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 Replies: 13 / Views: 2,384 |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1888 Posts |
So.. I have been thinking about adding the gold page to my Dansco 7070. Filling this challenging album has caught my fancy. Why not go all the way? At the present time I own zero gold coins. I don't even have any scrap gold lying around that might be converted into album worthy specimens. So any effort would have to be out-of-pocket from modest savings at the sacrifice of other coin projects I am currently working on. Thus my questions to the community would be, first of all, is this a sensible endeavor, given the current high price of gold? And what sum might one *reasonably* need to set aside in order to complete the gold page, preferring high quality but not demanding MS coins? If you have done this already, please chime in. I ponder these questions now because there is a coin coming up at a public sale that has caught my eye. It's a three dollar piece dated 1888; see photo below. I have checked out this Indian-head series, and the mintages are ridiculously low for almost all the years. Discouragingly, some of the published valuations are really over the moon for the upper grades. Heritage doesn't even have any listings or records for this date in undamaged condition. My thoughts are, with the base price of gold being so highly speculative, it might be better to focus on coins whose numismatic value will always overshadow the metal content value. There seem to be plenty of gold coins selling at or slightly above bullion value. And in spite of what the doomsday crowd says, there are no guarantees that the price of precious metals will continue an upward trend, or even hold the lofty places they are occupying right now. Yup, I should have started this project five (or eight) years ago!  Anyway, here are the sale pics. Comments regarding grade, as well as your best guess at the knockdown price, will be sincerely appreciated. Coins at this sale can be hot or cold depending on the weather, the mood of the crowd, the phase of the moon.. There is always competition from those with a better knowledge base than I have. I will definitely let everyone know how it goes.   Edited by mysilveryears
04/12/2012 10:08 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7191 Posts |
With the extremely low mintage's on all the three dollar gold coins I don't think that the price of gold will effect the value. Also I do not think a $3 coin has a hole in the dansco gold page, also due to the rarity of these. As far as the cost for assembling the set you should be able to acquire the two twenty's, tens, fives and 2.5's at close to melt in XF to AU. The one dollar coins will usually be more than melt. Any MS coins (especially graded) are going to cost a premium in all of the series.
I was fortunate to have assembled my gold in the 80's and then again in 2006-2007 but I have been forced to liquidate many pieces (mostly modern commemorative) and they have gone for melt or slightly above melt.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I can only say I'm staying far away from any Gold coins for now. Not sure if Gold could possibly go up or down any more than it has lately but I keep hearing about a possible big drop in Gold prices. Maybe not, but just to chancy for me.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1888 Posts |
No Dansco hole for the princess? That's an oversight, it seems to me. They aren't all that unobtainable, just a little pricey.
So.. this one looked MS, to my eyes. However, it had been defiled: there was a tiny but noticeable 'X' scratched into the reverse, liely by someone testing the purity.
It sold for thirty one hundred. That would buy a lot of thalers.
justcarl, it wasn't 'just' a gold coin; it was the year my grandmother was born!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
759 Posts |
I believe the 7070 gold page not only excludes the $3 Princess, but also the Type II $1. No classic heads either. So the gold page would be 10 coins, all but the 2 $1 could be had near melt. If you have your heart set on a no problem 1888 $3, you'll need to be very patient and prepared to pay in the price range shown in the link below. I had wanted an 1888, but gave up due to lack of availability and price and eventually ended up with a 1856-S, F+. I'm still quite happy with it. Good luck. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...p=true&rt=nc |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1704 Posts |
With no way to predict what the price of gold will be and at its present level I myself would buy slightly better dates that aren't as susceptible to the fluctuations of the spot price of gold in as high a condition as I can afford. So, if the price of gold drops significantly the coins I have bought will hold their value much better than those whose value is more closely linked to their melt value. Ed ANA LM 3175 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2424 Posts |
in the end ultimately, wouldnt ANY pre-33 gold coin be worth more than melt at some point because they would just be THAT old?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1510 Posts |
I have a 7070 and it doesn't have a gold page--thats fine with me--I do have a gold coin but its not in the 7070
Retired USAF 1983-2003
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Quote:
in the end ultimately, wouldnt ANY pre-33 gold coin be worth more than melt at some point because they would just be THAT old? Ultimately yes, if the price of gold falls enough. Practically not for a long time as we haven't even reached that point with silver  (even pre-33 silver coins are usually considered "junk" unless a key or really old and aren't worth more than melt in XF or less). (Okay, it might actually get to that point quicker in gold than in silver, as gold coins just aren't that plentiful. However, it would still have no relation to the age - it's just the low mintage  ) |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
Interesting thread .. thanks for posting it
I had a lot of the same concerns you seem to have. For me .. I kick myself
for not buying more gold coins when the price dropped in the 90's.
