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 Replies: 30 / Views: 3,204 |
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
Guys, I'm new here, and would appreciate some advice. (I came originally to get some advice as to whether a CA fractional gold piece of dad's is a replica -- it is.)
I collected coins in high school in the late 1970s, and at the time bought about two thousand dollars worth of coins. I got them from another collector, an old guy who was a family friend, and who (I think) gave me some good deals on some pretty nice coins.
Now that I'm much older, I'm trying to figure out what to do with the coins. They've been sitting in a safety deposit box for years, and I'm not sure what the point is in keeping them there -- I'm not enjoying them just sitting in the box. I've been giving some thought as to whether I should just sell them all (except perhaps the 1909 s VDB penny, which I'd display at home).
So here are my questions.
1. I'm trying overall to save for retirement, and am wondering if I should save these another 15 years, or whether it's not at all clear that they'll go up in value as the years go by. (I thought I'd read that coins haven't gone up in value much over the years, other than their metal value.)
2. What's the best way to sell them -- for the best value? I'm assuming the best way is to find another collector who would be interested, rather than a coin store? Is that the case?
At one point, I had all the coins catalogued, but a family member threw out my description of the coins, so I'm going to have to go through them again to figure out their value (though that might be fine). But more generally, I'm just wondering whether I should hold on to these, and/or if I were to sell them, what the best way is to do that.
Thanks everyone. Once I start cataloguing these I'm sure I'll be back :) Edited by jakesis
01/10/2015 12:08 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2133 Posts |
It all depends on what they are.
Some coins have gone up vastly more than inflation, others have dropped. As usual, it all depends on demand and supply.
Rare and high-grade coins do best.
Who knows what will be in demand in 2030 ?
Personally, if the re-cataloguing doesn't rekindle your interest in coins, I would recommend selling them now.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12837 Posts |
 And  w/ Pertinax. We need at least descriptions of the coins and pictures if possible. I would advise not getting your hopes up too high until you find out more. Coin collections are rarely the winning lottery ticket, but it can happen. We'd love to see them and throw out opinions. Good luck. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1888 Posts |
A few suggestions: 1)- As you sort through the stash, see if anything in there sparks a renewed interest in collecting or keeping certain pieces/groups. You might find it does. 2)- Sort the wheat from the chaff. 3)- Do some web research on recent sales of the better stuff. You might find that certain coins have indeed gone up a LOT in the last ~40 years; for example, Standing Liberty quarters. 4)- See if there might be a local coin club that could help with any ambiguities you have regarding disposal or staying with the hobby. 5)- Post some clear up-close photos here. LOTS of expertise on this site, and no one will try to pull a thief act on you using their up to date knowledge as some dealers indeed will. 6)- Selling on ebay is fairly well recognized as the best way to get the best return for average stuff, but that involves a bunch of other considerations, like time; selling fees; etc. Good luck! |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
Don't waste a microgram of attention on longer-term planning before you have a solid inventory in place. The wisest answer will differ for each coin.
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Valued Member
 United States
143 Posts |
Thanks guys. Yeah, I suspect once I start going through the coins, my interest will rekindle. Every time I go to the box and see them, I miss my coins! And I tend to be a collector anyway. But I'd rather not collect them just to have them stored in a bank for decades, it seems kind of silly, unless they're simply a pure investment. So, I suspect I might try to separate out a few of the nice ones and perhaps frame them for my home. I don't even recall how many of the coins have the grades written on them (a number of them, a large number I think, are already stored in separate packets so you can write on the label, and I remember many of the labels had the grades (the rating) on them. I'm actually quite excited to go through them all again, in part for the thrill of just seeing what they're worth now, which ones were duds, and which perhaps have taken off. I'll definitely take photos of some that seem particularly good -- as I said, I know my 1909 was in quite good shape, so I'll definitely post that one. But I just don't recall the others, though the guy who sold them to me really was quite nice, and I remember he was giving me some great deals (at the time), and wanted me to buy "good" coins, things that were worth investing in. Though it was the 1970s, so who knows what they're worth now.
Anyway, I really appreciate the feedback. This sounds like a fun, welcoming forum, and I apprecaite that. I'll be back once I get to the bank, probably Monday, and can liberate my collection from the box:)
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Pillar of the Community
United States
593 Posts |
Sounds like me. I had collected a lot prior to the 70`s and with work, wife and kids etc I never really had time to keep up. I had sold most silver when the Hunt Bros helped a big price jump and silver sold for more than I could buy it back now
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1192 Posts |
I would buy a nice fire safe and keep them in your home. You seem to like them and you would save money over time than the safety deposit box. It would definitely give you better access.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
593 Posts |
Just to ad a note to the last post.
