Addicted hoarder here. I pick up items I like at a price I like them at, whether the acquisitions make sense or not is a rather personal thing and opinions obviously will differ on this, but that's what a market makes.

As for the VAT on gold, that seems slightly off to put it mildly, but not all pure gold is VAT free in Europe though. Stuff like http://www.edelmetall-handel.de/gold/goldgranulat/goldgranulat-1g.html is not excempt. I wonder if reclaiming the VAT on Denarium coins would work? Anyone with insight in this matter?