New to Silver

[mkc]

Hi, new member so hello.

Ive recently started to add Silver to my portfolio here in the UK. Ive got a fair bit of Gold, both in coins and bars and also in my Fund portfolio I have PM related funds and shares.

Ive started to add Silver because its nice to get so much in your hand for so little money. Im not looking for short term returns on my investment, hopefully it will be something I can cash in 20-30 years from now or just leave to my kids. Unless Silver does something crazy over the next few years

Im really after a list of different coins that are available to purchase (may aswell have some of each as they look pretty!) Is there such a list,

I currently have a number of the following

Koala 1oz Silver 2009
Kookaburra 1oz Silver 2009
Silver Philharmonic 1oz. 2009
Maple Leaf 1 oz 2009
Maple Leaf Privy 'Tower Bridge' 2009 1oz Silver
China Silver Panda 2008
China Silver Panda 2009
Britannia 1 Ounce 2 Pounds 2009
Libertad 2008
Libertad 2009
Silver Dollar 'Eagle' 1 Oz. 2009
American Indian Head Buffalo Silver 1-oz Rounds
Sunshine Silver Rounds (1oz )

Is it worth me tracking down older coins, these probably cost more than the value of the silver so will that add to the value in the future? Should I stay away from Silver Rounds, they look pretty boring compared to the China Pandas. Ive been buying from www.bullionbypost.co.uk/, www.coininvestdirect.com and tracking down 10oz Silver bars form several places including www.bullionuk.com I dont think Ill use bullionuk.com again though because they sent me the wrong coins. So any advice would be great on the coins to look out for.

[mkc]

One more thing, is it better to have coins with a value on them such as $1 Eagles or coins that have no currency value but only have 1oz Silver such as the Indian Buffalo coins I have from an investment and future trading value?

[ccjoe]

I LOVE the coins and have many you have BUT > we ALL regret not loading up on bullion as that is the cheapest over spot and you will find extreme disappointment if you go to sell the coins. To me the coins are to hold and cherish but the bullion is for liquidity investment.

[mkc]

Thanks for the reply, so do you suggest Silver Rounds instead of these fancy Pandas and Australian coins or do you mean bullion bars?

[ccjoe]

Bullion bars

[mkc]

Thanks, ill keep away from the coins and stick to bars of various sizes then. 5Kg down to 10oz I think. Cheers

[ccjoe]

Go all out to get a 1000 0z. bar from Tulving for .29 over spot or 100 oz. bars which tulving has for .49 over> JM of course so you NEVER have to think about paying to have them "assayed" when you go to sell them.

[hiyosilver]

Go all out to get a 1000 0z. bar from Tulving for .29 over spot or 100 oz. bars which tulving has for .49 over> JM of course so you NEVER have to think about paying to have them "assayed" when you go to sell them.

Compared to a coin, a Johnson-Matthey bar would be relatively easy to counterfeit.
When silver skyrockets, everything will have to be assayed, bet on it.

[Argyria]

Compared to a coin, a Johnson-Matthey bar would be relatively easy to counterfeit.
When silver skyrockets, everything will have to be assayed, bet on it.

Assays are a scam, standard silver products will have a standard resistance to electrical current. Put electrodes on each side of product in standard positions and measure resistance. If it's too high, there's probably lead inside. Can't cost more than a dollar or less per item tested, counting the time of a trained technician to do the test.

[ccjoe]

Hiyo--If that's true then EVERY dealer I've ever talked to is wrong.
Check with them and check your facts as we're trying to help a newbie with rational knowledge.

[SilverHawk]

Step right up folks.... Fresh cuts of beef.....100,000 Euros, 1/10oz Gold or 15oz Silver....No Chinese or Mexican coin....Get it while it's here....

[mkc]

So I stay away from coins of all sorts and buy bars?

[ccjoe]

Bars and stick with big time dealers who sell hundreds of millions a year like Tulving and APMES> You can also buy coins off them safely for fun NOT investment purposes.

[mkc]

Thanks very much. I have plenty of coins now so Ill keep them safe. I guess I wont get much return on them given the price over spot I paid to get them.

