Exotic Bullion Coins With High Premiums

I think it all depends on who you talk to. People that pay those prices firmly believe they are buying a highly collectible rarity. I have my doubts that they are "long term collectibles".

I also don't believe people actually think the whole thing through. The pattern seems to be that certain issues are popular & sell out. Then when they are offered on the secondary market they sell to "investors" that pay 10x(or more) the issue price. At that point prices generally level off or drop slightly. There's no doubt anyone who bought at the issue price & resold made a good investment. Anyone holding the coin has absolutely no idea if or when they will make any kind of return on their "investment".

Kind of hit or miss imo. Are all of them worth that price no, but some certainly do appreciate. Part of the problem with them is they just arent well known in the US which is a huge market. Some catch on others dont. If you bought everyone youd probably lose money, but if you stuck to the popular items you could probably do decent or well.

The biggest problem is you just really dont know. Whill the mongolian keep its premium, time will tell. It wouldnt be the first coin to get a huge premium when it was hot to see it fall, but it wouldnt be the first if the premium rose over time either.

Yeah, I'm really torn over these. For example, here are some really nice looking "3D" coins that are being produced from Rwanda:

SNAKE 3D HIGH RELIEF Three Dimensional Gilded and Antique Finish Silver Coin Set Lunar Year, Rwanda 2013

I really, really like the way they look. But $769 for 3 ounces of silver? And does anybody really care about coins minted from Rwanda? Besides, if you don't call these "coins" they might as well just be little novelty sculptures that you could find for $49.99 at Walmart...

Like everybody above said -- So far = so good, but over the long haul nobody knows, there's no way to tell or even guess how it'll go and it's a total gamble.

One thing that may contribute toward the diminution or deterioration of the proliferation of all those fancy, uber-expensive "coins" is the rapidly increasing
number of such offerings (both series and one-timers). Palau, Niue, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Cameroon, Togo, Mongolia, etc ad infinitum are in a "fancy coin
race" that's reminiscent of the old Cold War arms race of around half a century ago. The "coins" are miniature works of sculpture or metalworking art and
they are beautiful creations but they're so expensive that by default they're target-marketed at a very narrow segment of the overall market.

The end result of the old Cold War arms race was a pile of unused, obsolete surplus weapons that almost everybody wishes wasn't around any more. I
wonder if the end result of the present Fancy Coin Race will similarly be a pile of unwanted, excess, surplus old fancy coins that which command only a
small part of their former peak market price.

Do they really appreciate? I was under the impression that there was a huge initial run up in a relatively short time followed by a leveling off in price. I don't follow the price trends of these type coins so I truly don't know. Can anyone point me in the direction of one that has appreciated over time?

Great thread Barry!

I have been pondering this question for many weeks and months.

I come across this issue with the Somalian elephant series. One minute, you see a set that's 3 years old for double the price of a new set. Sometimes you see an old set go for half the price of a new set. .. and mind you, the set is limited to 2K pieces.

What on earth does make out of this. As you point out, there's some great issues out there from various mints and the mint production numbers are super low.

Well, I been keeping notes and I would like to share my observations-

1- One important factor is how liquid are these coin sets and coins? If there is a big audience and they are a hit, they will sell like hot cakes and the price will appreciate.

2- Has the coin design been won some sort of award or been up for review for an award? This has been a major impact on future prices. Many south african mint coins that were done in a series and then won an award for a design, that premium stuck and never backed off. These Mongolian coins you mention, I believe one of them did win some type of award.

3- Trends stick and stay hot for their uniqueness. I have talked at length with dealers across the board and this new antique style finish, including some of these coins that also include say a jewel in the eyes of say an animal are very desired and this has started a new trend and acceptance.

4- Low mintage doesn't necessarily mean going forward a set or coin goes to the moon. Case and point- the silver libertad sets from last year. There was a ton of talk about how little the mintage number was for the set,,, yet the hotter selling item and its price has not dropped was the 1 oz silver libertad proof from 2013 versus the sets from 2013. There is still supply of the sets and the prices stayed stagnant despite a very low mintage of the sets. I have seen this time and time and time again... this is one reason I dont feel like getting any proof gold libertads now, I dont see that the market puts a premium for their limited production. I have been compiling data on their four coin proof sets from various years and once again, older sets sell for the same as newer sets. I have even compared dealer pricing in europe and its the same thing.

5- The market knows whats scarce and what isn't, whats wanted and whats not. ebay I have found to be a great place to track and compile prices. Example- There's a new series called African ounces. They first started with a Gabon 2012 1 oz antique finish with COA only 1,000 pieces.

WELL, last year I found this coin around 70 dollars, mind you its 1 oz of silver. that was around November.... I have seen that coin jump from 70, to 90, to 125, to 180 to now it has gone for around 225. Mind you, this price has risen in the face of silver dropping. Other coins in its same series, including a rhino and baby lions also command a hefty premium.

So yes, to a certain degree, you wont know off hand what the going price will be in the future. ebay is probably the best place to get a feel for the coin going forward. In fact, I have stopped collecting coins that I cant follow the price patterns, in other words, if it isn't on ebay, and doesn't have a big price history, I stay away. I;ll make an exception or two for a coin if I love the design but that's pretty much how I make my mind up about getting this rare and exotic coins.

Thanks SA4H, now I have a new #1 on the wish list. barryg, if you don't mind my asking where did you order from?

For exotic coin lovers, here's what I think is the newest offering. It comes with a LED in the presentation box so you can better see the Swarovski crystal when you open the box.

http://firstcoincompany.com/S/silve...medium=email