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 Replies: 16 / Views: 2,603 |
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Pillar of the Community
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500 Posts |
After a long break from collecting, I am thinking seriously about investing in some gold coins - I have a few I got years ago but am looking to expand my collection some. From some articles I've read, and looking at pricing and auction average info online, it seems that MS63 and above rated coins get closer to their "list price" at auction than those rated lower ( by considerable margins it seems ). Thus the prevailing advice seems to be to look at MS63 as the lowest grade to invest in. My budget isn't unlimited, unfortunately, so I'm torn between paying a lot more for such "high grade" coins, versus targeting say AU55 or AU58 that can be "had" for much closer to "spot value" instead. It's almost like the higher end coins are more likely to hold and increase their "collecting" value while the low end are more likely "affected/tied-to" the price of gold itself, moreso than collectability. So I'm really torn on whether to look at acquiring only higher end pieces or to "bargain hunt" at the lower end as more of a "semi-bullion" type investment plan instead.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
In my experience you get more gold for your money by buying XF to AU Half Eagles. I have a nice collection of Half Eagle Indians that I purchased a few years ago. Since I bought the lower grade coins I paid way below current melt value. I am bullion investing and I am not willing to pay the premium for higher grade coins. Had I invested in MS63 coins I would have received half of the gold content for the money. If you are coin collecting and not gold investing then you would want to go with high end coins for their conditional rarity.
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Pillar of the Community
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500 Posts |
I guess that is where I am in-the-middle junior e, part of me wants to do it for the "gold investing" aspect ( but a tad more collectable than just bars/bullion ), but I am also interested in the coin aspect - equally - as well. I am concentrating/looking at my favorite design ( Indian Eagles 1907-32 ) and wouldn't go lower than AU55 as I want some eye-pop bang-for-the-buck coin collecting out of it as well.
I am very torn between the two schools-of-thought, I think. I may do a little of both - say one >= MS63 and a couple "closer to bulliion-like/cost" ones as well. I do agree with you that owning twice as many for the same $ has its appeal as well.
Thanks for the input.
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Pillar of the Community
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931 Posts |
You can get some AU grades on ebay in the $550 range. I was able to get a few XF Indians on ebay in the low $400's and they are still pretty nice looking coins. Then all of a sudden the XF started to push $500 regularly so I just bought a one ounce Gold Buffalo for $1500 because I was going for bullion and already have a nice stack of Indian Half Eagles. They are beautiful and interesting coins. They say that the Ten Dollar Indians are currently the best bullion value coin but I'm not crazy about the design. Edited by junior e
06/10/2011 4:32 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
500 Posts |
The $10 Indians are my favorite design/look of any coin - by far. So I'm more into them than the $5/$2.5 ones.
I take it you mean you can get half eagles ( $5 ) for 550. The eagles are running 850 and up minimum, unless you want to go with uncertified ones - which I call rogue - which are way too dodgy for my tastes. Since there is something like $700 in gold in the $10 coin, it makes sense that they are going for 850 or above.
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Pillar of the Community
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1348 Posts |
I would start with the XF-AU. If you decide you want to get pricer then by all means. I personally think you'll like having more gold though :)
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Pillar of the Community
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511 Posts |
In addition to getting more gold for the money, the buy/sell spread on circ gold is a lot tighter than you'll find in high-grade coins.
Edited by 3stooges
06/10/2011 4:07 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
500 Posts |
Excellent points. This is the kind of input I was looking for guys, thanks a lot!
I have noticed that the "range" on the higher grade coins is very broad and wide and I imagine fluctates a lot more by the wow-factor and eye-catch of the coin. MS64's in one year I was looking at ranged from like 1700-4500 RETAIL, while the AU55's do tend to all be a much much tighter range. I'd guess that would come into play A LOT when selling them later. That, along with the "many more coins/$", is something I should strongly consider.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
I bought a 1914 Quarter Eagle for $325. This coin unfortunately had been cleaned. 1914 is the lowest mintage of the Indian Quarter Eagles and the detail and eye appeal of this coin is amazing. It was graded by ANACS as Uncirculated Details Cleaned and it graded out at a Net AU 50. I really love this coin because it has such gorgeous detail and there are no hairlines with the gold on it just shimmering. This is a case of buying a coin with problems that actually make it more beautiful than it would be in a higher MS grade. Just an example of how weird these coins are to grade. If it hadn't been cleaned I would never have been able to afford it. Every time I look at it I feel that I really stole it for what I paid.
Edited by junior e
06/10/2011 4:37 pm
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Pillar of the Community
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500 Posts |
I hear ya junior e! To get off-topic for a second I recently bought an Indian Head penny that I highly suspect was cleaned - though the seller claimed otherwise. I bought it because I've always wanted a bright shiny RD Indian penny since 100% of those I've owned are dark with major wear problems in the feathers and headress. I know its not gradable, as if it was it'd be worth like 5-6 times as much as I paid! But it is nice to look at and what I was looking for at a low price range. Certs in that "look" run 4 times as much and I wasn't into paying that for one. Rather invest in gold! - back on point |
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4849 Posts |
You guys(buffalosrock and juniore) think a lot like I do regarding classic gold coins. I've asked the same things in my head that you are asking over and over, and I have to agree that the indians are the most beautiful. I've been working on a roll of half eagles. see thread: https://goccf.com/t/83917I honestly think that for making purchases where you want to balance "collectibility" with "bullion" investments, it is best to find the grade right below the grade that the value takes off. For example common $10 indians and libs are reasonably close to spot in todays market up until you get to MS-63, so try to find some nice PQ MS-62s. $20 Saints don't take off until MS-65, so get some pq MS-64s. $5 indians are a bit different, because they get expensive easily in MS, but a PQ AU-58 can be very lustrous and attractive. AU-58 is one of the best overall grades for cherrypicking imho, because some of them are so close to 63/64 you can hardly tell the difference, and have potential for a huge upgrade if the TPG later sees them as mintstate. If your going just for bullion, XF-AU $5 and $10 indians are just amazing coins to handle. So much more enjoyable imo than modern bullion, and very historical too!     Good luck BuffalosRock, and post some of your pieces for all of us to enjoy! |
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
Quote:
I bought a 1914 Quarter Eagle for $325. This coin unfortunately had been cleaned. 1914 is the lowest mintage of the Indian Quarter Eagles and the detail and eye appeal of this coin is amazing. It was graded by ANACS as Uncirculated Details Cleaned and it graded out at a Net AU 50. I really love this coin because it has such gorgeous detail and there are no hairlines with the gold on it just shimmering. This is a case of buying a coin with problems that actually make it more beautiful than it would be in a higher MS grade. Just an example of how weird these coins are to grade. If it hadn't been cleaned I would never have been able to afford it. Every time I look at it I feel that I really stole it for what I paid. Some of those cleaned indians can be very nice! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
931 Posts |
I always wonder how it was cleaned. Most of the time the slab reads "improperly cleaned", but this holder just says "cleaned".
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Pillar of the Community
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500 Posts |
Edited by BuffalosRock
06/22/2011 10:43 am
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
Those were both REALLY good buys! You do us proud buffalo, congrats! We need some bigger pics though. :-)
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Rest in Peace
United States
4849 Posts |
She's a beauty for sure. Looks MS-63-ish with a barely discernable touch of high point wear and a much lower price tag. Have you considered putting together an AU-58 certified Classic US Gold type set? That sounds like it would be lots of fun.
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Replies: 16 / Views: 2,603 |
Posted 06/10/2011 2:14 pm
