I appreciate the observations. Maybe I won't worry so much about the older sets. If it looks good I'll just get it. After all, I'm not investing, I'm collecting
"Nummi rari mira sunt, si sumptus ferre potes." - Christophorus filius Scotiae
I am only really interested in pre WW2 proof coins. Prices for these are really high, so I don't have many of them. Because they are rare, I always consider proof coins from around the World, not just U.S. proof coins.
It was only after about 1950 that Mints around the World realized that large profits could be made out of producing proof sets in large numbers for collectors. To increase profits, they produced them in as large numbers as possible that they thought the collector market could absorb, and those sets were sold at the highest price possible that they thought that the market would bear.
I guess that if you are in business to make a profit, that is what you do. Not so good for collectors in the after market, who are maybe looking for an investment.
That is why I don't buy modern collector coins generally, unless the price is REALLY right, or their price is not that much above melt value.
I've bought two proof sets every year starting in 1975 and probably can't break even on my investment. So, why do I keep doing this? Because I enjoy owning them and I'm a collector and not a dealer.
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