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Pillar of the Community
United States
759 Posts |
I stumbled across a retail price list from 2000 (Jules Karp) and thought it might be entertaining to throw out some of the prices from back then. So here goes a sample:
$20 Liberty, BU, $347
$20 St Gaudens, BU, $355
$10 Indian, BU, $305
$5 Classic, XF, $370
$1 Type I, XF, $141
1916-D Merc, VG, $650
1909-S VDB Lincoln, XF, $495
1914-D Lincoln, VF, $190
1921 Peace, BU, $110
1928 Peace, BU, $200
1932-D Washington, XF, $135
Common date Walkers, BU, $24
1995 Silver Proof Set, $125
Seated Liberty $1, Motto or No Motto, VF, $200
These would have been sight unseen purchases, with returns allowed. Sometimes you could score something above the grade midpoint, sometimes not.
I find it interesting how here and there, some items can be had for less or about the same now, like the Walkers or Type I gold.
If anyone is curious about what a certain item went for back then, let me know and I'll dig out the price.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
759 Posts |
I think there are some great takeaways from this, although I haven't had a chance to dig further and really digest. Outside of bullion items, key dates seem to appreciate, no guarantee on others. If you threw $500 at BU Walkers, you're underwater. If you got that 1909-S VDB, you've doubled or tripled your money. Or maybe the message simply is...you're better off viewing this as a hobby.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2448 Posts |
 The only way you'll make a lot of money when investing in coins is to manage your collection like a business. Buy low, sell high and control your costs. I have too much fun collecting to venture into the other side of the hobby. When the ASE and AGE were first out, I thought it would be a great way to finance my collection. I bought a bunch of everything thinking I'd make extra money selling to those who may have missed the issue. I'd sink the proceeds into my collection. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out the way I wanted. After buying a good microscope I discovered some of the mint's silver was less that acceptable for resale. I was not about to dump that stuff on fellow collectors. I did manage to sell the mint junk when silver skyrocketed but after considering all my costs and time, I only added a few Morgans. The other problem you'll run into is; when the coins from the mint are so nice, you can't sell them. I'm 10 or 20 deep in some issues and end up giving them to family and friends. "Sell Them/Gift Them/Hoard Them"; talk about being between "a rock and a hard place".   Oh, and there's supposed to be a new blurb in the tax code where proceeds from coin and metal investments are taxed at 28% regardless of long or short term. There's got to be an easier way to invest where the government doesn't treat you like a pariah. |
Posted 03/11/2011 10:08 am
