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I just got a pile of Eagles for £11 each as a private deal from an ebay seller. Otherwise I would be stocking up on some Philli's.

 

Im staying out of houses hoping for further falls this winter, and renting a fab place in the country in a few weeks. Im optimistic that gold and silver will make some moves upwards after the summer.

FWIW... I finally placed my order today for a healthy stack of silver philharmonic coins.

The spot price may well come down from here but:

 

1) As spot has come down the price of these things has actually crept up!

2) I think these coins will hold here or here abouts even if spot does go lower. This is certainly what happened during the 2008 October panic. Silver simply was not available in any quantity sub $10. This looks a good floor to me.

3) I think I'll rather enjoy having these things in my house. Tuck them in at night and sleep soundly knowing I own a monetary asset that is outside the financial system

4) I can wait for the mania phase before selling. The top is a long way off from here. Nicely summed up by another poster on here as when have you ever had a top where there was less interest at the peak than on the way up.

5) By taking delivery I will be less likely to make an impatient and rash decision to sell.

 

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is there any particular advantage to buying one silver coin over another?

Why would you buy a Brittania at £2.60 more than a philharmonic?

are there tax benefits that i've missed out?

 

Assuming you are a UK tax payer: There is no Capital Gains tax to pay when you sell a Britannia.

 

There is also an issue limit. There are only 100,000 2009 Britannia’s. CID told me that all of these have been produced, there will be no more produced this year. I don’t think any other Bullion coin has an issue limit.

 

EDIT: Also, I think the better looking coins cost more. The Koala and Kookaburra must be produced in the same place by the same staff yet the ugly Koala sells for way less than the beautiful Kookaburra

 

There was a beautiful coin Poll on here but I can’t find it. I think Britannia was first with Panda second

 

koala09.jpg

kooka09.jpg

 

Images courtesy of Airdale Coins http://www.airedalecoins.co.uk/catalog/index.php

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Assuming you are a UK tax payer: There is no Capital Gains tax to pay when you sell a Britannia.

 

There is also an issue limit. There are only 100,000 2009 Britannia’s. CID told me that all of these have been produced, there will be no more produced this year. I don’t think any other Bullion coin has an issue limit.

 

this is how i understand it* - however, just to remind others, last years eagles and maples dried up within the mintage year

 

*perhaps id5 can answer fully?

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:o OMG: My beautiful Britannia’s have gone WHITE.

 

I’m going to cry :(

 

After typing the post above, I decided I needed to see my coins.

 

I had 4 Britannia’s in little plastic coin envelopes like the one below and they’ve changed colour, they smell different and they’re a bit sticky to touch. I have thrown away the envelopes and wiped one with a tissue. The wiped material has a slight green tint on the tissue.

 

What’s happened?

Should I wipe them all or is it better to leave it now?

Are THESE plastic pockets from Staples suitable for coins?

Should I punch or kick [to death] the prat who sold me the envelopes? :angry:

 

I also had one eagle in the exact same coin envelope and it is fine :unsure:

 

http://www.predecimal.com/plastic-coin-envelopes-p-46.html

 

 

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Britannia silver I believe is part silver part copper. 95% Silver, 5% Copper. But the Britannia is made up so it contains 1 troy ounce of silver.

 

The green residue is characteristic of copper oxidation.

 

---

 

Eagles are nearly 100% pure silver hence no green residue.

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Thats strange. Ive had little bars of silver in those polybags and no problems. I have my philli coins wraped in cling film, so I better check they are ok. Perhaps its what you stored them near that has effected them but you would think the polybags are airtight.

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:o OMG: My beautiful Britannia’s have gone WHITE.

 

I’m going to cry :(

 

After typing the post above, I decided I needed to see my coins.

 

I had 4 Britannia’s in little plastic coin envelopes like the one below and they’ve changed colour, they smell different and they’re a bit sticky to touch. I have thrown away the envelopes and wiped one with a tissue. The wiped material has a slight green tint on the tissue.

 

What’s happened?

Should I wipe them all or is it better to leave it now?

Are THESE plastic pockets from Staples suitable for coins?

Should I punch or kick [to death] the prat who sold me the envelopes? :angry:

 

I also had one eagle in the exact same coin envelope and it is fine :unsure:

 

http://www.predecimal.com/plastic-coin-envelopes-p-46.html

Hmm.. I think using PVC or anything containing PVC is bad for silver (tarnish) I read somewhere the more flexible a platic pocket is, the more PVC it is likely to contain. I keep my eagles in the tubes from the mint mostly, but some of my older coins have tarnished a bit. You say they went white?? - can you post a pic?

