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 Replies: 40 / Views: 4,178 |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
I'll offer the same answer I've offered for the last 10 years:
If you want guaranteed appreciation, invest in something else. There is insufficient consistency in coin returns over any period of time to form generalizations about their performance. For every pattern someone might anecdotally offer, there is an equal and opposite pattern from someone else's viewpoint.
If you want a solid place to park money with reasonable assurance that you won't depreciate, you can do this in numismatics. Study what is most liquid, in the longer term, of those issues you like, and buy them wisely at appropriate prices. You won't go wrong. Both of your mentioned choices above will do that for you as long as you do your due diligence.
Just don't expect to get rich, or achieve any return you'd consider "consistent." One fabulous hoard discovery could drop the bottom out of one previously-attractive niche. It's still happening today - the recent gold coin discovery in California, for example, altered the landscape for a couple of issues. But as a wise collector you're going to diversify and be less affected by a single happenstance.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
623 Posts |
Good luck to you eagle . Hope you find the advice you are looking for ,a ton of knowledgeable people here and in 30 - 40 years(hopefully less) your investment in coins pays off .
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Valued Member
 United States
449 Posts |
Thank you all. I really appreciate the feedback. It is amazing there is a place like this to pick so much knowledge from in such a short time period.
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Valued Member
United States
449 Posts |
NikelGuy,
Would you mind (or anyone mind sharing more successful date coins)?
"It's just that I noticed when I purchased semi and key dates for my collections, they've increased in value. And over a period of over 35 years on some of them, the profit margin is over 100%. Although, some have only increased 25% in all those years!"
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Valued Member
United States
449 Posts |
SD how do you do you due diligence? "Study what is most liquid, in the longer term, of those issues you like, and buy them wisely at appropriate prices. You won't go wrong. Both of your mentioned choices above will do that for you as long as you do your due diligence." What information can you gather and where do you gather it from? Let's just say for instance I am interested in the 1935-D Buffalo nickel in EF/AU as a long term investment. How would I find out how many coins were saved? I overheard from a dealer one time that these coins were getting harder and harder to find in choice problem free. Now this coin is not expensive now but it may have room for growth. There are countless cases like this that I could throw at you but where does one begin in making informed and well educated purchases? Some guesses will be better than others. |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Another thing I've been advising for ten years: Register for a free membership at Heritage Auctions (ha.com). Their archive encompasses almost two million coin sales going back to the 1990's, and you can not only get an idea for what people are paying for that coin today, but also a historical trend over a useful period. Very few other sources can offer a perspective of that timespan. The strategy I advocate is issue-agnostic. Every issue has higher-end members, be it via grade or rarity (conditional rarity plays a big role), and a cadre of collectors with sufficient discretionary income to be the market for them. Some, of course (Saints, Morgans, Bust Halves, Early Copper) have broader audiences than others (3 Cent Nickels, 20 Cents, etc) and will therefore be more liquid in the long term due to the larger customer base. Find the stuff that the people with money buy, and go that way. It's that simple. An 1881-S Morgan in MS67 is a glorious coin but not necessarily a liquid one because there may be enough to satisfy collector demand. An 1889-CC Morgan in AU or better represents a warm fuzzy feeling of security in your stomach.  Therefore, your personal interests as a collector can also suit your needs as an investor. |
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Valued Member
United States
449 Posts |
Thanks SD I will gladly take that advice and do some research on ha.com!
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
It's free and they won't ask for financial data. Just watch your wallet - they've got some nice stuff for sale. I should have mentioned - Heritage, like the results you'll find online from other auction houses (Stacks Bowers, Great Collections, Legend) may or may not include the house's cut (however that originates) in the final price shown. Heritage includes all premiums in their listed results. In terms of strict "what you pay or what you receive" numbers, that has a bearing on the actual worth of the coin and everyone factors the house cut into their calculations and bids. In most cases that's in excess of 15%, so relevant. |
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Valued Member
United States
449 Posts |
Do you have a personal list of coins you keep an eye on? It's tough to decide where to begin.
