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Pillar of the Community
United States
6326 Posts |
Using the word "investment" in coin collecting is sometimes a glaring uncomfortableness for most. As Condor (ccf member) has said...... "You want an investment, get a mutual fund" ....  But, having said that...... I'd say, that if you can afford them, key date coins, or just the older Classic coins in high grades would be a relatively safe bet. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
You are hearing many good ideas so far, and I agree with a lot of them. Key dates are always a good choice, but you do have to learn how to buy them, just as you will any other coins. A 1909 S vdb Lincoln Cent is a key date and has pretty much always gone up in value over time. But you don't want to spend $2000 for a particular grade when you may find the same grade for $1500. What I am saying is you have to learn, what you can sell coins for, or what they do sell for, so you know when a good buy comes along. Buying any coins at the right price will be a good investment. So you have to learn a lot about coins - how to grade them - how to tell fakes - how to tell if they have been cleaned Then there is the market conditions. like right now silver and gold are high. So you should be buying coins differently then when silver and gold are low. For me, right now Morgan dollars can be a good deal. I have been looking for raw MS63/64 coins that can be picked up in the $35 to $45 range. With unemployment high and silver high, I am seeing a lot of collections being sold to coin shops. If you are at the right place at the right time you can get some really good deals. If you are not set on any coin series, you may want to consider a type set. A lot of members here are putting theirs in a Dansco 7070 album. $400 a month could buy some nice type coins. You could even try to put in either higher grade coin or even key date coins. I think a dansco 7070 with coins like a 1914 D Lincoln, 1921 D mercury, 1908 S Indian cent, 1939 D Jefferson nickel, 1938 D Walking Lib half, 1921 Peace dollar and many others like these would be a very good investment, if the coins were bought right. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1817 Posts |
Lots of good ideas here: key coins, type coins, MS Morgans/Peace, etc. I'm sure you've heard by now that "investment" is the four letter word in the hobby, although I know of no one who decides to collect on a loss! Here's my Two Cent suggestions: complete BU sets with high intrinsic metal content. With your budget, the short set of Washington quarters (1941-1964), Franklin halves are within striking distance, particularly if you carefully acquire them one coin at a time. Even the earlier Washingtons and Walking Liberty halves are mostly with your price range, and there's nothing like that sense of satisfaction you get from the hobby when completing a set. BU Jefferson nickels since there is a large question mark on the future of the nickel and it's metal composition. Hardly any of the offerings of the US Mint are worth buying, except for the burnish uncirculated versions of the bullion coins issued with a "W" mint mark from 2006-2008 as collector offerings hardly anyone paid attention to. The $1 ASE, the $5 & $10 gold eagles are all worth a look for their small mintages. For current coins, a set of state and territorial quarters in 90% silver proof can be put together fairly quickly for under $500, including the ultra expensive '99 coins. 10 oz. of silver, and they look impressive and flashy stored in air-tites inside a wood case or inside a date set coin album. The ATB Quarters also in 90% silver, the ones released so far are much better designed than the State Quarters and have much lower mintages and thus far less well known. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
958 Posts |
the only good investments will be when you buy them at the right price....
You make the money when you buy ... Pay to much you already lost money and might have to hold a long time to break even
If you collect what you like ? what you need to fill a hole ? You might over pay....
The key is to never overpay...
Your gonna get lots of chances " to buy " but your gonna have to pass on most untill you walk into a deal thats of a benifit to you
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Pillar of the Community
United States
958 Posts |
$400 a month = almost $5,000 a year.
Besure you have paid off other bills such a charge card, car loan,maybe money towards a mortgage....
I'm just saying if your gonna buy coins as investment make sure your have paid off other things that occur more intrest then the return on the coins...
Would not make sense to buy 5k a year in coins when someone could pay off their mortgage of $70,000 in a 15 years instead of 30 saving them over a 100k in intrest...
You get the picture
Edited by coppertop5150
03/29/2011 02:57 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
628 Posts |
Do your homework. Know exactly what you are buying. Don't overpay. At the moment bullion gold and silver dominate the coin market, or at least take up far more than the usual share. I'm not sure if this is the reason, but key and semi-key lincoln cents and Buffalo nickels are available for a bargain (at least in my neck of the woods). Look for PCGS or NGC slabbed. Edited by m9frank
03/29/2011 03:15 am
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Valued Member
 United States
262 Posts |
WOW! Seems like I came to the right place for words of wisdom! Thanks to ll you guys or gals for the comments.
