Hi Frank. I think it all depends on what you like/collect. I highly recommend checking out: http://www.apmex.com/ for bullion. I would hold out for 2010 American Silver Eagles if they come out. Apparently there are rumors about a silver bullion shortage with the mint to make these. ASE's seem to hold both melt and numismatic value, and they look pretty cool! If you have enough for gold, I'd look at: - low mintage $20.00 Double Eagles (Saint Gaudens 1907-1933) - low mintage $20.00 Double Eagles (Liberty 1850-1907) - Buffalo Gold coins Are you looking to flip early or save up for the long haul?
Hi Frank, Well there’s nothing wrong with buying coins, especially gold or silver ones. However, from an “investment” standpoint, metals are not really that good of an “investment”. They don't pay you any interest or dividends. And you pay to store them. Gold has been on a huge bull market lately but when you compared to other investments such as equities (stocks and bonds) it’s not really that good of an investment historically. Plus, what goes up, well, gold isn’t going to rise forever. Also, keep in mind that coins go through bull and bear markets too. Coins are hot due in part to rising gold and silver lately. A good thing to keep in mind is always always always diversify. Consider equities such as stocks and bonds. And always keep taxes in mind. I don’t have much knowledge on UK and EU taxes so can’t help you there. But try and minimize taxes all that you can. Again, putting money in coins is not a bad thing, but don’t make it your only investment. Just some thoughts.
Put money away for your college education. If that is covered already, then buy equities (many good stocks can be purchased at a discount now) or begin your IRA. TC
I already told you what I think, Frank. I remember several years ago reading about a 10-year old on the east coast of Florida who started his own website (can't remember the details) and sold it for $13,000,000 before he was 14. Chris
Hi Frank, don't they have VAT taxes on metals in the UK? Maybe you should find a trusted friend in the US to buy for you and then ship over.
I don't think that would work. You have to fill out Customs forms to ship outside the U.S. and falsifying the documents is a Federal offense. Chris
Check out this link: http://www.cointalk.com/t92672-2/#post866834 About Customs forms: yes, I filled one out today. I was a pretty simple and useless form in my opinion. I just wrote the truth and signed the thing. Perhaps there is a loop hole if you deal with a family member in getting personal property back and forth between countries. I do not know the laws. A personal coin collection should be personal in my opinion. I am not very helpful with investment info. Cattle are a good investment these days where I live (I don't have any). Anything I can think of investment wise requires a lot of work and sweat. Maybe you might invest in woodworking equipment at some point. Special cabinets for coin collectors perhaps??? Yes, that is it. Invest in tools? Hammer your own special tokens when hard times come(???). Hammered pendants??
I wouldn't make coins my first investment. In the US, equities are best as a first investment. I don't know the situation in the UK.
Personally, what I did when I was your age, was to have my bank account transfer $50 a week into a savings account (never missed it). I would add some extra here and there. When I finally hit $1,000 I opened an account with vanguard and used their "star" fund. When that amount hit $3000, i transfered it to a better fund. As mentioned above, this is a US strategy, and I'm sure there is a similar strategy that would work in the UK. Personally, I would not use coins/bullion as a large part of my portfolio at your age, but have a small amount would be good a hedge.
If you do decide to invest in bullion, either gold or silver, make sure you take physical delivery of it. There has been several stories lately of how much of the bullion being traded on the markets today exist only on paper!
First know your goals and your time horizon. If you've already decided that part (please say it's only part) of your portfolio will be bullion, go with electronic form if you want to do short-term trading or minimize costs, physical if you have a secure way to store it and want to hedge against a financial panic worse than the recent one. If you go for electronic form, do not allow anyone to solicit you unless they publish a bar list, audited by someone independent. For example, Bullionvault has their auditor's statement on their accountant's web site, and their bar list comes from their vaulting company. GoldMoney is another commendably transparent vehicle. One of their competitors quit publishing a bar list citing some weird-sounding reasons: shortly thereafter that competitor's servers went down for "maintenance" and never came back up. Add up all costs including commissions, buy/sell spreads, shipping, insurance, storage and so on. Profits come and go, expenses go on forever.
There is no VAT on gold, which makes it advantageous to invest in in Britain.... By the way Frank, check your PMs....
