Selling some gold sovereigns in Thailand

[Guderian]

Many years ago when still living in the UK, I inherited some gold sovereigns. I just stuck them in a drawer in the bedroom and more or less forgot about them. With the price of gold nowadays, I'm starting to think that selling them would be a good idea. I could do that the next time I'm back in the UK, which would be the easy option, but I was also wondering about the possibility of bringing them to Thailand with me on my next visit and trying to sell them here. I expect that would be more complicated than doing it in the UK, but with the uncertainty over how the TRD will treat remittances in future it might give me 100-200K Baht in cash here that would be "under the radar", so to speak. Even if the TRD did find out somehow, I could always tell them that I've had the sovereigns here in Thailand for a long time, there's no way they can prove I haven't. A sovereign is the same almost-pure gold that the Thais like and the current price is around £475, so how much would the Thai gold shops rip you off because it's not "Thai" gold? Would it be worth the bother, or should I just flog them when I'm in the UK next?

[sometimewoodworker]

In Thailand standard gold is 23 karat.

The Sovereign is made of 22 karat gold, consisting of 11/12 gold and 1/12 copper, giving a gold content of 0.9167. The coin has a standard weight of 7.98805 grams and given that the fineness is 0.9167, the gold content is 7.323 grams or 0.2354 (Troy) ounces.

 

So you will have to find a gold shop that will buy sovereigns, no shop will buy them without testing. I would very much doubt that you will get more than the scrap value from the majority of shops and that will be quite a bit less than a buyer who will buy them to resell as sovereigns.

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, sometimewoodworker said:

In Thailand standard gold is 23 karat.

The Sovereign is made of 22 karat gold, consisting of 11/12 gold and 1/12 copper, giving a gold content of 0.9167. The coin has a standard weight of 7.98805 grams and given that the fineness is 0.9167, the gold content is 7.323 grams or 0.2354 (Troy) ounces.

 

So you will have to find a gold shop that will buy sovereigns, no shop will buy them without testing. I would very much doubt that you will get more than the scrap value from the majority of shops and that will be quite a bit less than a buyer who will buy them to resell as sovereigns.

Agree. They probably have more value as collectibles, and Thailand is not the place to get any premium.

[Photoguy21]

Not an answer to this topic but related. Why doesn't Thailand have a certified Assay office which provides a stamp for the Carat of the gold?

[sometimewoodworker]

14 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Not an answer to this topic but related. Why doesn't Thailand have a certified Assay office which provides a stamp for the Carat of the gold?

Why should there be one? All gold shops are capable of testing gold or getting it tested.

 

Why don’t you set one up?

[Guderian]

39 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

I would very much doubt that you will get more than the scrap value from the majority of shops

 

Thanks. Any idea how much the scrap value would be compared with that day's headline gold price?

[freeworld]

Here is a recent thread on selling gold coins. Seems the OP had success in Pattaya.

link aseannow sell US gold coins

[Guderian]

14 minutes ago, freeworld said:

Here is a recent thread on selling gold coins. Seems the OP had success in Pattaya.

link aseannow sell US gold coins

 

Thanks, that's helpful. Maybe I'll bring back a couple and see what I get rather than the whole lot.

[FlorC]

Don't you need to report exporting gold ?

If they spot it at the departure airport you loose it.

Or is it different for the Brits ?

[Peterphuket]

55 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Don't you need to report exporting gold ?

If they spot it at the departure airport you loose it.

Or is it different for the Brits ?

I stick it between other coins with 2-second glue and put it in a change pouch, never had a problem with it.

Soon, I also want to do it with a 250-gram piece of gold.

[BakedPanda]

Bad time to sell in the first place. Is a great hedge for whatever is coming next.  I would even be interested buying them, under the market price of course.

[Iron Tongue]

Do not sell them in Thailand if you want to maximize your return.

British gold sovereigns enjoy a mark-up in the UK, the Commonwealth, and probably W. Europe as they all know what sovereigns are.  People still collect them as coins and they hold nostalgia value.  

But in Thailand, you will only get the melt-down value of the gold since they were never used in Thailand and there is no familiarity with them.  In comparison, American Gold and Silver Eagles, and Chinese Panda coins are traded in Thailand..

[Stevemercer]

I think you should take them to a coin shop in the UK. You will get a better price and they may be worth more to collectors than just the gold content.

