How should I handle modern "investment coins" from the US Mint

Buy early communist Chinese aluminum. Buy 1982-P quarters that are well struck by new dies. Buy Indian c/n from the '70's in BU. Buy Fijian c/n. Buy Japanese coins that weren't in mint sets. I could go on and on but you won't find the coins. What makes them special at all is that there are so few of them and their current low prices makes them unavailable. Once the price goes much higher they'll be available but who knows if it willgo higher yet or not.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I scanned the Web and found two funds -- one calling itself a hedge fund -- that invest in "rare coins." Both were formed in the past five years. Couldn't find anything beyond the announcement of their formations.

I would read the prospectus VERY carefully.

 

Okay... but the point I was trying to get at is that it would be telling if the person asking the question were to instead explain exactly why they feel coins are such easy investments. It's almost always a 1 + 2 = 10 type scenario where nothing other than buy, sit, and collect windfall is truly considered, and this is what I fail to understand. This has nothing to do with mint claims, potential down-the-road demand vs. mintage, or the sale of a collection the average Joe on the street would know nothing about, but simply why everyone from fools to otherwise intelligent individuals are so willing make such a blanket assumption.

This is similar to how so many seem to think being a dealer a path to easy money. How many times have we had someone with no real knowledge or experience with coins come here and ask how to profit from them? Not just a few kids, but adults as well. Perhaps, instead of simply saying coins are generally poor investments, or people using it as an opportunity to convince themselves their personal preferences are better than the next guy's, if such people were to explain their mindset, their question could be discussed in a more tailored and helpful manner. It could also be helpful to someone else not participating in the thread but has similar ideas. I can only imagine how confusing these threads, with conflicting and all over the board responses, must be to the uninitiated.

 

Even the Finest, in Modern Coinage, is easily trumped by a 1 point higher grade which is very easy for an astute collector. It's at that point that the profits fall sharply.

I have several that were, at one time, top pops and a couple which were solitary population coins.

All that becomes meaningless when others are found and given the "prices" of those next higher grades, someone gets left holding the bag.

Don't get me wrong, collecting these varieties can be fun and personally rewarding BUT they are far from being good "investment" coins since the next "Top Pop" can be just one roll away! You and I know that 90% Silver Kennedy's were hoarded by the millions.

What happens when they get moved to the CPG "Appendices"? Or even dropped from the "Registries"?

At that point, its "AMF"! Adios Money Factory!

A good "investment" is one which climbs in value over the long haul. Sure, it can drop in price but usually only temporarily. It then would achieve an even higher price at a later auction.

"Thin Markets" are not good "Investment Markets" and Modern Coins, in general, are lousy investments since the Modern Coin Market tends to be very "fickled".

 

I recall one "Investment Entity" which was associated with GovMint.com (aren't they the one's which purchased Modern Coin Mart?) which were shopping out the Jefferson Missing Edge Lettering Presidential Dollars to their client lists by telephone.

Asking price for an MS65 example was ................ $2,950.00 (Date 4/18/2008)

Today's PCGS Price Guide Value (which is always on the high side)...... $215.00

A reliable source was quoted as saying that a "firm" wanted $7,950 for MS67 examples of the MEL Jefferson's.

Today's PCGS Price Guide Value (which is always on the high side).....$1,000

If you've mastered 3rd Grade Math, you'll see the moral in this story.

 

Thanks for filling us in. Guess that story demonstrates better than any about the hazards of coin collecting as an investment. That is the ugliest chart I have ever seen!

 

Lee - We collect for the fun of the "Hobby" but after the latest Heritage round of auctions there were several varieties (in lower grades) that sold for between $1800 - $2800 that we picked up for under $30. Personally, we can't wait to see what the next edition of the CPG brings to the table.

 

What are you trying to say Tim? That you bought $1800-$2800 coins for $30 or that you bought coins for $30 and sold them for $1800-$2800?

 

Ain't it nice to have been proactive on the New Hotness Variety?

 

Just saying that several of our varieties that we paid under $30 for sold in the same or lesser grades on Heritage auction(s) this past month for $1,800 - $ 2,800.

 

Congrats.

Now, if only the prices are sustainable?

 

That isn't always true. Case in point is the gold kennedy the OP was talking about. Less than a month after they came out they could be purchased in the aftermarket for LESS than the mint price.

True but frequently not as fast as the rate of inflation. The number of dollars is more but the return in REAL dollars or the purchasing power of those dollars is LESS than the dollars invested.

But from 35 years ago it's a lousy investment (Would have to be $2,185 an oz just to break even. Just holding a long time isn't important, timing in and out is critical.

I remember 1881-s dollars in MS-65 being bid at that price. A couple years later I was able to buy them for $30.

 

Has anything done well when you factor in inflation?

 

Helium Balloons.........

 

Daniel Carr pieces

 

Absolutely! There's no money in modern US Mint coins to speak about at all. The couple of times I thought I would flip and make a small profit didn't pan out at all. Don't waste your time.

 

Paper sales to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. :>)

 

And this shpould be on the verge of going viral, as well.