$200 for dirty, old coin or shiny new coin

Hello, new user here. I'm thinking about getting into coins again and looking for some advice on which direction to go for collecting.

As a general question I could spend $200 on, say, a 19th century large cent or $200 for a 1995 MS68 double die Lincoln cent.

I did some calling and my local dealer has no 1995 double die penny and says he has so many low-grade large cents he would not even pay anything for a large cent, even with a red book vlaue of $200. So, for him, the 1995 double die is the rare coin. I just hate to buy something and then can't get ANYTHING for it - except on Ebay.

So what would you recommend for a worthwhile direction to take for some reasonable appreciation?

Thanks

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Coins as an investment?

"So what would you recommend for a worthwhile direction to take for some reasonable appreciation?"

Probably stocks and bonds. Buying coins in the hopes of resonable appreciation is equally as hard as buying stocks and bonds. Long ago I bought some coins from a firm called First Coinvesters Inc. (which I now understand was a real rip-off place) which purported to help you invest in numismatic items. There might be some places like that around, but I don't know if I would trust them. To turn a quick profit with coins, about the only things that occur to me is to buy proof sets from the US Mint or to get lucky on some modern error coins that become popular. If you collect much of anything else, do it because you love it.

 

There is plenty you can buy with the expectation that it will appreciate in value. For example, modern coins with particularly low mintage if looking at US coins, and low mintage coins from countries that have yet to hit their peak if looking at foreign coins. With modern low mintage coins, you also want to get the ones that are in high mint state.
This is especially true for bullion coins, as the particularly low mintage ones will have some value protection against dropping bullion prices and added value for rising bullion prices.
Also keep in mind that if you are buying at book value, retail prices, you have an uphill battle from the start. Whatever coin you are looking for, try to buy it at auction, many times you get them cheaper than retail price.

For example, the large cent with the $200 book value you can most likely win on bids for $150 or lower, especially if it's a more common date. Many dealers on eBay do exactly this - buy them on bids below book value and then relist them at book value.

 

Coin collecting is a hobby. Not an investment vehicle. It's nice when we purchase something that appreciates in value down the road but generally (as in my situation) that never (hardly ever) happens. I love the hobby too much to try and make money off of it. If that were the case it would no longer be a hobby........

 

I would completely disagree with you. It can safely be both. You can be passionate about coins, but also go for ones that have investment potential. It's the same thing as with fine art collectors.
Would you say that anyone who deals in coins is not a true collector? This dealer and collector thinks not.

 

If you want to speculate on coins, buy moderns with "potential". You can often get a lot of them at a low price and sell them when/if the price shoots up.

 

And I would completely disagree with you. Lets just say we agree to disagree.......

 

Ask coin collectors who have built world class collection what they think of investing in coins. The best collections ever assembled have sold at huge losses to their owners. No matter how much money you have to throw at expensive, rare, or popular coins, chances are you're going to eat that money for breakfast down the road. You may have a few hits here and there, but overall, unless you're dealing in huge volumes at miniscule profit margins, like a dealer, thats all you'll have.
Guy

 

Do some reading up on coins and various coin series. Then decide if you are going to be an investor or a collector. I am a collector, but collect a few series at any given time. So, when one series is popular, I tend to work on another until prices come back to normal, much as if you were investing in stocks. You can do both in a way.

 

OPINION

in general, your best investment bet is low mintage, HIGH GRADE, key dates in any series, e.g., 1877 Indian Cent, 1909SVDB Lincoln Cent, 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter, 1864 Small Motto Two Cent, etc. These will always sell at a premium. The problem you'll have is that $200 won't get you there. I'd stay away from errors which are often expensive but don't have a universal appeal. They could be hard to sell and value appreciation is iffy. The real key to investing is high grades, MS66+.

 

I can't think of a single major "world class" coin collection that did not sell for significantly more than what it [likely] cost to put it together. =)

Sure, people who buy and sell a single or a few individual rare coins often lose money on the deal. But I'm not talking abut a short term flip here. Personally I feel real good about the future of the coin markets. Maybe not so much for US coins, but for the many undervalued and hard to find foreign coins that have yet to reach their potential.
Do you keep track of the market value of your collection? Odds are that it's appreciated much better than the crappy interest rates that the banks give now-a-days.

 

Sorry to hear that. :foot-mouth:

 

While this may have been true the last 20 years, there is no proving this will be true for the next 20. Its a lot like buying a stock after it has gone up 500%. In the past its gone up well, but will it continue or are you buying at a peak?

My first advice for the OP is to consider this a hobby, and any money spent is for your enjoyment, and anything you sell the coin for is a bonus. Secondly, if you are really concerned about resale, try to buy what dealers usually do not have a lot of, problem free, nice rare coins. In that definition I would include high circulated 19th century issues like large cents, half cents, bust and seated coinage. These may not go up considerably, but they slowly and steadily appreciate, and are truly rare coins.

Just my opinion.

Chris

 

I use my coin collection mostly as an investment in PMs, i buy World Gold/Silver coins at small premiums over spot beats buying AGE.

 

First I would not speculate on coins for gains. If your going to do that just buy bullion as close to spot as you can.

Second - the best large cent dealers I know don't sell on ebay. Not sure your local shop knows a lot about large cents. That could be an opportunity to cherry pick some tough varieties. The local dealer I used prefers anything prior to 1836 to anything modern. Then again, maybe there is not a market for large cents in your area. I find that hard to be believe but could be possible. Still I would take a solid large cent over a high grade modern at anytime. Just my preference.

 

If you could ask Dan Holmes how much he lost on his early coppers collection, arguably the best ever assembled by anyone at any time, he might have given you a seven digit figure.
Thats just a recent example. The key here is people who assemble world-class collections aren't investors, so the bottom line isn't about profits.
Guy

 

That comes down to how much $$$ savy/time spent bargain hunting when it comes to building your collection doesn't it not?