Ill stick to larger bars as an investment and a hand me down to the kids. Just wish I could afford large gold bars! Ill stick to small gold bars and 1oz coins and fractionals on GOld.

Thanks for the advice

[Argyria]

You should always try to buy for the least amount over spot possible. One caution about big bars: some people have the opinion that because they are vulnerable to drill and fill operations, they are undesirable. 100 oz bars in particular. On the other hand you can get great prices on them compared to spot, and NWTM at least will buy back their own bars at spot. I am undecided whether 100 oz bars are the best way to go.

[SilverHawk]

You should always try to buy for the least amount over spot possible. One caution about big bars: some people have the opinion that because they are vulnerable to drill and fill operations, they are undesirable. 100 oz bars in particular. On the other hand you can get great prices on them compared to spot, and NWTM at least will buy back their own bars at spot. I am undecided whether 100 oz bars are the best way to go.

I have nothing bigger than 1oz size. If everyone who bought silver wanted 100oz bars over 1oz type, the premium for 100oz bars would be higher. Supply/Demand. Too many possible "down falls" to having silver in such a large denomination. Think worse case scenario, in having 100oz verses 100 X 1oz. Kinda like going into a conveinence store with a $100 bill.

[mkc]

Totally agree, I have Silver and Gold 100g bars from Umicore and 10oz A Mark bars. Easy to shift around and nice to get one out of the safe and stroke and look at everynow and then. I just wondered if I should create a coin collection aswell given that a lot of people think that Gold coins are the way to go.

[TheLoneRanger]

mkc.. just my 2 pence.. but given the 15% VAT on silver.. I would keep the silver to small pieces that please you and stick with gold for investment puposes... 15% plus premiums is a steep curve to climb if you ever wish to sell for a profit.

[Golden]

mkc.. just my 2 pence.. but given the 15% VAT on silver.. I would keep the silver to small pieces that please you and stick with gold for investment puposes... 15% plus premiums is a steep curve to climb if you ever wish to sell for a profit.

I disagree. I'm from a country where there is a 20%VAT on silver, but I'm still buying it.
When I sell, I'm not so stupid to take it to the shop and loose 20%, I sell to other investors here and loose only 10% and they are happy to buy it 10% cheaper than in store. Sometimes I even sell for only 5% cheaper than in store and it all goes.

[TheLoneRanger]

Golden, I'm sure the laws vary, country to country, but how openly can you sell and buy stuff/silver person to person without triggering some goverment involvement or notice of your business and being forced to pay them the VAT on private transactions?

I only ask because, they are talking about a "national sales tax" here in the States as well as ramping up enforcement of indivdual State's sales tax on internet sales and such. And Computer tracking is making such Goverment intrusion into private sales of private property ever more possible.

[Golden]

Golden, I'm sure the laws vary, country to country, but how openly can you sell and buy stuff/silver person to person without triggering some goverment involvement or notice of your business and being forced to pay them the VAT on private transactions?

I only ask because, they are talking about a "national sales tax" here in the States as well as ramping up enforcement of indivdual State's sales tax on internet sales and such. And Computer tracking is making such Goverment intrusion into private sales of private property ever more possible.

You can sell your property to anyone you want. Do you pay taxes for garage sales and stuff ? How is silver different ?

[TheLoneRanger]

You can sell your property to anyone you want. Do you pay taxes for garage sales and stuff ? How is silver different ?

Depends.. in Alabama.. if what you are selling is long time ownership and clearly private property you do not have to charge or pay sales tax.. however if it APPEARS that you have purchased items for resale you are breaking the law unless you have a permit, receipts, charge and pay sales tax whether ir not you have a tax number an whether or not you paid sales tax when you bought the items ( those with retail busness licenses do not pay sales tax when they buy wholesale for resale) . btw if you actually grew those tomatos, in that, OMG!, large of a quanity, you clearly intended "for profit retail sales"... although these laws are very hit or miss on enforcement.

States and Cities are seriously hurting for revenue and are cracking down on unlicensed greymarket ( may be funding terrorists, don't ya know! ) tomato sales and the likes.

