What To Collect For Investment Purposes....

Morgan dollars are very popular investments in grades of MS64 and above. I would go certified on what ever you buy. Key dates are my #1 choice for long term investments. At $400 per month budget most may be out of your reach but not all of them. It would also depend on the grades of those coins as well.
There are some great Lincoln Cent investments such as the 1914-D that would meet the criteria for your budget. It's coins like these that I would put away.

You can look at an investment many ways. If you think our US currency is fine and not going to be devalued, some may say to invest in coins that have numismatic value. If things go bad, I think that basically any silver/gold/even copper/nickel will have the intrinsic value not much or any numismatic value. That being said I have a few of the gold coins from a couple years ago (before all the real dollar/economy issues these past 2 years. I really think for me at least the 'junk silver US coins' are the best silver investment. They will always be worth their face, more likely the silver value as has been so since pretty much since they haven't been minted. They are easily recognizable and not that great a denomination in value such as gold would be. Another 'investment' I feel is a win win is nickels. The metal value currently is more than face. I know they cannot be melted. I feel that if there is great inflation, the metals will go up in price and they could be used as 'real' money in smaller denominations than the silver pre1965 coins. They are a hedge against deflation inasmuch as you 'pay' a nickel and it will always be worth at least a nickel. Can't lose the face value which is all that's paid. Copper pennies and even all coin have intrinsic value as well - paper money is just paper. That's my take on all of this. Each time I have gotten a little silver recently less and less halves to the paper dollar. Not good if you want more like I really do. I just don't want a big slump if paying high, but even with rising cost for silver, since the dollar is doing so poorly, I still feel the silver coins will be a good investment. I feel that even if it goes back down and all goes well, the money lost will be worth the security I have knowing that in bad times like now, I have real value. If all goes well with US economy any amount I may lose to silver going down in price will be made up by the security that I will have knowing our country has gotten back on its feet. If not, I am not stuck with worthless paper and have the silver/gold/nickel and copper! Just my thoughts everyone is different on this. Hope it helps.

Plus, nickels in many dates are still out there. Even if you think the 'hoarding' of nickels is silly, make a collection for the children! I was just going to keep a few hundred dollars in nickels as a hedge against inflation/deflation. a no cost investment. The first roll I was checking to prove correctness had both a silver nickel and a buffalo. Well, with all the older nickels I found by going though just over 100.00, I decided to make a 'nickel collection folder' for my little grandson. I was very young when we were keeping the silver coins. Now, I will do so with nickels!

Would also consider extremely high grade common dates, preferrably graded coins that were graded at least 5 years ago.

Some may question this, but try to find common dates in just about any series (pre 1970).

Some exceptional Indian pennies, Buff nickels, Washington quarters, etc, etc, can be bought in that price range. Would look at MS 67/8/9 grades only. Research the population reports to narrow the quest. Don't forget, the pop reports generated now, have been weighted with "market grading". So, buy the coin, not just the slab.

Someone is bound to post the worn out speech "Don't ever collect for investment purposes, only collect for fun" so you can expect that to come your way. Blah, blah, blah. So, Angel2004 is right on target. Silver is hot and probably will stay that way for sometime. I think it still has alot of room to run up in my opinion. And I don't believe it's too late to get started. Collecting what you like is very important. I was advised about 4 years ago to buy common PCGS/NGC Morgan dollars in MS64. At that time I was getting them for $45-$55 each. Retail today is about $80. I like junk silver also. Dimes, quarters and halves dated 1964 or before with no numismatic value but yet contains 90% silver. Right now I'm grabbing cull Morgans with no holes. Full rim Barber dimes, quarters and halves graded Good4 are a great buy and I'm getting all I can. Australian 1oz Silver Kangaroos are on fire right now with that low, low mintage they have and prices are going to the moon. Still, whatever the price, they are worth the investment in my opinion. Bullion silver, I like 1oz rounds and bars. I make it a habit to stay away from new products the mint offers. This is all what I like, in my opinion and not advising you to do the same. Also, I would suggest you educate your children about coins. Their value and history. That way they will appreciate them so much more when they obtain them from you. Can't even count how many times in my lifetime I've seen kids get their parents estate and all they want to do, in many cases, is to sell everything and get their hands on that money from the sale. Really not much appreciation for what their folks have worked for and saved.
Anyway, this post is becoming a book, so later. Keep us posted as to what direction you decide to go.

You are hearing many good ideas so far, and I agree with a lot of them.

Key dates are always a good choice, but you do have to learn how to buy them,
just as you will any other coins. A 1909 S vdb Lincoln Cent is a key date
and has pretty much always gone up in value over time. But you don't want
to spend $2000 for a particular grade when you may find the same grade for $1500.

What I am saying is you have to learn, what you can sell coins for, or what they
do sell for, so you know when a good buy comes along. Buying any coins at the right
price will be a good investment.

So you have to learn a lot about coins
- how to grade them
- how to tell fakes
- how to tell if they have been cleaned

Then there is the market conditions. like right now silver and gold are high.
So you should be buying coins differently then when silver and gold are low.

For me, right now Morgan dollars can be a good deal. I have been looking for
raw MS63/64 coins that can be picked up in the $35 to $45 range.
With unemployment high and silver high, I am seeing a lot of collections being
sold to coin shops. If you are at the right place at the right time you can get some
really good deals.

If you are not set on any coin series, you may want to consider a type set.
A lot of members here are putting theirs in a Dansco 7070 album.
$400 a month could buy some nice type coins. You could even try to put in
either higher grade coin or even key date coins.

I think a dansco 7070 with coins like a 1914 D Lincoln, 1921 D mercury,
1908 S Indian cent, 1939 D Jefferson nickel, 1938 D Walking Lib half,
1921 Peace dollar and many others like these would be a very good investment,
if the coins were bought right.

the only good investments will be when you buy them at the right price....
You make the money when you buy ... Pay to much you already lost money and might have to hold a long time to break even

If you collect what you like ? what you need to fill a hole ? You might over pay....
The key is to never overpay...

Your gonna get lots of chances " to buy " but your gonna have to pass on most untill you walk into a deal thats of a benifit to you

Do your homework. Know exactly what you are buying. Don't overpay.

At the moment bullion gold and silver dominate the coin market, or at least take up far more than the usual share.

I'm not sure if this is the reason, but key and semi-key lincoln cents and Buffalo nickels are available for a bargain (at least in my neck of the woods). Look for PCGS or NGC slabbed.

Key dates? Find any numismatic price guide, look for the lowest mintage, most expensive. Google is your friend.

Also, lots of good info here in the glossary, left side of page under Navigation.