 

this from somewhere else: warning- untested!!!

You can also get a non-toxic polish by putting your silverware in a bowl with water, some vinegar, some salt and a sheet of tin foil. Make sure your silver is touching the foil and then let it sit for a bit. Then take out and wash clean. If it's not working as well as you want, then wrap the tin foil around the silver a bit more. presto. easy. and it uses stuff we've probably all got around the house (and you can wash off the tin foil and use it for something else later.

 

also maybe see here:

http://www.silversmithing.com/care.htm#Advice

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Thanks for the replies everyone

 

Thats strange. Ive had little bars of silver in those polybags and no problems. I have my philli coins wraped in cling film, so I better check they are ok. Perhaps its what you stored them near that has effected them but you would think the polybags are airtight.

 

The coins were in a plastic envelope like this.

image005.jpg

 

I've now moved them in to a bag like this.

write.jpg

 

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...

You say they went white?? - can you post a pic?

...

 

Oh no, I didn’t think of taking a snap. I’ve wiped them all now and the white stuff has pretty much come off.

 

They looked like they were covered in condensation

 

But they weren’t wet. I never took them out of the pack I got them in.

 

the new bags should be ok as they are made from polypropylene.

 

I’ll keep an eye on them, they will be sleeping in my bed for a while ;)

 

I don’t mind buying capsules for my one ounce coins as I haven’t got many. But I have a hell of a lot of pre-decimal coinage and I can’t possible put each one in a capsule. I need them bags to be OK

 

Not sure about why they have changed colour but i use these

 

http://www.coingallery.co.uk/coin-capsules-2-c.asp

 

Thanks, that’s really useful, I’ve seen that same guy on ebay. You can pick 20 capsules of any size you want for £5.80

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20-New-Lighthouse-co...%3A1%7C294%3A50

 

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Britannia silver I believe is part silver part copper. 95% Silver, 5% Copper. But the Britannia is made up so it contains 1 troy ounce of silver.

 

The green residue is characteristic of copper oxidation.

 

---

 

Eagles are nearly 100% pure silver hence no green residue.

 

BTW, I got them from Airdale Coins. Check your coins :unsure:

 

I bought one of every coin a while back with 4 Britannia’s.

 

They all came in capsules with the exception of the Britannia’s and one Eagle

 

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Silver is down quite a bit in the last couple of hours.

 

USD 13.47, EUR 9.57 at the mo'.

 

Including 4.25% fees it's less than EUR 10.00 per ounce at GM. :)

Just bought some. Have a large bonus coming through soon... so if it goes a little lower that is fine. I am not too concerned about buying here [though I doubt it will go too much lower and always best to buy on the dip] as intend to stop buying metal shortly and build up a dollar reserve.

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I keep a beedy eye on the silver market in the UK.

 

 

If anyone remembers I said about a year ago, silver is hard to get hold of, and in the mania, that may come we'll just have to do with out.

 

It appears some entrepreneurs have sunk some money into the sector and have found a niche in the market. [Whether they are making money, I do not know].

 

There are have been some new sites since - I will only stick to Bairds, Coinsinvest, Cookson, Airelondale and Weightons though as they have been around longer.

 

www.sarniasilver.com - looks like they stock First Majestic, Pan American, Northwest territorial mint bars. A rarity in the UK. NO SHOP ADDRESS, BEWARE

 

www.mr-silver.co.uk - NWT mint, Umicore bars, NO SHOP ADDRESS, BEWARE

 

www.bullionuk.com - Silver eagle monster boxes [500 oz], Maple Monster boxes. Only a P.O BOX address. BEWARE

 

www.bullionbypost.co.uk - Umicore bars - This has a shop address in Birmingham

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There are have been some new sites since - I will only stick to Bairds, Coinsinvest, Cookson, Airelondale and Weightons though as they have been around longer.

 

www.sarniasilver.com - looks like they stock First Majestic, Pan American, Northwest territorial mint bars. A rarity in the UK. NO SHOP ADDRESS, BEWARE

 

I've used sarnia a few times, they've always delivered, and pretty quickly too.

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I've used sarnia a few times, they've always delivered, and pretty quickly too.

 

feel i have to stick up for sarniasilver - as well as http://www.cisilver.com/ who are the same people. i've used them a few times (makes a change from the usual suppliers as they stock stuff others don't seem to have) for small orders with no problems whatsoever.

 

i've also used this chap in coventry a few times http://www.silverexchange.co.uk/sales.php with no problems.

 

stumbled across the mr-silver site myself a few days ago - seems very expensive. don't intend using them!

 

still - interesting enough that these bods are starting to enter the market.

