Personally, I prefer gold coins and rounds.
I believe @bitcoinman and @goldrooster accept Hive/HBD in exchange for silver/gold. They'd be your best points of contact for that. They're both awesome. 😁
I recommend everyone join at least one community on Hive and also join their Discord. It makes it even more fun, it helps to have a group of friends to support you, and Hive can become very lonely without that interaction. #silvergoldstackers is an awesome group of people. You won't regret joining! 😁
My understanding on VAT is that most European countries consider gold to be an investment, whereas the other metals are considered commodities, and so only gold is exempt because of this.
!hiqvote
!BBH
!PIZZA