I knew this would happen!

[Sylvester]

Thanks for the tip about the half sovereigns! £35-£60 is what I was expecting to pay really, plus gold holds its value so i suppose it's a good investment as well as an enjoyable hobby! Gold just has an aura around it that's quite indescribable doesn't it. I'm getting quite giddy now just thinking about starting but I'm going to finish my meagre date run first!

Gold definately has an aura about it, undoubtedly. I just love guineas, dunno why... the designs are sometimes pretty hideous (spade guineas aren't great... and most of the Geo. III later date ornamental shield ones look naff), but they are still nice to hold.

As much as i am a die hard silver fan, i think gold is right up there with it, the feeling of holding gold is a nice one. It gets me a bit giddy and irrational too, it's what they call gold fever... i can see why wars have been fought over the stuff.

Did you know that half sovereigns are rarer than sovereigns? Underappreciated though.

You'll never have a problem selling the gold. When i sold mine up in January the dealer snatched the whole lot off of me no questions asked... exceopt for the shierld reverse sovs cos he had a whole load of them already, but another dealer was eager to get those.

You can't do that with bronze!

[Geoff T]

One thing I've found with gold is that you can often find it in jewellers who sell it at around bullion rate. That means you can get some real bargains because they don't always take grading into consideration. There are two such shops where I live and I've bought gold in both. One appears to have extended its recent 30% off everthing sale indefinitely and usually has a good crop of gold coins. Be warned though, it is highly addictive

[Sylvester]

This is true... but most of the bargins are on the sovereigns, halves usually go at £45-£50 regardless of the grade... i once saw a load of fake 1915 halves in a jewellers, they didn't know either. So if buying from a Jewellers always be on the look out... and if you see any 1915 halves with funny dark circular marks around the obverses (all in the same place in every single one with slightly weak strike), then beware.