I did buy quite a few gold coins, but all went to my fathers collection.
Recently (last december) I decided to go ahead and do the gold page.
I figure if .. or when gold does go down it will not bother me .. because
I don't plan to sell them anyways .. unless for some reason I need the money.
So here it is mid April .. and I still need 5 more coins to complete the gold page.
So far I have purchased five gold coins at or below melt. The ones I have are not
high grade .. I figure once I have them all, I can wait to upgrade for a better grade
when one comes along, if the price is right.
What I paid so far
1927 $20.00 $1520.00 Dec 2011
1904 $20.00 $1500.00 Apr 2012
1885 $10.00 $800.00 Mar 2012
1881 $5.00 $410.00 Jan 2012
1908 $2.50 $170.00 Feb 2012
I figure $1500 - $2000 more should complete the page
But then .. there is talk that Dansco may be changing what
coins will be going into the 7070.
Will they add the type II dollar?
or .. maybe a commemorative gold coin slot?
How about one each of America gold eagle coins?
And maybe there will be a slot for the $3.00 gold.
Good luck on what ever you decide ... for me .. I really like how
the gold page has changed how much I like my 7070 type set
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
Since I'm a gold collector, my initial biased response would be: "Yes, it's worth it". Investing in gold and silver as a hedge has picked up some popularity. However, most purchase direct bullion when in reality investing in mid-grade classic gold, you can "almost" get the same gold for your money. Sure, gold can go down. Ny the same token, the value of the dollar can, and most likely will contine to fall. So from a certain perspective, you can consider a gold type set as part of a "hedge" bullion investment. There are a few coins that command various premiums depending on the grade...but for the most part a choice AU-58 7070 type set can be completed with minimal premium over melt....and if you enjoy it as a collectable, the benefit doubles. I have an expanded 7070 type set which I enjoy very much...I got into it when gold was in the $800-$1200 per ounce range.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3184 Posts |
If I do a dansco I'm only gna get slabbed gold simply because the Chinese are making good fakes of all US coins |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1888 Posts |
Thanks for all the good comments, everyone. With that 1888 coin sale now history, there seems to be less of an urgency to decide about acquiring gold. Maybe I'll just wait until the upgraded-and-improved 7070 arrives on the market, or until the next raw 3 dollar princess shows up. Whichever comes first  In regard to mkman123's post it seems it's worth worrying a whole lot about buying fake silver; not so much about gold. Most of the random unslabbed pieces that show up in estate sales around these parts have been tucked away since before the 'China syndrome' began despoiling the hobby. I sometimes find myself wishing there were some way for the fakery to be reciprocated, or dealt with in kind, by exporting something equally damaging to the folks who could not care less about ruining the integrity of a great hobby. There is no political will to deal with this issue. |
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Pillar of the Community
778 Posts |
A most interesting thread! I collect coins that interest me. Even to the point, sometimes, of spending more than I should.  Recently, I've been looking at some date set/type sets of Foreign gold in my collection, and wondering if they are merely worth their lump value. Is there no premium any more for interesting (but made-of-gold) coins? Here, for example, is a complete Costa Rican (COLUMBUS) gold set -  Bill |
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Replies: 13 / Views: 2,384 |
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Posted 04/12/2012 10:07 am
