Thread: Future coin appreciation

My friend's grandfather recently sold his Morgan collection which he accumulated in the early 30's while they were still plentiful. He pretty much got them for face value and now they're worth a minimum of $8 each.

So I'm curious, what coins could we accumulate now that would be worth drastically more in the future? I doubt that the Sac will accumulate anything just like the SBA. What is the next Morgan Dollar?

What can we stock up on now that is gauranteed to increase in value?

Just curious.

Originally Posted by Kleyman97

What can we stock up on now that is gauranteed to increase in value

Boy if I knew the answer to that question, I would be all set. As with anything in life, there are NO guarantees of anything.

Just collect what interests you now, and when those interests change, sell what you have and buy what you want.

Originally Posted by Kleyman97

My friend's grandfather recently sold his Morgan collection which he accumulated in the early 30's while they were still plentiful. He pretty much got them for face value and now they're worth a minimum of $8 each.

Don't forget, that's less than a 100% premium to their melt value - not a great return over 70 years.

So I'm curious, what coins could we accumulate now that would be worth drastically more in the future?

If I could predict that I'd spend my time day trading or at the race track.

What can we stock up on now that is gauranteed to increase in value?

Not a thing!

you'd be hard pressed to find anything that would promise future value - especially without the gold standard.

To speak in general terms, price is relative to scarcity... those things that are more rare tend to demand a better price - even then... a sharp stick in the eye may be scarce, but I doubt you can sell it for a premium.

I agree that it's hard to predict what will provide outstanding value in the long-term. Looking at modern coinage, I doubt seriously that any one item will show the kind of increase that we've seen on older series like the Morgans.

If I had to guess, I'd bet my money on Modern Commemoratives, especially the gold issues and our only gold/platinum issue to-date. Just my 100 year opinion.

On non-modern, I'd say that everything in great condition will appreciate significantly. Great condition is series oriented. For example Large Cents and Half Cents in XF look great and are certainly hard to find.

Originally Posted by Art

I agree that it's hard to predict what will provide outstanding value in the long-term. Looking at modern coinage, I doubt seriously that any one item will show the kind of increase that we've seen on older series like the Morgans.

There are numerous moderns which have already shown returns far over 8X. Unc 1983-P quarters were widely available in pocket change until 1985 and today they wholesale at $25 per coin or 100X face value. In fact if you'd held out until you found a nice gem specimen it would sell now for over a couple hundred dollars or 800X face value. Most coins made in the last thirty five years for circulation have significant premiums in high grade. This is because of a multitude of factors but largely it is a simple reflection of the fact that people didn't save them. Those which were saved in quantities like the cents were generally of pretty poor quality. Others simply weren't saved at all.

Even today it is doubtful that all the coins are being saved in real quantity. Oh sure, people are saving quarters now and the new nickels are popular. The half and dollars are sold by the mint in sets and rolls. Cents are very inexpensive to save because of their insignificant face value. Dimes may or may not be getting set aside. Look at the prices of some of the recent dime rolls, they're already going up which is pretty remarkable when you consider how few people still collect modern coins.

There are large numbers of nicer and scarcer coins in circulation. Will these coins ever become worth lots of money? Your guess is as good as mine but it should be remembered that people do collect coins and they have always sought rarity, value, quality and those coins which are simply interesting because of the tales they can tell. There are plenty of coins in circulation which have all these attributes.

Heck face it were giving people pieces of grean paper for old coins with silver and gold in them... to me thats world trade

Mach

Originally Posted by Kleyman97

My friend's grandfather recently sold his Morgan collection which he accumulated in the early 30's while they were still plentiful. He pretty much got them for face value and now they're worth a minimum of $8 each.

So I'm curious, what coins could we accumulate now that would be worth drastically more in the future? I doubt that the Sac will accumulate anything just like the SBA. What is the next Morgan Dollar?

What can we stock up on now that is gauranteed to increase in value?

Just curious.

