Chards Coin & Bullion Dealer joins LBMA as a Full Member
What were the reasons for you wanting to join LBMA and what do you see as the key benefits of membership?
We first thought about our company joining LBMA around January 2000, when the UK, along with the EU, made investment gold exempt from VAT. I recall having a
number of conversations with the late Stewart Murray, who sounded very keen for us to apply for membership. At the time, one of the stated benefits of membership was to be able to buy gold sovereigns from the Bank of England at 2% premium.
Stewart was keen to have a UK member who dealt in coins and small bars, as there was only one existing member who fitted this description, and LBMA was frequently asked by members of the British public where they could purchase these.
Tell us about your company’s role in the precious metals market?
We started as coin dealers in the ‘popular’ numismatic sector in 1964. There was a surge of interest in coin collecting ahead of its UK decimalisation in 1971. Although the initial interest was in circulation coins, old bronze pennies and the like, gold sovereigns soon became one of our specialist areas, with demand both from collectors and investors. From 1964 to 1966, we used to sell gold sovereigns at £4 each or £3,500 per thousand.
This important part of the business ended in 1966 when the UK government banned its citizens from acquiring or continuing to hold gold coins, by introducing without warning a provision of the Exchange Control Act of 1947 (Statutory Instrument No. 438 of 1966).
This was removed on 31 March 1971, but is believed to have had a damaging and long-lasting effect on the domestic UK gold bullion market.
2017 Krugerrand after an Unexpected XFR Test and a Cupellation Test.
When VAT was introduced in 1973, all coins, including gold, were subject to VAT, thus compounding the damage already caused. When investment gold became exempt from VAT on 1 January 2000, there was hardly any tradition of gold investing in the UK, and we were one of the few dealers left in the UK market.
In the last week of 1999, we set up two new websites, one devoted to British gold sovereigns, and the other to gold coins and gold bars.
What’s the background and history of the company?
Back in 1971, we were the first UK retail dealer to quote buy/sell spreads on gold coins. We took a small advert on the front page of our local newspaper with buy/sell prices on gold sovereigns and Krugerrands. We sold 508 Krugers to a mainly local clientele.
While gold is our major precious metal, we were active in the scrap silver market and particularly busy in the Bunker Hunt period up to 1980.
In the past 10 years, we acquired our new Harrowside Blackpool building, excavated an underground bunker with strongrooms, improved all our systems, and introduced digital precious metals customer accounts.
This year we hit several milestones: 60 years in the business, an LBMA membership, and a new Hatton Garden London office.
What factors do you expect to impact your business in the short to long term?
Following the UK Government’s announcement in the Spring Budget about introducing legislation to underpin the future modernisation of the VAT Terminal Markets Order (TMO), a challenge we face is logistics and shipping. I am looking forward to LBMA’s continued engagement with His Majesty’s Treasury – as well as the UK government – bearing fruit, to allow business operations to allow the legislation and simplifications within it to reflect how the market operates now and in the future.
There is a lot more I could add, but there is probably not enough time or space to cover it all here.
Furthermore, political and economic factors will continue to flux, and we intend to keep evolving to adjust to changes.
What are your future plans for the business?
We will continue to grow our physical and online presence across the UK, maintaining our transparent and competitive pricing for both buying and selling.
We will ensure that buying and selling precious metal is accessible for all: private investors, small and large re-sellers, and wholesalers.
In short, the same as usual, but better and bigger.
