Basics

You have made the right start in finding out every one's opinions.

For short term (3to 5 years) bullion could be the way to go. For me, coins are a lifetime investment. That being the case, financial return is not the main motivator, a lifetime abiding interest in numismatics is, and so for me interest of the psychological kind must be part of the overall return.

That means I gain in two major ways.

From a purely financial point of view, over 4 decades of spending money on coins, the ones that bring the best return for me, and the ones most chosen for self managed retirement portfolios are rare coins. However, like shares, as others have reported on this forum, values can go up, or down. That volatility does not bother a superannuation fund self manager too much, because he is a lifelong investor.

A dealer once told me: "Rare coins get rarer, common coins stay common". Be as it may, that he was trying to sell me a big ticket item, he was still right with hindsight.

Just look at some of the prices numismatic items were 40 years ago, compared to now! If you are going short term, rare coins may not be for you.

NCLT's have proven a comparatively poor investment, but banknotes over the last 20 years have generally out performed coins for financial return, if auction results are anything to go by.

For silver I'd go with those ASEs your local store was selling for $40. Hard to beat that, I think that guy likes you. Or I also like the 90% US silver coins.

Gold would probably be a little more stable in price, if you can afford it. I like gold eagles there because they are easily recognized and not as easily scratched as the 24 ct coins. Also because they are larger they still have the full troy weight stated in .999 gold, it is just mixed in with silver and copper to make the coin more durable.

I don't like proof coins myself, too easy to mess them up and too easy to see finger prints, scratches and other problems. I'd consider one if it was slabbed and not too much more than the regular coin.

Yes. Melt price is the listed silver buy price that jumps around every day.

[quote][ I appreciate this privilege and will be extra careful to make sure that this does not cause any problems.
]very nice business to business people to person courtesy uncommon but so needed. Politeness always a good investment

Yeah that's the way I started my ASE collection back in 1987, just started picking up a few when ever I had some extra money. They were about $7-$8 each back then. Then just keep them safe and watch your investment appreciate.

One thing I wish I had done back then was only handle them with cotton gloves to keep the finger prints off them. Some have spots now.

Indeed it is. As my Mom likes to say, "Kindness is one of the things most undervalued in this world". Those of us who appreciate kindness and politeness benefit greatly whether giving or receiving them. The thing about them is that when someone is kind or polite, they are saying, "You matter to me as a fellow human being", and that's a very nice thing to say or do.

I always try and be polite, treat others how you would like to be treated. I didnt make it a secret that I'm new to collecting and the guy at my coin shop still gave me decent prices and was honest about everything. I think I lucked out cause if I cant find any good deals on ebay I can always just go to my coin shop in town.