Best Coin Investment Strategies?

be careful using coins as an investment. there are many trends that come and go.If you look back into the early 90s some coins were much more valuable than they are today. you never know what will be in style in 30 years. it is best to stick with pms as investment, not that there is no risk in that either, but it does have a better history

Hobbies can die a death, look at stamps for example. 100 years ago everybody collected stamps, now it is quite out of fashion. It is not relevant to todays youth. I have some fear that coins could go the same way, but there has always been a big distinction between the two hobbies for me. They both involve collection but one is little bits of paper, of which there are too many to collect...the other are metal disks (sometimes silver or gold) with standardised designs.

Anyway, I agree to diversify. If you can buy near melt then you can never do all your money. For numismatic coins try to buy trouble free examples because there is less excuse to try and knock you down when you come to sell.

I collect because I am a coin collector, but I also have it in the back of my mind about investment. The key is trying to get good deals on things. If you don't over pay and you hunt around for good deals then it is that much less money to try and recoup if you do sell.

I would say to run don't walk away from buying precious metals as an investment at this time. These metals have a long way to fall to get back to average price over 30-40 years. Coin collecting as a hobby is different. I doubt people thought that Buffalo nickels or Liberty Walkers would be valuable back in 1920. I like to collect sets which forces me to not think so much about possible appreciation, but to think about the next hole in my set. When you complete a set of Walkers, Morgans or Mercury dimes that is a feeling of accomplishment plus you have sets you can improve forever when prices fluctuate. I would start with the easier sets like Peace dollars, Buffalo nickels or Mercury dimes before moving to more difficult sets like Morgans. If you dive into the deep end you may get frustrated by difficulty of getting these coins for reasonable prices. There are many sets that are just about impossible for average guy to complete due to moves by the mint like big meltdowns of the 1930'S with gold coins. I saw some HA results that showed that even very low mintage Saints sold for just above melt prices because people were focused on coins of the 1920's that were mostly melted down and even these did not go for big cheese.

That is not necessarily true. It depends on the thread content and context... you would be surprised how many new members join this site, after finding an older, established thread through a Google search.

to CCF fudope, don't let the comments of thread necromancy scare you...

So it's been five years, how you doing?

From my conversation with dealers over the past year, key date coins are a terrible investment. They are going down in value as more and more collectors abandon set collecting for type sets, ancient coins, etc.

justcarl raises an important point about liquidity. I have often thought about how quickly I can sell my coins if I need to sell them. The coins I have found easiest/quickest to sell are high-grade (VF and above) problem-free pre-1881 Indian cents, F and above problem-free large cents, and problem-free VF and above silver/gold type coins (20¢ and above). To get the most money out of them, they must be certified by NGC and PCGS (unfortunately).

Coins with above-average eye appear for the grade will always sell very easily and will increase in value the most. Gorgeous, original, lustrous AU-55+ Classic type coins are the easiest to sell.

Notice how all of the above categories have the caveat "problem-free". NEVER invest in problem coins. They will not go up in value (unless they are an extremely rare issue like the 1794 dollar, or a rare type like the 1796 quarter). A straight grade from PCGS and NGC does not guarantee that the coin is problem-free. Do your homework and look over the coin carefully before buying it. Overdipped and cleaned coins do make it into straight-grade holders (notably bust halves and Seated dollars), and will always perform worse than their original counterparts. TPGs can sometimes be lenient with environmental and mechanical damage (namely early coppers and draped bust silvers).

Nickels, Three Cent pieces, Two Cent Pieces, patterns, modern coins, dimes, and Half Dimes do not sell very well. There are certainly exceptions (eg, Shield nickels sell much better than Buffalo nickels, and AU+ Two Cent Pieces always sell quickly), but that is what my experience as a small-time seller has showed me.

Problem free coins.....

Actually I make a tidy sum buying problem coins from....well...lets say...."high brow" sellers. Often they paint themselves into a corner and I get them quite cheaply.

I have sold several problem large cents over the years. I buy them for a buck and average around three dollars for them. I probably make a couple of hundred dollars a year just on problem large cents.

I bought an 1807 CBH ( large letters) with a hole in it; for $20. I sold it for $100; and had no problem finding a buyer.

I bought an 1872 IHC for one dollar because it was cleaned. I sold it on ebay for $52.

You really have to know what you are doing, but it is possible.

The bottom line is that there is a market for problem coins

In fact I am thinking of changing my company name to "Ugly Coins" or some such