Has your collection paid off?

I think it is safe to say a majority of the profits in numis. comes from the the upper end of the market...5 and 6 figure coins. But, this is were some of the biggest mistakes are made. High risk...high reward for some.

 

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This is probably safest to say since the costs you need to overcome are lower as a percentage. If you have a coin you buy for $20 the dealer might buy it from you for $10 if you are lucky. If you buy a coin for $20,000 you can probably sell it back for $19,000. The percentage spread is much lower on a high end coin than a low end coin. This buy/sell spread is the largest impediment to ever making money in numismatics.

That being said, like others have commented, treat your coin purchases as expenses. Let your heirs collect what they can when they sell your stuff, but if you think you are "making money" by your purchases you might be unpleasantly surprised.

 

Indeed we do.....and some more handsomely than others.

 

I just enjoy collecting coins, the thought of who may have touched it! I'll leave the cashing in part to my children! With silver prices now I can't imagine 20 -30 years from now what all these coins might be worth!

 

Wow - that makes me feel good about the 10-15% I am loosing on my current reduction in inventory.

 

I have had my share of bad buys, but my collection makes me happy.

 

I have lost perhaps 20% to 25% on rare coins but gained about 100% on bullion coins (vast majority of bullion bought the past few years)
Luckily have have about 10x more bullion coins than rare coins
I've been collecting since 1968

 

With metal prices off the charts, I'd guess most people are doing very well at this point in time. I've used all of my ebay bucks pay outs on coins too which makes a few purchases really a win-win.

- Several months ago, used ebay bucks to purchase three 1 oz silver Can. Maple leafs. They only cost me $21 total out of pocket.

- Last month, bought a beautiful, lusterous, toned, MS63, maybe 64 IHC 1909 for the type set, using ebay bucks. Have $12 in that one. lol

- Got a NGC PF70 2008 ASE for $80

- 10/22/09 Purchased the Lincoln chronicles set from the mint for $55.95. That was pretty much win-win.

- End of 2008, I bought a 14k gold ring with .18 carat worth of diamonds in the corners and a 1/10th oz 2000 AGE in the center. Total pure gold content is 0.28 oz. Paid $250 for it. Glad I'm not in the market for one now.

I've only been back collecting seriously for 2 years now. These are my best success stories. A few others have done really well. Most have probably just maintained though.

 

I would say yes if you are talking about low grade or very common (early 60s) silver. But, silver prices don't really affect collector grade coins so much. Take Carson City Morgans, for example. If you watch silver spot prices versus the value curve of these coins in any grade they really don't correlate at all. High silver prices will likely put a lot of this common silver straight to the melting pot though.

 

I have been collecting coins off and on since 1968 and those coins where U.S. coins, mainly coins I found in circulation. As I got older I started buying coins at the local coins store but over the years I have bought and sold my collection and one day I started putting a collection of MS/UNC coins from Iceland from the years of 1922 to 1942 And even if this collection would not gain in value for a hundred years it would not trouble me in the least because I'm putting a collection together with coins that are all most impossible to find at any cost. and the feeling of completeing such a set is worth all the money in the world to me.

To me its not about the money....Its about the coin and how I feel about it.

 

That's really the best way to look at it and how I see it too. I was going with the topic of the thread. When it comes down to it, you could offer me well above FMV for most and I would have no interest at all. They're like rare art, each having it's own unique tendencies. Some not too easy to locate.

 

I agree, even though I sat down and looked at it from a financial point of view, most of the coins in my collection I would not want to see go to auction at all. I started the thread just a conceptual discussion of values, and I'm glad that we all get so much more pleasure from the hobby than what a monetary value can represent.

 

Here, Here old fellow..... I raise a glass to you.

 

i have been lucky at times picking upcoins in bunches for 100 or 200 range, but have also paid sometimes a little more then what i thought something was worth, but i guess we have all done that at some point, i have a couple of super leads and think im going to be a very happy happy person if they pan out, and make my investment dollar in coins maybe x 50 to 70 times what i pay.. but it will be pure luck if i get what im looking for ..thank god som,e people dont collect and are jsut there to make a quick dollar off what they see no value in.

 

This is one of the first coins I ever bought and it's still in the same 2X2 it was in twenty years ago.
Not counting inflation I just might be able to break even on this coin and it only took twenty years.
Well at least my coins have done better than my baseball cards. Those things aren't even worth burning for warmth.

 

Well ...I did start writing about what the topic of the thread is but I guess I got carried away but now that you mentioned it I did lose a little and win a little over the years with the other coins I have collected. One coin I won on ebay was a 2000 Icelandic comm in a NGC Proof 70 ultra cameo holder for $125.00 + shipping and I sold it for nearly $1000.00 dollars two years later after someone sold thier's on ebay for the same amount of money and I used that monies to buy a set of very rare SP65 and SP66 1940 1 and 2 Kronur coins. So I would say I have gained a little over the past 8 years since starting this collection.

 

GEE..... Thanks green18.... I'm not that old ...LOL

I love that vintage WWII plane

 

It's an endearment old fellow....

That warbird's a P-38. Awesome machine for her day.....

 

so does this put the value of the coins collecting wise up next year? or what will happen. i take it a good few will be melted, but who and how are coin collecting values set . book wise i mean.. lets take this example im looking at the 1969 charlton guide here canada 1872 h mint mark canada 10 cents g 25.00 vg 35 fine 50 vf 75 ef 125 unc 325 2011 guide 41 years later we now have a value of from 100.00 g4 to 8000.00 un circulated... so my question once again is who sets these prices, and how do they judge the values?