Bosworth

...and with sterling falling fast as well, the overall impact on my holdings is pretty minimal at the moment. Might change if things continue this way but I for one, as a Brit, am still very happy holding gold...

If there is a short squeeze in gold this week, how far do we think it would rise, or would everything possible be thrown at its containment / masking the symptoms. Interested in what people's selling strategy would be if this happens - clearly such a price spike would be short-lived so timing a selling to look in profits to immediately reinvest when the squeeze subsides would have value. Thoughts?

Anyone sure enough of a dip on Mon/Tue to short gold on an etf?

No chance. Already poured everything we've currently saved into PMs. I was on a training course a couple of weeks ago and people were lamenting the state of the £. Incredibly, people did not realise you could buy gold so readily. Really hammered it home when I took a lovely shiny maple in the next day... We've all got to do our bit! (edit: clarification)

Well I've finally put my money where my mouth is... ...and sold to rent. Completing tomorrow and moving my family into rented, despite ENORMOUS emotional pressure from everyone around me. It's a lonely place being right... Managed to offload a "prime london riverside flat" (2 bed, 2 bath) for a shade under £600k. Feels glorious to be free...

Likewise. I was at a large training course a couple of weeks ago and I had a number of conversations about the state of the world and the role gold could play. People had no idea how easy it is to protect yourself. I took a canadian maple in to show people - really did get their interest going...

Thank you! I haven't belly laughed at my desk in ages....

Britannias are also CGT free.

Look's like there are also a couple of kilo bars squirrelled away there as well in a gloriously goldy slutty way...

You'd be surprised: India - 1,147,995,904 (2008) China - 1,330,044,544 (2008) http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India.htm http://www.worldstatesmen.org/China.html

The desire to have something physical in your hand rather than a promise on a piece of paper...

Beg to differ. I used to work in the supply function of a major oil company and I can assure you that there was signficant storage capacity that COULD be used to support trading functions. The fact that this capacity is not declared to the wider markets just made our trading activities even more profitable - imperfect knowledge.

Easier and cheaper with land-based tank farms

If only...

CID have 1oz britannia's in stock

Why is everyone so convinced the POG is manipulated? I understand the belief system that suggests this is happening, but is there any evidence, and are the sums of money actually available to make it happen?

Been sitting on the edges waiting for sterling to rise or the POG to fall. Finally bottled it and topped up my physical. Too much exciting stuff starting to be whispered about to be able to react quickly enough when it all starts. Which feels like soon. I'd rather lose 20% of my insurance than 100% of my fiat. Anyone else getting twitchy?

There is talk in the media of a new currency game, possibly debasing, possible bretton-woods esque. There is also talk about preventing "windfall profits" for holders of gold. How might that work? How could they stop me selling at market price something I physically own and they don't know about? Who are "they" anyway?

They got it wrong in Q1 2003 - hope they've got it right now!

When I bought last week ATS were selling at £540 and buying at £499.

Parts of it: - they were busy - signin book was chocker - I had to wait in a Q ...but I don't see the coins going for less than spot value of the gold content. But I'm a newbie so may have missed something.

I'm starting to worry that we are being played: - institutions need to realise their assets (gold) by selling - this will place a temporary downward pressure on price - public stirred up to take some of the slack. Would explain the short-term downwards movements despite the public interest. Long term it matters not - physical gold will be increasingly needed to back debt.

Most of the online companies ship by insured freight. If it didn't work they wouldn't be in business. As for the security, well, nothing's perfect. I tend to only keep an emergency stash at home - enough to get to the country. Rest stored in various bolt-holes in different directions out of London. One advantage is the "value per volume" of gold - really don't need much secure space to store a reasonable stash.

...however the downside to this is that they are far more softer than the 22Ct copper mix Krugers and Sovereigns. Future resale value can be affected by dimples / nicks.

Are most people trickling their purchases to ride the ups and downs or do we tend to go big occasionally? Interested in people's purchasing strategies and mix between types of gold and silver. I for one just bought 15 Krugers. Gives me a bit of wiggle room before hitting the £10k barrier but still provides a good slug of security in case things deteriorate rapidly. Interested in what others are doing and why.