I got the urge to get back the interest in coins again. My how things have changed
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3843 Posts |
A couple of thousand dollars invested in the 1970's is likely worth a significant amount especially if you collected quality examples. Many rarities that would be totally out of reach for middle class collectors were much more affordable back then even when considering inflation.
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
That's an interesting idea about the safe. I was just wondering about that. Of course, I don't live in the city where my box is (it's still in my hometown). But I'll check out the coins, hopefully on Monday, and then go from there. And yeah, it would be fun if the collection were worth something -- that was my original plan, to just sit on it for decades -- but I'd read that coins didn't really go anywhere as an investment over the long term. Then again, as noted above, it all (and always) depends on what you actually. I'll check back when I break back in to the vault :)
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Coins spiked hard, and then dropped hard, in the Eighties. You're in pretty good shape on stuff bought in the decade prior, but individual issues will vary greatly.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1208 Posts |
My first thought was "$2000 spent in the 70s would make for much more
value today."... However, if you overpaid in the 70s, you might still
be waiting to break even. So, growth is definitely not guaranteed.
I am bolstered though, by the insinuation that you got a 1909-S VDB
as part of the deal. That bodes well for growth in value.
Generally speaking though, coins are a terrible "investment" compared
to just about any other investment specific vehicle out there. Of
course, that info is 35 years late now, and we can only root for you
to have come out ahead. No matter what though, chances are that the
same $2000 invested in just about anything else investment specific
35 years ago, would be worth far more today, even if your coins appreciated.
Welcome, and good luck! I am rooting for you to be one of the 'winners'!
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
Well, Ratio411, I recently found out that my dad's broker destroyed my IRA over the last 20 hears (I honestly wasn't paying the attention I should have), so all in all the coins still could have turned out better ;-) And yeah, I was looking at the historical prices last night, and there's no way of knowing whether I bought during that spike in the late 70s (I think there was a spike). I know at the time the old gentleman who was selling to me was a family friend and was trying to winnow down his collection, and, at least the impression I got was that he was giving me some good deals since I was a kid who was new to all of this and clearly into all of it far beyond just investing. The penny was the best coin I had at the time, I'm pretty sure I spent around $400, perhaps a bit less. The others I have no idea what I paid for, but I remember him coaching me to buy better coins, rather than lesser quality coins, and things like that. Though he wasn't urging me to buy the most expensive ones -- that was my idea to buy the 1909 (and I'm glad I did). Well, I remember many (all?) of the coins were in separate packets (the plastic surrounded by a square of white paper), and many had the grade written on them (I recall). Though I think you all went and changed the grading standards since I was a kid! Hopefully tomorrow I can get to the bank and take an initial look, take some initial notes, photos on what I have etc.
Edited by jakesis
01/11/2015 2:10 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1208 Posts |
Got my fingers crossed for ya!
As for the coaching, your mentor was a good coin collector.
A good collector knows to spend a little more and buy what
would be called "problem free" coins. Cheap coins, and lowest
grades, even in key coins, tend to have "problems", and tend
to rise in value slowly, and sometimes not at all. Problem
free coins, especially in even just slightly nicer grade, tend
to actually have the best desirability over the long haul.
The best advice I have got from old timers:
*Buy the best problem free that you can comfortably afford.
Sure you can get a dented, holed, cleaned, low grade coin for less...
But it'll always be dented, holed, cleaned, low grade... cheap.
*If you are building sets of coins, gather the expensive/hard
dates first.
*Don't "invest" in coins. Do it because you love the coins. Build
your nest egg elsewhere.
*Try (sometimes it's impossible) to never buy or sell, especially
sell, because you HAVE to. You make much clearer decisions if you
are not rushed.
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
Yep, the only "problem" coins I ever bought were some old Roman ones in Florence years ago. They cost like ten bucks each, which makes me wonder now if they weren't garbage. (They weren't in great condition.) I'll have to check those as well when I get home (visiting parents at the moment) and post photos here. But at the time, they were so cheap, and assuming they were real, I just wanted the experience of owning something that old. (I'm into archaeology as well -- actually, I'm curious how many coin collectors are archaelogy buffs as well, suspect more than a few.)
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Replies: 30 / Views: 3,204 |
Posted 01/10/2015 12:07 pm