 

For example, I recently sold a number of $200 Australian gold coins. I sent an email to 4 or 5 coin shops in Australia and got quotes. The gold value of the coins was about $600, but I got $950 for each from a coin shop when I next returned to Australia. They didn't even check/assay the coins and the only ID they asked for was my drivers licence.

[FlorC]

37 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

I stick it between other coins with 2-second glue and put it in a change pouch, never had a problem with it.

Soon, I also want to do it with a 250-gram piece of gold.

250 gram ?

A lot to loose.

 

 

[Peterphuket]

1 hour ago, FlorC said:

250 gram ?

A lot to loose.

 

 

I can't deny that, but no choice.

[AustinRacing]

Thais prefer their gold. There wouldn’t be any financial advantage bringing them here. So why do it?

[Photoguy21]

22 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Why should there be one? All gold shops are capable of testing gold or getting it tested.

 

Why don’t you set one up?

Well if they had a gold quality stamp, then any gold bought in Thailand could be sold anywhere in the world. Just think if you have bought gold in Thailand and for whatever reason left the country and are not coming back. Before a shop will buy it you would have to get the stamp from the assessment office in the country you intend to sell it. 

[retarius]

I might be wrong, but I have always been under the impression that it is illegal to bring gold bullion across borders. I am not sure whether coins are legally regarded as currency or bullion. You might try a pawn shop.

[digbeth]

10 minutes ago, retarius said:

I might be wrong, but I have always been under the impression that it is illegal to bring gold bullion across borders. I am not sure whether coins are legally regarded as currency or bullion. You might try a pawn shop.

 

only if you get caught...

 

you're supposed to declare it to customs, 

mixed in with the rest of your coins in a coin purse, who can tell?

 

gold shops are also supposed to report large transactions 

[Peterphuket]

"gold shops are also supposed to report large transactions"

 

Perhaps they should do it, but in the smaller towns they don't, I know.

[sometimewoodworker]

36 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Well if they had a gold quality stamp, then any gold bought in Thailand could be sold anywhere in the world. Just think if you have bought gold in Thailand and for whatever reason left the country and are not coming back. Before a shop will buy it you would have to get the stamp from the assessment office in the country you intend to sell it. 

You have a rather misguided trust in a stamp. Also it is an assay office not an assessment office.

Nobody buying gold will trust a a stamp, if they do they will shortly be buying gold covered lead.

 

29 minutes ago, retarius said:

I might be wrong, but I have always been under the impression that it is illegal to bring gold bullion across borders. I am not sure whether coins are legally regarded as currency or bullion. You might try a pawn shop.

Your impression is wrong as a general rule, it maybe true for some countries and maybe regulated,, for example 

Quote

Gold coins, medals, and bullion may be brought into the U.S.  However, under regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, such items originating in or brought from, Cuba, Iran, and Sudan* are prohibited entry. Copies of gold coins are prohibited if not properly marked by the country of issuance. The importation of counterfeit coins is prohibited. There is no duty on gold coins, medals or bullion but these items must be declared to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer. Please note a FINCEN 105 form must be completed at the time of entry for monetary instruments over $10,000. This includes currency, ie. gold coins, valued over $10,000.
 

 

[Photoguy21]

19 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You have a rather misguided trust in a stamp. Also it is an assay office not an assessment office.

Nobody buying gold will trust a a stamp, if they do they will shortly be buying gold covered lead.

 

Your impression is wrong as a general rule, it maybe true for some countries and maybe regulated,, for example 

 

Try it outside of Thailand and see what they say. I have tried it just to see the reaction and it is the same every time, "we will need to have the content verified before we can offer you a price".

[sometimewoodworker]

29 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Try it outside of Thailand and see what they say. I have tried it just to see the reaction and it is the same every time, "we will need to have the content verified before we can offer you a price".

Of course they will as will most gold shops in Thailand, however the verification of an assay stamp is not sufficient proof with unknown sellers and often even with others unless the buyer has a relationship with the seller.

[Photoguy21]

1 hour ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Of course they will as will most gold shops in Thailand, however the verification of an assay stamp is not sufficient proof with unknown sellers and often even with others unless the buyer has a relationship with the seller.

Maybe not everywhere but in the UK they mostly send it to the assay office for testing. I guess that way they have some come back if it is gold but not of the standard they expected.