 

competition is healthy, remember? :P

 

 

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feel i have to stick up for sarniasilver - as well as http://www.cisilver.com/ who are the same people. i've used them a few times (makes a change from the usual suppliers as they stock stuff others don't seem to have) for small orders with no problems whatsoever.

 

i've also used this chap in coventry a few times http://www.silverexchange.co.uk/sales.php with no problems.

 

stumbled across the mr-silver site myself a few days ago - seems very expensive. don't intend using them!

 

still - interesting enough that these bods are starting to enter the market.

 

competition is healthy, remember? :P

 

Wow, Them Maples are cheaper than CIDs price!

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this is how i understand it* - however, just to remind others, last years eagles and maples dried up within the mintage year

 

*perhaps id5 can answer fully?

Mixed replies here folks, my apologies but I am just too frikken busy, if you ever need an answer from me faster can you please PM me, especially at the mo.

 

So would you advise to buy bars over these coins??

Britannia's first or the coin of your country because you do not have to pay CGT or similar. Follow this with coins of a different country because when you come to sell them they will not need melting down to prove what they. Everybody is familiar with the coins and there are more coin dealers than bullion silver bar dealers. If they are Chinese Pandas then they may be subject to greater scrutiny as there are quite a few fakes about.

 

this is how i understand it* - however, just to remind others, last years eagles and maples dried up within the mintage year

 

*perhaps id5 can answer fully?

The marketing blurb says that the silver Britannia is a bullion coin silver but the reality is that they need to stay within the bounds of the coinage laws otherwise it would be sold as a medal. It is a numismatic coin and the price will go up slowly overtime. They are numismatic collectors pieces and should be treated as so to retain as much value as possible.

 

:o OMG: My beautiful Britannia’s have gone WHITE.

...

This is contamination, an oxide or chloride, either there is something in the bag construction or in the air in your environment that is causing the silver to tarnish faster than normal.

 

Britannia silver I believe is part silver part copper. 95% Silver, 5% Copper. But the Britannia is made up so it contains 1 troy ounce of silver.

 

The green residue is characteristic of copper oxidation.

...

100% correct and yes they will all tarnish over time

 

Hmm.. I think using PVC or anything containing PVC is bad for silver (tarnish) I read somewhere the more flexible a platic pocket is, the more PVC it is likely to contain. I keep my eagles in the tubes from the mint mostly, but some of my older coins have tarnished a bit. You say they went white?? - can you post a pic?

 

this from somewhere else: warning- untested!!!

You can also get a non-toxic polish by putting your silverware in a bowl with water, some vinegar, some salt and a sheet of tin foil.

...

Silver is a bit of a bugger for keeping over the long term. Whatever you store them in must be airtight and the best is either an Air-Tite acrylic capsule or an original Mint Mylar plastic tube. You can use PVC zip baggies for a few months but get the majority of the air out of the bag and store them in the dark, it is sunlight that causes the bag to release hydrochloric acid. Do not store silver coins in paper envelopes, coin albums or the harder plastic flips as they are only good for circulation coins. If you have a coin that is contaminated with oxides / chlorides, then take a deep breath and relax, the damage is already done your coin will never be UNC or FDC again :(

 

Should you clean it? No, as a professional coin dealer will always be able to tell if it has been cleaned and will mark its price down accordingly. Those with fewer scruples would use the recipes below and sell it on. Not a coin but I remember selling a ZX-10 that had no 4th gear to a town based bike dealer, I guessed correctly that he wouldn't be able to get it up to cruising speed in a built up area as that bike did 65mph+ in 1st, he would have struggled to get 4th without a dual carriage way. In some cases 'Caveat emptor' can be a solution.

 

For cleaning then Chis_ct's recipe will work but is not a good solution because the added salt can cause a further reaction later on. For both types of chloride / oxide on a real bullion coin, not a numismatic I would put an aluminium foil layer in a small bowl and then a mix of a teaspoon of lemon and four teaspoons of olive oil followed by the coin. It should take about 30 minutes for the chloride / oxide to dissolve but remove it as soon as it has and then wash it in hot water. The olive oil helps seal the surface and prevent the chloride from attacking the coin again. If the problem is more acute then use sodium thiosulfate which you can get from your photography shop as it is a common dark room chemical or better 'safety pickle' which is sodium bisulfate and can be brought from eBay or jeweller supply shops.

 

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Internet dealers with no addresses - just saying to beware for new investors.

 

I would never place a large order over the internet unless they have an address, one can visit if there is any problem. I will also verify their address also using another source of information.

 

Good luck silver bugs.

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