2016 enthusiasm for British QUALITY coins, NO weakening, the demand is increasing

“Collectible Rare Coins & Bullion gold although they give no regular income, they are

tangible assets in a physical form that you can touch and see”

​

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

But gold sovereigns can give you tax free income in the UK if you trade in them...

IMHO rare sovereigns are still hugely UNDERPRICED and potentially have much greater upside.

 

Underpriced relative to what else?

UK proof gold has already had a huge run up in the last 10+ years. I recall the 1839 proof five sovereign selling for about $25k in a Goldberg auction back in 2005. Don't remember the grade or if in a slab but I believe an NGC 62. More recently, Heritage sold one in the same grade for $152k.

 

When compared to US, German, Austrian, Mexican, Japanese coins just to mention a few. 1839 proof five pounds/sovereigns are relatively rare coins and are seldom sold unless some gives up collecting or dies. I recently bought an 1839 proof half sov, reasonably high grade for what I felt was a fair price. I really do think the sovereign still is a good buy as are many old UK coins.

 

I was using the 1839 proof 5 sovereign as an example. I don't really know enough about most sovereigns so its hard for me to be specific. I acknowledge that it is one of the few truly internationally collected series and that this helps its price prospects. All I know is that the proof gold have already appreciated, a lot.

I would be interested to know why you think UK coins are cheap compared to the others you listed. I know that they are versus the US but American coins are an outlier and the price level is in deep outer space which is why I no longer buy them. To my knowledge, they are also cheaper than Australian coins (which you did not mention) but I believe I can explain that also. Pricing and relative prices is a subject I have written extensively about elsewhere.

To my knowledge, UK coins IN THE AGGREGATE are not cheap versus the other countries you listed, not for comparable coins with comparable availability. I'm not saying they are relatively overpriced in most or all instances either but to my knowledge, the price level is higher. First, US collectors have a strong preference for them (more than most other world coins), they are much cheaper than US coins and US collectors are accustomed to paying "high" prices, so they do. Most collectors elsewhere are not or at least have not been in the past. Second, the UK has an extended and strong tradition of collecting which means the coins were saved in larger numbers and frequently preserved in higher quality than most or even all other countries.

To contrast it with Mexico which I know fairly well, there is a lot to buy from the UK but little to almost nothing in high or even decent quality from any number of Mexican series. By my standards, from all pre-decimal, only crown sized pillar and portrait dollars plus the Cap & Ray 8R have any "reasonable" availability and even then, only for selective dates or as a type coin.

 

I am basing my opinion on auction figures achieved for coins of different countries. It could well be that the Mexican coin prices (being a neighbouring country), are driven by US collectors who are accustomed to paying exorbitant prices.

I have bid on UK coins at American auction houses and have bought some very rare and collectable sovereigns like the 1841 Victoria, 1859 Ansell and 1923 South Africa proof sovereign at 40-70% less than prices achieved/listed at other sites including eBay.

Personally, I do not think many US collectors either know enough about the rarity/collectability of or are all that much interested in UK coins YET. Once we have more US collectors seriously interested in UK coinage, I can see a 50-100% increase in their values in UK coins.

If we go by US standards then any UK coin, which has only a few known surviving examples world wide, should command a price of several tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of $$$. This definitely not the case just yet.

Also if you look at QE II UK proof sovereigns, most of them list/sell for just a tad above the gold spot prices. Say $20-50 per sovereign depending on mintage numbers (except the 1989 which is a 500th Anniversary issue 1993, 2002 and 2012).

Lastly, I admit I am but a novice collector so you may disregard my opinion altogether.

 

I believe a large number of US collectors (in absolute terms) have a general awareness of British coinage and I also consider it one of the most widely collected outside its "home country" along with ancient Greek and Roman, Judaica and Spanish colonials.

The main point I was trying to convey is that if you compare UK coins to others which are considered numismatically comparable, approximately equally scarce and of approximate equal quality, my experience indicates they cost more or a lot more than most others, including those from Mexico. As an example, Victoria Young Head crowns are certainly more expensive than most Cap & Ray 8R and for comparable dates, likely more common in equivalent quality. Of course, there are going to be some "sleepers" but not in the most popular issues.

UK coins I have noticed which appear to be cheap for their scarcity include those I believe are called "proofs of record". These are rare but there are too many date/denomination combinations and there isn't any reason to expect every rare coin to sell for a high price.

I know some sovereign and British Commonwealth collectors buy the 1923 South Africa proof sovereign but in my opinion it is one of the most overpriced coins in the entire Union series and not scarce at all for a subsidiary mint. I don't know how many of the 655 reportedly minted still exist but at about $5000 for a PR-64, it isn't remotely cheap and I certainly would not buy it for financial reasons.

Ironically to most but because British coins are among the most common aside from the US, I can see the price level increasing substantially if it becomes more popular stateside, but I don't ever see the day it will approach or match the US price level.

I don't see this for any other market either, only for coins in isolation. To use a similar theme, I expect many US collectors believe Latin coinage is destined to explode because of future demand both here and in Latin America. I believe those who think so are mostly destined to be disappointed because the disproportionate excessive scarcity of the coins most collectors prefer will limit the collector base. There is little or almost nothing to buy from the most preferred series and no one can buy what doesn't exist.