Has your collection paid off?

I know many of us collect for pleasure, and that investment is not a motivation to all. I am also one of those who collects for pleasure. But, after doing some accounting this weekend of the money I spent on coins vs. their estimated value if I were to sell them, it gave me the idea to make this thread:

How does the amount of money you invested in your coins/notes compare to the amount they would be worth if you sold them all today? Would most of us end up "losing" money in that event, or would most of us find that we actually made a profit?

I'd like to see the opinions, everyone's welcome no matter the size or type or length of collecting, this is a universal issue for all of us...

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I'm way ahead in value. Most of the "value" is from my error notes because I found them in circulation and paid face for them. Each note is worth 20x to 50x it's face value. The majority of my coin collections were roll finds or from the hoards that I purchased. I resold the bulk for more than I initially paid for them and kept a substantial number of collectible coins from them.

I've been very lucky (knocking on wood!):smile

 

Rt now I'm ahead and that's only bc silver is doing so well and most of my silver was acquired from circ or when it was at $17/oz.

 

I am a roll searcher, so mine is a no lose hobby. What I have sold nearly pays for all my supplies and grading fees etc. Truthfully, my investment is time and of course the cost of "saving" items. I mean some just can't be spent nor sold, although they have their face value.

gary

 

Nice to see everyone is doing well :thumb: I've read comments in the past about how you'll most likely end up losing money over the long-run in coins, but I'm glad we're proving that theory wrong.

Getting coins/notes from circulation and searching for face value: can't beat that... and even that investment of "time" I think is not really an investment, I know everyone enjoys the hunt.

As for me, I unfortunately can't get ANYTHING for my collection from circulation (Imperial Russian currency or Soviet currency? good luck finding that at your local bank lol) BUT I was still pleasantly surprised that my collection is worth 3-4x what I put into it, thanks to a constant cycle of buying and upgrading and reselling old buys.

 

I paid for less than half of what my collection is worth, the rest I got roll searching. No downside except a shortage of penny rolls...

 

It's kinda interesting that every time before I buy coins, I would look at prices beforehand either with half interest or just glancing. When I buy them, prices would often shoot up or I might be lucky and get them before it reaches ridicious prices. Some of the minor coins that I have including damaged ones perform interestingly well. Not suprisingly, my Russian coin collection has raised easily over 4 fold for a fair number of coins. It's the precious metals that I suprisingly don't do well other than the ones that I bought silver at 5-7usd/oz and platinum at 700usd/oz. I personally hate the "precious metal investment" nonsense and am very happy that I do better on average on general coins.

I personally don't mind making a loss especially when I sell on ebay. I believe what's more important is to have a reputatable feedback score. Thankfully, I easily break even after ebay and paypal fees. Sometimes you got to bite the dust so that other collectors can enjoy what you had. I think Doug mentioned that selling can be an education - I believe so too. Think about it - you need to know what you are selling and know how to advertise to maximize profit.

 

The value of my collection has jumped dramatically this year due to the rise in silver and gold bullion prices. Interestingly enough, I mostly focus on collecting US coins by sets/series. But I've enjoyed watching the value of all those extra average circulated Peace and Morgan dollars rise about 30-40% over the last year, as well as jump in price of the US gold type sets I have.
I've also played the bullion game, mostly bought ASEs and Krugerands and even silver rounds; those coins/tokens that i can get for somewhere close to spot. The bullion purchases have proved more profitable recently than my collection of US and rare coins.
In fact I'm sure I'm still behind on US coins series, in as far as making a profit goes, but the gain in gold and silver has more than made up for it.
Ultimately I'm in it for the joy of building a collection I can be proud of, the profits are an added benefit to me.

 

If everyone factored in the hidden costs of "babysitting, nurturing, housing, clothing and providing TLC for all of their little babies" in addition to the costs of "tuition and books" I think everyone would probably be on the "red side" of the balance sheet. Accept it for what it is and when the day comes that you must sell, don't complain about the results. It may not be a car, but the outcome is very similar.