[Golden]

Maybe you should just put your silver in the trunk of your car and drive it to a nicer state and sell it there.

[aequitas]

You need to have at least some silver that is useful as a medium of exchange. I would recommend one ounce rounds or coins and 90% silver or similar silver coinage from the country you reside in.

What are you going to buy with a 100 oz silver bar if currencies collapse, IMHO it will be way to valuable to use to trade for anything small.

The premium on 10 oz bars are not much over 100 oz and no one has been faking name brand 10 oz bars because it is so cost prohibitive, so to me they seem like the better buy.

[ccjoe]

Good point Aeq as the Morgan guy this morning said much what you said.
That is for a shtf scenario. I think the 1000 OZ and 100 OZ bars are MUCH better for investment purposes. I really don't think they'll be a shth blood bath but "just" a massive, worst than 30's depression.

[SeekrBrnEvryMin]

I've stacked everything silver under the sun except silver shot.

Here, heft a bag of Mercury dimes. No, use both hands, don't hurt your foot.

That's probably the most expensive per unit item to counterfeit.

I now stack 90% exclusively, unless I find a steal on something else.

But right now, 90% is a steal.

[hippiebrian]

According to my dealer, the magic number here in California is $1500.00. Under that in a single private sale, no tax is required. Over that has to be reported and taxed.

[Argyria]

According to my dealer, the magic number here in California is $1500.00. Under that in a single private sale, no tax is required. Over that has to be reported and taxed.

The problem with "magic" numbers like that and like the $10,000 IRS reporting limit is if we have hyperinflation, it will be all too easy to end up on the wrong side of such numbers. They won't raise those numbers to keep in step with the inflation.

[hippiebrian]

The problem with "magic" numbers like that and like the $10,000 IRS reporting limit is if we have hyperinflation, it will be all too easy to end up on the wrong side of such numbers. They won't raise those numbers to keep in step with the inflation.

So I sell less quantities at a time...no problem. We'll never see a 10 oz. bar go for 1500.00, hyperinflation or not.

[Argyria]

So I sell less quantities at a time...no problem. We'll never see a 10 oz. bar go for 1500.00, hyperinflation or not.

If we get true hyperinflation, that's exactly what we could see. In the US revolution, a 'continental' was worth so little, George Washington I think it was remarked, 'it takes a wagon full of continentals to buy a wagon full of supplies'. Ever heard the phrase, 'not worth a continental'? Or check out Weimar Germany. Or present day Zimbabwe. Or Hungary, 1946, where they had 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 pengo notes distibuted. Their inflation rate was 41,900,000,000,000,000%. This amounts to prices doubling about every 13.5 hours.

[hippiebrian]

If we get true hyperinflation, that's exactly what we could see. In the US revolution, a 'continental' was worth so little, George Washington I think it was remarked, 'it takes a wagon full of continentals to buy a wagon full of supplies'. Ever heard the phrase, 'not worth a continental'? Or check out Weimar Germany. Or present day Zimbabwe. Or Hungary, 1946, where they had 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 pengo notes distibuted. Their inflation rate was 41,900,000,000,000,000%. This amounts to prices doubling about every 13.5 hours.

Hate to break the news to you, it won't happen here. Times will be tough for a bit, we MAY see double digit inflation, but that's it. I can't see where the dooms-dayers predictions have any basis in fact or reality...we eill NOT see $150.00 an oz, at least not in our lifetimes.

[mkc]

Well, thank you everyone for your replies. Only asked a simple question and got 4 pages of answers!

I just ordered three of these bad boys https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/silver-bars/5-kilogram-fine-silver-bar/

15kgs of Silver on its way. Feck knows where Im gonna put them, door stops I guess.

[LoboNoches]

Well, thank you everyone for your replies. Only asked a simple question and got 4 pages of answers!

I just ordered three of these bad boys https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/silver-bars/5-kilogram-fine-silver-bar/

15kgs of Silver on its way. Feck knows where Im gonna put them, door stops I guess.

Sweet looking bars man congrats