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
Yes, but only because they're what I like - Morgans & Bust Halves. However, pricing (for your purposes) is of relatively little concern to me; I'm a variety guy and most of what I like is beyond my wallet anyway. And knowing I have access to so many venues for prior sales data and current asking prices, I don't worry about committing those numbers to memory. I research everything individually, much in keeping with my role as a Moderator here where I wish to comment intelligently on stuff I've never seen before that moment. Sometimes I even get it right. I would consider Morgans and St Gaudens $20's to be solid starts as they each have a huge buyer base. My comfort zone with each would be the ones whose numismatic/collector value is highly relevant. Many Morgans and Saints in very high grade are sufficiently available to satisfy collector demand. I don't mind dumping everything I know on the topic right here, today, but of course let's await other opinions. Many members here have forgotten more than I've ever learned regarding various issues. |
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Moderator
United States
188877 Posts |
Quote:
Better question......................should you even invest in coins? Best answer... no.  Of course, that is my best answer. The best answer to the topic is what SsDd has posted on this page.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3486 Posts |
Re: 1935-D Nickel "I overheard from a dealer one time that these coins were getting harder and harder to find in choice problem free." eagle_eye_18, for the Buffalo nickel a strong strike should be added to the criteria. And bears testimony to the value of keeping in touch with what the dealers are seeing in the market place. A new collector today, who favors Buffalo nickels, will eventually want to upgrade today's low grade purchases. He or she is the likely buyer a decade from now for XF and AU examples. Where to begin? What coins do you LIKE? What coins will give you numismatic joy as you hold them over the years? Tell the members and they will be able to help with what they have seen during their years of collecting those coins. Buying coins should be viewed as an expenditure of discretionary income. One which will, if carefully approached, at least offer a modest assurance of holding value. Unlike a trip to Las Vegas or a weekly night out at the movies, coins are tangible. NOT an investment, but a hobby. One truth will stand the test of time: coins which are difficult to locate today will be harder to locate tomorrow. The 'hoards' of coins not-withstanding... |
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Valued Member
United States
156 Posts |
The only investing advice I ever got when it came to coins was to buy key dates in the best condition you can afford.
As for coin collecting, the only advice I ever got was to collect what you like and forget the rest. If your collection looks "hodge-podge," that's your business. There's no rules when it comes to collecting coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1839 Posts |
Along the lines of what SD is suggesting by going to Heritage's archives to study historical sales, you can do so in even greater depth through the auction archives that PCGS posts. They post auction results for coins that have sold in the main 3rd party graders slabs, PCGS, NGC, ANACS and ICG. They show auction results for Heritage, Stack's Bowers, Great Collections, Legend Auctions and even ebay. Actually there's quite a few more that are surveyed, here's a link to the complete list. http://www.pcgs.com/auctionprices/a...irmlist.aspxHere's a link to where to start a search: http://www.pcgs.com/auctionprices/And here's an example of a search result, you can filter in various ways. I happened to choose an 1832 Bust Half in AU53. But as I mentioned there is a filter and it's pretty powerful. Also, this is just a screen print but all of the text that is shown below in amber, those are hyper-linked and will take you to the actual past auction to find out more about the coin and perhaps give you an image. Oh, and all of this is free information to anyone. I'm not sure how far back their database goes, but I'm pretty sure it's at least back into the 1990s on many coins. I use this tool A LOT.  Edited by Tbone
04/14/2015 7:41 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
As others have posted ... I agree coins as a good investment might
Not be a good idea.
Just to play the other side.
How would you like to advise someone on
- which stock to buy
- put your money in CD's
- which property/land to buy
What I am saying is right now there is no good investments.
Of course, that is just my opinion.
In today's world, I am thinking ...where can I put my money where
I won't lose any of it.
I lost more money in tech stocks I bought in the 90's than I have
in coins.
How do you make money in coins. You have to buy them at the
right price, and when you sell, sell at the right price.
I think to make good money in coins, you have to develop a good
reputation. If you can get enough people to recomend you to
buy private collection, that is where the money is.
When you buy private collection, you should be able to buy at
below wholesale, or broker coins for a percentage.
This is a very hard area to get into, and not steady.
Also ... What level to you hope to get. Over a lifetime it is
possible to accumulate a collection that could have a worth
of 50K to 100K. I know some that have much more, but then
they have the funds to put more into their collection.
Then how do you sell it with out taking a huge loss.
I help out in a coin shop four days a week. The customers that I see
making the most money are the ones who have collection that were
put together years ago.
Or the ones that put a lot a money into silver and gold bullion coins.
They bought when prices were low.
The problem we need to know now is ..where is the bottom.
When we find the bottom, buy as much as you can.
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Replies: 40 / Views: 4,178 |
First Page
Posted 04/14/2015 12:47 pm