The first thing I would ask is for you to define the time frame you are talking about. If you mean in your lifetime - and you are talking about average grade coins - likely nothing.

As for a guarantee - absolutely nothing.

However - if you are talking about high or ultra high grade coins for even the most common denomination - at some point in the future they will be worth a fortune. Heck - some of them already are today. $700 for an MS68 2004 nickel ???? $39,000 for an PF70 ( that wasn't really an PF70 ) cent ??? The list could go on forever.

Of course - by tomorrow - these coins might only be worth $2 too !!

As we have talked about here many times - coin collecting is not investing - it is coin collecting. If you wish to invest - go buy some stocks or some land. But if you insist on treating your collection as an investment - then you better do some serious study. Otherwise you'll lose your shirt.

Save your Confederate money, boys.
The South's gonna rise again!
(you heard it here first)

allright i have a 100 dollar 1864 alabama confederate treasury note so i can by some grocerys when that happens

Mach

I don't think there's anything in circulation today that will dramatically increase in value in years to come. Possible some of the proof/mint set issues will be valuable. As always, my stance is that key date coins, genuinely scarce pieces, will always be in demand, while common coins will always be common.
Nick

we should have never abandoned the gold standard... it's not too late to go back!

Originally Posted by tradernick

I don't think there's anything in circulation today that will dramatically increase in value in years to come. Possible some of the proof/mint set issues will be valuable. As always, my stance is that key date coins, genuinely scarce pieces, will always be in demand, while common coins will always be common.
Nick

How many 1977 (type "d" reverse) quarters do you have? Not one coin collector in a thousand has this coin but you can't just go down to the corner coin shop and buy it either. In fact if you want a nice choice gem of this coin you may as well forget about it since it doesn't exist in unc in all probability. Almost the only place you can get it is out of circulation. While the mintage was very small, many of these have already been lost and fewer than 1% of these will even exceed a nice Fine condition. Essentially if you say that circulating coins will never have a premium ir is the same as saying they'll never be collected. While this argument can be made it still fails to explain the '83-P quarter. It fails to explain many of the very rare and valuable coins that have come out of circulation in the past thirty years And it presupposes that all such coins have been found and no more will ever be made.

It's not only varieties, errors, and non-standard issues which circulate which may be rare. How about a choice AU '82-P dime. This is a regular issue that is very tough in unc. If you find an unc example it will almost invariably be very poorly struck from less than perfect dies. Yet it's possible to find a choice AU with far more detail and far more attractive than most of the uncs. While this coin may be a tough sell today at more than a quarter, it seems likely that the 5,000th nicest '82 dime just might have some premium in the future.

These coins have been widely ignored for two generations. It might be short sighted to merely assume that this will continue indefinitely.

There are actually large numbers of people who are having fun collecting circulating coinage. As this gets more common it's probable that you will see markets develope for circulated moderns. Since some of these are pretty scarce there is a potential for some of these values to be pretty significant.

Originally Posted by cladking

There are actually large numbers of people who are having fun collecting circulating coinage. As this gets more common it's probable that you will see markets develope for circulated moderns. Since some of these are pretty scarce there is a potential for some of these values to be pretty significant.

King, you are absolutely right, but remember, this thread started with the question:

Originally Posted by Kleyman97

What can we stock up on now that is gauranteed to increase in value?

Nothing you have said answers that unanswerable question. The bottom line is still that there are no guarantees in numismatics, investing, or any other aspect of life.

Nothing you have said answers that unanswerable question. The bottom line is still that there are no guarantees in numismatics, investing, or any other aspect of life.

Yes. It is an unanswerable question and only time will tell.

But ask what is the finest of any of the classic coins worth? How much is a rare 19th century coin worth? In fact, ask yourself what is implied about the future if a rare modern has no special value. Does it not imply that the country has given up hope and abandoned all of its values and principles? It would seem that a collection of any US coins is an investment in the future and that moderns are no exception. Indeed, in a sense they are even more an investment in the future since so few have much value in the present.