I have been collecting mainly junk pre-64' silver for the last couple of years and I believe thats the best route for me to go.In response to getting a mutual fund, I will never do that. I have a rule that if I can't hold it in my hand then I aint't buyin! I have a 401K for my retirement but thats about as far as I go when it comes to letting others handle my investments.
I do believe one day that our economy will crash much worse then it has in the past two years.I'm not an "oh my good lord, the world is coming to an end" fanatic but I do believe in having tangibles that are necessary for trade or a new world currency of silver,gold etc.
For the most part, I've been collecting what I like which isn't any high dollar coins by any means. I've almost completed my first series of Kennedy proof half dollars. I know what you all mean now about getting that feeling when you complete a set ;). really neat!
Anyhow, I think I will most definitely take everyones opinions into consideration and make a wise decision.
I like the idea of having slabbed coins for a number of reason. Most importantly I think it's what I like that most. Morgans dollars seem to be pretty much in my budget. I also like the idea of key dates and will also start there.
One "rookie" question though, what decides a coin to be a key date?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
628 Posts |
Key dates? Find any numismatic price guide, look for the lowest mintage, most expensive. Google is your friend.
Also, lots of good info here in the glossary, left side of page under Navigation.
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Moderator
 United States
16679 Posts |
Quote:
look for the lowest mintage, most expensive. Lowest mintage and/or most expensive of any given series. For example, lets take Mercury dimes. The 1916-D is the Key to the series with an original mintage of 264,000 coins. The 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln Cent is the Key to that series with a mintage of 484,000..if my memory is correct. These coins are not only popular with collectors/investors, but are always in short supply because of the high demand, thus making them key dates and relatively pricey at any given time. swcoin.ecrater.com
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
<slap> If you want to collect something for investment purposes, buy coupon bonds and collect the coupons as they become due.</slap>
Despite the people who would like you to believe otherwise (like pcgs, which has made over a half billion dollars in a failed attempt to make coins an investment media), coins are a collectable, not an investment.
That's not to say you can't make money from a coin collection, just that profit should not be your motive.
Collect what you like, and never pay more for a coin than it's worth for its enjoyment value. If you pay $100 for a coin because looking at it and showing it off gives you $100 in pleasure, then if some day you have to sell it for $50, you made a $50 profit. Buy the same coin for the same price even though you don't find it appealing, and you had years of no enjoyment and ultimately a $50 loss.
Buy nice looking coins. They will always be in demand. Let a six-year-old girl help you; her mind is not cluttered with future value, metal content, MS grading, rarity and all that other crap, so she hones in on pretty.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
This comes up all the time. Think of this. If anyone here REALLY knew the answer, they would be sitting in a lounge chair, on a private Aisle with native girls fanning them with palm leaves. Watching the ocean waves dribble by. Wandering where to go next on their private jet surrounded by beautiful stewardesses. (Ever notice stewardesses is a word you can type all with the left hand?) 1. Collect buggy whips. If the price of gasoline continues upward, the horse and buggy is the only answer. 2. Collect only coins with less than 100 minted. Example, collect as many 1913 Liberty Head Nickels as possible. 3. Join a club of rich people that made it big by collecting Beanie Babies, Hot Wheel Cars, Sports Cards, US Postal stamps, etc. See there are lots of things you could collect. However, you already said the important thing. Quote:
I've been collecting silver for quite a while. I recently started to get more and more interested in actually collecting coins for there history and because its fun! |
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Valued Member
United States
262 Posts |
Thanks for the key date explanation....can you tell I'm a newb yet?
By no means am I planning on collecting coins for numismatic value alone. I am doing it for the pleasure of the hobby but I figure if I can steer myself in the direction of making a little money while I'm at it, that couldn't hurt.
I'm not to keen on native girls by the way, how about we try norwegian girls!
Thanks Guys!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
It is a good idea though, before going out and buying key dates, to get a lot of experience with evaluating and grading that coin issue. Much less costly mistake to pay XF $ for a VF on a common date merc dime then the 1916D.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6326 Posts |
Quote:
how about we try norwegian girls!
I heard Elin Woods is newly single .......  |
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Valued Member
United States
262 Posts |
Thanks for the advice nod.
I would much rather buy higher dollar coins then afford ms. elin!
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Replies: 22 / Views: 5,304 |
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Posted 03/29/2011 01:42 am