Chris

 

Now, you factor in inflation, and the fact that you will not likely get the price for your collection that the price guides say, I feel there are going to be a few more on the losing side. I don't really care personally what my "cash in value" is worth. I know after all the storage supplies and books/ magazines purchased, I'm probably in the red. But, it's my hobby, not my profession.

 

I can't say. I don't record the prices I pay for all my coins, nor track them for value, so I won't even guess. But, it's paid off more than money could in time spent enjoying the hobby.
Guy

 

Mine too!

My point is simply that it is a hobby for whatever personal pleasure you may derive from it, but when you come right down to it, very, very few will make money from their collection.

Chris

 

Years ago I was buying up Franklin half dollars and completed a few sets. When I sold a couple complete sets I probably did a bit better than break even. However if I had kept them and sold today it would have doubled what I paid.
Now on my Barber half dollar set the story changes. I only have one set which needs 8 more coins to finish. Those do not come cheaply. So I more or less have to pay full retail to keep going with the set. If ever it's time to sell I know I'll take a shellacing.

 

Thank you for the voice of reason. It is true that the price increase in precious metals pushes some collectibles upward, but that increase only marks the loss of purchasing power of the cash. Therefore, there can be no net gain.

Moreover, collectors who claim that they have more "value" now than they paid are not actually selling. One of the purposes of price guides is to allow you to show your wife what good deals you got and how much these are "really" worth, but the real reality is different from that.

I grant fully that searching rolls and looking at circs is profitable. However, I collected ancients. My experience in that aspect of the hobby is what got me out of collecting. Now, I only buy material that I need to support the research for the articles I write. I sell the articles; and that's where I make my profit. I don't care what I sell the stuff for now.

Not one of the dozen or so dealers who sold me ancient coins would offer me even half what I paid -- and Classical Numismatic Group was one of several who refused to make any offer. David Vagi gave the best advice: buy the most commonly sought coins in the higest grades. Fine. But that is not what we collect -- nor is it what we are encouraged to collect. Nero, Tiberius, Caligula, Alexander, Owls and such are for the ignorant. True collectors pursue the rare, the unusual, the arcane, the special.... which then become difficult for the dealer to sell, and yes, they are so sorry but, no, they cannot make an offer. And sometimes, they are not even sorry.

Arnie Saslow and CNG's Victor England have a game they play on collectors. When someone offers them a coin they do not want, they say that the other guy might be interested in that and they watch the collector cross the bourse floor. Saslow admitted this in his Celator column -- and I read it there after I was a victim of it.

If you love histiory, if you enjoy cultures and times and places and people, then yes, numismatics is a rewarding hobby. It is axiomatic in economics.that if you want to make money, then you need to buy and sell the stuff other people want.

If you look at the world famous collections and auctions, such as Eliasberg and Manley, you see expensive passions that were financial losses. Those men would have made more money sticking to their desks. The zillion dollar gold coins did not earn the income that the same money put into oil drilling equipment would have. But that is not the motive for collecting. We pay for our passions.

 

+1
I don't do this to make money. I do it because I enjoy it. And because I love history. I could probably break even at least because of some of the good deals I've made the past couple years but it wouldn't be by a whole lot I dont think.

 

I would say almost all collectors if you calculate time value of money would lose on their collections. Even if you colelct coins from circulation this money could have ben invested. Simplisticly, comparing pay prices to what they would sell for, I would be way ahead. I have to account for what I would have had for a return though, and net net I would be behind.

However, versus almost any other hooby I am WAY ahead. I would say treat coin collecting as a poor financial return, great hobby return.

 

Is that how it is for you, too, GD? Maybe you should start a topic on how to make money in numismatics. After all, you do make money at this do you not? So, there must be profits to be had, but only that we are not doing the right things.

Share that knowledge!

 

Hahahahahaha! I guess I can thank my lucky stars that I'm divorced!

Chris