The British pound, the world’s oldest currency in use for more than 1,200 years, was backed by silver and gold up until 1947. For most of its glorious history the British pound was literally made of silver and gold. The British people and its rulers understood the importance of sound money and the role of gold and silver as an undisputed store of wealth.
This is why the UK government exempted UK Britannia gold coins, silver coins and platinum coins from capital gains taxes (CGT) and value-added taxes (VAT). VAT does not apply if you acquire UK Britannia gold coins and capital gains taxes do not apply when the Britannia bullion coins are sold back. This makes Britannia coins a particularly tax advantageous investment for UK residents.
Since 2009, Silver Bullion has been serving clients from all over the world, including many from the United Kingdom, seeking to diversify their wealth into physical gold and silver, competitively priced and held as fully insured segregated private property in Singapore.
We have been working closely with The Royal Mint since 2020, linked here is our Official Distribution Partner Letter.
Call us to arrange for availability of large gold quantities.
We are proud to announce that Silver Bullion is the first ever company out of Southeast Asia to attain LBMA Affiliate Membership. We were accepted by the London Bullion Market Association last 2 June 2023.
Please find more information here as well as on the LBMA website.
Why Internationalize and Store Precious Metals Offshore in Singapore?
A view of the Singapore skyline, overlooking Marina Bay Sands on the left and Raffles Place / Tanjong Pagar plus Marina Bay central business districts on the right.
Vaulting bullion outside of your home country is a safeguard against unforeseen and sudden crises at home. Such internationalization reduces the risks associated with holding all assets in one country or currency.
When you store with us we segregate metals into uniquely identified parcels which are audited, insured and guaranteed to be genuine customer owned private property, stored under exclusive Singapore jurisdiction in our fully owned vault The Safe House within our fully owned facility The Reserve.
This unique vertical integration eliminates reliance on 3rd parties, allows us to provide innovative services and minimizes your counterparty and jurisdictional risks. It also ensures that your physical property is held exclusively under Singapore’s strict ownership and privacy laws and is not on our balance sheet.
Our S.T.A.R. Parcel Storage system in particular is fine-tuned to provide you with a truly reliable and cost-efficient intergenerational wealth protection, providing you with solid “Plan B” in the worst of situations.
Should nothing bad happen, the precious metals will still appreciate over time. Gold, for example, has appreciated with an average rate of 7.8% versus the USD each year since 1970, easily beating treasury bond investment.
Great Britain’s Gold Ban in 1966 – a lesson for diversification
The Great Britain gold ban of 1966, also known as the Gold Control Act, was a law passed by the British government that made it illegal for individuals to possess large quantities of gold bullion, gold coins, or gold certificates. The law was aimed at preventing a run on the pound sterling, which was then experiencing significant devaluation due to the country's balance of payments crisis.
Under the law, individuals were limited to owning 4 ounces of gold, and those who held more were required to sell it to the Bank of England. The law also prohibited the export of gold, except for limited purposes such as dental or medical use.
The UK gold ban was controversial and faced opposition from many who saw it as an infringement on personal property rights. However, the government argued that it was necessary to protect the country's financial stability and prevent a collapse of the pound.
The UK gold ban was ultimately lifted in 1971, after the United States defaulted on its gold backing pledge, devaluing the US dollar and lifting the pressure on the pound.
Freed from the constraints of their former gold backing, the US dollar and nearly all other currencies, have been printed with abandon and governmental deficits have ballooned over a thousand times since 1971.
Eventually, we will witness a terrible currency crisis, when this happens a solid plan B in a secure jurisdiction will be a lifesaver.
Why store gold and silver offshore in Singapore?
The city state of Singapore, initially founded by the British as a trading post in 1819 has a well-earned reputation for being a safe and secure place to store valuables. The country has a stable political and economic environment and a strong rule of law. This, combined with Singapore's strict privacy laws, provides investors with peace of mind when it comes to storing their bullion.
Singapore consistently ranks on top for being the best place to do business internationally and is one of the safest and wealthiest cities and countries in the world. It is among the highest ranked on the Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International and has one of the lowest crime levels worldwide.
Singapore is no pushover when it comes to its defence, being considered a modern medium sized military power capable of mobilizing 420,000 personnel at short notice. Singapore’s defence budget is consistently three times larger than that of its larger neighbour Malaysia and 25 percent than Indonesia.
Singapore remains well defended, rich (financially capable), politically neutral and internationally trusted jurisdiction. Sometimes referred to as the Switzerland of Asia, Singapore is very well suited for storing your Plan B assets. This is the reason we choose to build The Reserve in the city state.
One of the Singapore Navy’s Formidable-class frigates
UK residents are exempted on their capital gains taxes when selling their Britannia coins.
Should you decide to entrust some of your wealth to us, you will be delighted that the UK government is encouraging precious metal ownership via generous tax exemptions, as follows:
Precious metals can usually be taxed in two ways:
- Duties / VAT / GST on the sale or import of precious metals. These taxes are usually levied by the country where the items are imported / stored / sold. By acquiring and storing in Singapore with us, these taxes do not apply.
- Capital Gains Taxes (CGT) on the profits made when selling the precious metals. These taxes depend on your residency tax jurisdiction. If you are subject to UK taxation, then we have great news as HMRC has created an unlimited CGT exemption for profits made on UK Britannia Coins.
Investing in UK Britannia coins therefore has major advantages for UK Residents. You can find more details via HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) directly.
Retirement Benefit Scheme (RBS) Accounts
Retirees can open retirement accounts with us via their retirement benefit schemes (RBS). If this applies to you please contact us for details.
Escrow services for Secured Peer to Peer Lending
If you are storing assets with us, you can chose to utilize them to obtain low interest (~4% pa on average) loans as a borrower. Alternatively, you can securely lend funds to borrowers who are seeking loans.
You can find our more at https://www.silverbullion.com.sg/Loans
Our vault, The Reserve
Your bullion is stored in our fully owned and operated “The Reserve" vault and covered by one of Lloyds of London’s underwriters and its most comprehensive insurance policies.
We are currently operating on the third floor of our 180,000 sqft (square foot) facility as we are awaiting the completion of renovations on the first floor.
The Reserve, which is currently under renovation, will be one of the world’s highest capacity vaults. Our building is practically next to Singapore’s Changi International Airport. Visitors can land in Singapore, reach our building in 10 minutes or less, and audit their physical precious metals with ease.
Contact Us to Begin Your Journey!
Contact Hours (UK)
Sunday evening to Friday night: 11pm-6pm (19 hours)
Saturday and Sunday: 2am-12pm (10 hours)