Gyroscopic Investing

Right, Libertarian666: thank you, I think you nailed it and so to go back to my original example, only FIFO seems to apply. SpecID would definitely apply to ETFs (assuming the two items are followed) and depending on interpretation of pub 550 likely to bars or coins bought all at once in a given year with receipt. I still think pub 550 should be either more explicit or more generic in the way it describes the different methods but that is way beyond our control!