Best old silver coin for investment?

coin if it has been drenched in e coli bacteria. Circulated coins and used stamps can be covered in boiling water and are harmless and good to go. My bucket list caused me to complete all of my collections at the same time from my 401k funds after they became penalty free to withdraw. Within a year my wife's medical problems had me shopping those key date problem free coins. That was an education. I already knew what a bath I would take on common coins. I foolishly assumed that key dates would be easier to sell and bring more of a percentage of book value.

 

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Thank you for sharing your story, and I'm sorry you went through so much. I think this is a great lesson for all new collectors, myself included, to spend money on what you love. Money you can spare. Coin collecting isn't coin investing.

 

ASEs have the highest demand as millions of them are sold.
Of course, not the best "investment"

I like the 1921 Peace Dollar in high grades. but of course in a good economy they may (may and not *will*) appreciate. In a down economy, that would be another story altogether. And those may be above your annual budget.

As you get to more specific coins, then you get to specific demand (more vertical which will collapse faster in a down economy).

The higher and higher grade you get as long as there's a very small population would be the best investment (but you still want demand. something may have a small population and no demand). But if your Annual budget is $300 I would then just tell you to buy the coins that you like and not really worry about the investment.

For instance I like the Congratulation ASEs. So I've had them since available. Demand other than this year has been minimal to non-existent if I wanted to sell. But some whacko thing happened and demand skyrocketed so I sold all my 2013-2016s for some whacko valuations. Who would have known?

just remember,
a small population does not mean a high demand.
a high demand does not mean a good investment.
you have to do your research.

 

Great topic. I think any 'investment advice' is at best a personal hunch. We can only speculate.

I think it's always wise to have a mixed investment in coins. That is why I have bullion, junk silver, high grade coins, etc. If the economy is strong, numismatics is strong due to higher disposable income, and silver is not weak but 'contained'. Time to move those high grade coins with patience - it can take months to achieve a nice sale.

If the economy stumbles, it is harder to move those numismatic investments, and silver is strong and rising - time to move that junk silver and common bullion.

But there are tides within that framework. If silver drops a week in a row it takes the edge off bidding. If silver is on a week-long rise bidding can get frenetic.

Ultimately I think it boils down to what coins we like and believe in within our investment budget. For me #1 is THE COIN MUST BE ATTRACTIVE. For me also coin must be silver, gov't minted, low mintage, high grade . . . I personally love NATURALLY toned coins due to their beauty and uniqueness. I find a naturally and attractively toned Morgan Dollar that grades AU/UNC the most beautiful coin in the world. However I will only pay under $30 for raw coin so they take time to acquire.

Coins I also love and believe in: Big, low mintage, spectacular, AU/UNC silver foreign coins; pre 58' Canada dollars; trouble-free Barber Half Dollars that grade VG 10 or better with older hub [pre 09']; love UNC walking liberty half dollars, but unfortunately the affordable ones in the 40's have high mintages and are as common as dirt; trouble-free Canada silver maple leaf 1 oz bullion with mintages under 500k - keep in mind with low mintage bullion all of it grades mostly MS unlike circulated coins, so not as rare as the mintage would normally indicate.

What I avoid: non-silver coins, small coins, rim damage, bad bust scratches, rolls, AT coins [or what appears AT], and coins that are just not altogether that attractive. That is of course personal. I think a nice mid-grade Barber Half a very attractive and masculine coin - however some hate the series, and find it boring.

 

I would also recommend thoroughly researching this topic on this forum. There are a lot of very smart experienced people on here [myself not included, I'm a newbie]. I believe in the 'wisdom of the elders'.

 

Good lessons here, I agree. I agree with the sentiment that many times we get much less than we hope or expect when we go to sell. When I first started collecting I didn't know enough about grading, so I overpaid. And some of those coins were cleaned, but I didn't realize it, and are worth little more than melt. If I could go back I'd move temper my enthusiasm with more education.

 

On the high grade peace dollars, good luck grading them from an Ebay photo.

 

If you want to guarantee a profit, or at least no loss of money, I think roll-searching is about your only choice.

I take that back -- gathering coins from parking lots and CoinStar reject slots is even cheaper, and a truly guaranteed profit. All it takes is time.

 

what are AT coins

 

artificially toned