Do you own physical gold as an investment?

David713

Scrudgy said:

In summary don’t buy bullion unless you have a good option for selling it when the time comes to get rid. A gold etf sounds like a far better way to hold gold.

Coins and small bars are fine for sending through the post as long as you can do them a few at a time.
You can send the by RM Special delivery which provides compo for up to £2500 (which will allow for about 2oz of gold at a time) for less than £10 postage.

pbartlett

would the same be true if you held eg krugerrands?

David713

pbartlett said:

would the same be true if you held eg krugerrands?

Krugerrands can be purchased VAT free as they qualify as investment gold but they are not CGT exempt as they are not UK legal tender.

LHW99

Type_45 said:

MX5huggy said:

Gold bars are subject to Capital Gains Tax, UK legal tender, Sovereigns etc, are not. 

Yes, this is a big reason to go for sovereigns. Like ISAs, it takes the tax headache away.

Regarding the legal tender status of a sovereign (which has a face value of £100?), I suppose it would be possible for it to be worth a lot more than its face value. Which is a bit odd. 

But yes, legal tender British gold such as sovereigns are attractive as a purchase.

I had always been taught that a sovereign had a "face value" of £1 - the gold (bullion) value is obviously more?

underground99

LHW99 said:

Type_45 said:

MX5huggy said:

Gold bars are subject to Capital Gains Tax, UK legal tender, Sovereigns etc, are not. 

Yes, this is a big reason to go for sovereigns. Like ISAs, it takes the tax headache away.

Regarding the legal tender status of a sovereign (which has a face value of £100?), I suppose it would be possible for it to be worth a lot more than its face value. Which is a bit odd. 

But yes, legal tender British gold such as sovereigns are attractive as a purchase.

I had always been taught that a sovereign had a "face value" of £1 - the gold (bullion) value is obviously more?

Face value of a sovereign is a pound. Face value of a Britannia (a UK bullion coin with an ounce of gold) is £100, but it isn't a hundred times the weight (as a sov has about 7.33 grams of gold)

Type_45

The problem with seeking advice on which assets are best placed to survive the coming financial crash is that whoever you ask will simply shill what they are personally invested in.

Ask for advice on this forum and you're mainly talking to middle aged, middle class folk who are only really interested or knowledgeable about the stock market.

Ask on Twitter and you're talking to a different demographic who will mostly tell you that crypto is the best guard against an economic crash.

And on both sites you will find a small number of gold/silver magpies.

Personally I will mostly remain in the stock market because even though I think stocks will tank, I want to be part of the bounce back (which I would hope will be strong).

But I am giving serious consideration now to gold/silver. 

Thrugelmir

Type_45 said:

Ask for advice on this forum and you're mainly talking to middle aged, middle class folk who are only really interested or knowledgeable about the stock market.

Companies have many activities.  Some mine and trade commodities. Plenty of ways of obtaining exposure to even the most esoteric of investments. 

edgex

Type_45 said:

The problem with seeking advice on which assets are best placed to survive the coming financial crash is that whoever you ask will simply shill what they are personally invested in.

Ask for advice on this forum and you're mainly talking to middle aged, middle class folk who are only really interested or knowledgeable about the stock market.

Ask on Twitter and you're talking to a different demographic who will mostly tell you that crypto is the best guard against an economic crash.

And on both sites you will find a small number of gold/silver magpies.

Personally I will mostly remain in the stock market because even though I think stocks will tank, I want to be part of the bounce back (which I would hope will be strong).

But I am giving serious consideration now to gold/silver. 

but what do these really mean?
A crash usually means major damage to, or destruction of, an entire thing, eg. car crash, airplane crash.

So, a financial crash would see major damage to all parts of the financial system; payment systems stop working, banks go bust & depositors can't access funds, etc.
Which would lead to an economic crash anyway; employers can't pay staff, sellers can't take payments, etc.

So, how does gold or crypto work in that situation?

Walk into a food shop, & what?
They test your gold at the till & shave a bit off?
Which crypto are they going to use? Assuming the telecoms infrastructure is still operational, can the crypto chosen actually process that many transactions?*


*
In the UK, in Feb 2021 alone, there were 1.4billion card transactions.
Bitcoin blockchain can handle 11.5million in the same time, globally.

HansOndabush

You have to look at history and what it tells you. During the Wiemar hyperinflation, the people with gold were much better off than those without. They managed to retain some wealth when most others were wiped out.