy every month if funds are there.
As much as I like silver.. I prefer to invest in gold.. The returns will. Be bigger (I hope) .. For long term future our plan is too buy 10 grams of
999.9 gold from thegoldbullion which is costing around 370 at the moment, we plan to buy every 2 months. Hopefully we can do this for 10 years or more.
Does anyone think this plan is ok? It's gotta be better than saving it in a bank with crap interest.

Dave & Terri
 
Hi dave and welcome.It looks like you have a good plan in mind.Buying on a regular basis will increase your holdings over time while insuring that you arent overpaying for it.(A cost average basis)Indeed you are correct about it being a better investment of your money rather than letting a bank use your money while paying you a comical interest rate.This situation is universal,whether you are talking about pounds,AUDs,or USDs.
 
Silvered said:
Hi,

Thanks for all the replies!

Firstly I should mention that I'm british and not in Australia unfortunately, so like other Brits I'm having to fork out extra..

Geewiz I did purchase my first ounce of silver last night from thegoldbullion uk and plan to buy every month if funds are there.
As much as I like silver.. I prefer to invest in gold.. The returns will. Be bigger (I hope) .. For long term future our plan is too buy 10 grams of
999.9 gold from thegoldbullion which is costing around 370 at the moment, we plan to buy every 2 months. Hopefully we can do this for 10 years or more.
Does anyone think this plan is ok? It's gotta be better than saving it in a bank with crap interest.

Dave & Terri
Click to expand...

Is the best way to Save! Stack whatever you can afford - And do your math, sometimes you may be able to grab bargains here and land them in the UK cheaper than what you can get them for locally.
Welcome.
 
Hi Dave & Terri

As you're from the Uk then, IMHO, Sov's and/or Britannias are your best bet, they're legal tender over here so they're exempt from CGT ( this year anyway).

Silver Brittannias are also CGT exempt, but our glorious masters insist we pay 20% VAT on new silver coins and bars (Gold is always VAT free). Although if you travel to/order from mainland Europe you can pick up silver coins for only a 7% VAT surcharge, bars have a 19%vat surcharge. Have a look at http://www.vatea.de as an example.

Secondhand silver coins are vat free, the dealer only has to apply vat to their time, so if you have a local coin store it may be possible to buy 'unpopular' silver coins at close to spot. There are plenty of silver calculators on the web; you just enter the total weight of the coin, the purity of silver and it'll calculate the value of the silver in the coin.

You'll find plenty of other useful information on stacking silver/gold on this forum, and the locals are friendly. :)

cheers
 
Reggie Perrin said:
As you're from the Uk then, IMHO, Sov's and/or Britannias are your best bet, they're legal tender over here so they're exempt from CGT ( this year anyway).
Click to expand...


This is because the true power brokers, the hyper wealthy and the old money all hold a very nice stack of gold. The Queen has (had) a 10kg gold coin. Tax is for the peasants.
 
^ Yep, that's a good description of me, I'm a true pheasant :)

pheasant_1007772c.jpg
 
You and your partner could also load up on gold jewellery if you can get it at or under spot. A few rings, some bangles etc and you can wear it and most importantly, it is easy to transport if required.

I think we often forget that part of our PM stack includes what we wear and in fact this is the basis of most people's stashes. (The Indians haven't forgotten).
 
So many different answers. I don't think there is one ultimate strategy. Everybody likes something different. Here is my 2c.

Personally I don't like the hassle of selling and swapping too often. That's why I save on term deposit until I can buy a bullion of 1-5oz, then I buy it. That's it. It's very simple, gives you a lot of free time and avoids high premiums, which you usually pay for small coins/bullions.

Especially that you want to save it for your daughter (i.e., selling will be in very distant future) rather than for relatively short term profits. When she's grown up you'll handle her a box of 5oz bullions and she can sell one or two to finance her education or make a deposit for her fist home. What she definitely doesn't want is chasing all kinds of punters and selling them 1/10 oz coins for a couple of hundreds $ each.

As a bonus, when you buy/sell bigger bullions you get different quality of service from shops. You don't deal with apprentices and temporary workers in a shop. Somebody who actually can make the decision comes to speak with you and the attitude is different.
 
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