I realize that this must get asked a lot around here so please forgive me. I have been running around willy nilly over the past 6 months or so picking up various coins (mostly modern silver). Now I would like to center my efforts on a particular coin that may have the potential to gain some momentum in terms of rising value over the next few years as well as being a fun type of coin to collect. Any ideas? I do like the silver coins but if there are other coins that may be more promising I'm all ears.
It is too hard or impossible to predict what future demand will be. I personally like the older bust coinage. To me collecting is about enjoying what you like and not the future value. And of course we all want to make money or have them increase in value. You just never know when there might be an influx of collectors wanting a certain coin(modern or other) which will drive the prices up. I personally think with modern you will always know that high quality coins available - not so with older coins, expecially the key dates. Just my humble opinion.
Well, if you want something that is silver with the chance to appreciate with the price of silver, then you can start very simply with a collection of American Silver Eagles by date. A peace dollar set is also very doable except for the 1928. Franklin halves are also a good place to start. You can adjust the grade you collect to whatever is in your wallet.
The only way I know to collect and by historical measure increase value is to pick key dates from different series and collect those. It is a bit more expensive and you won't be able to accumulate as many coins but the value is pretty good in the end.
Collect what you like. Forget about increases in value. Collectors that do well financially tend to have a talent for grading, spend time honing that talent, bargain well, have good contacts, and spend endless hours on the hobby. So if you want to make money, get better at grading, get better contacts, and bargain harder, and spend endless hours working at getting better at each of the above. Collectors that tend to do poorly financially, tend to share certain traits. They tend to buy for investment. They don't know how to grade, don't want to learn. Don't know much about coins, often ask others, especially dealers and strangers for advice. Often buy coins from a single source, often paying above market prices. Do you have the chops to be in group one? If a person isn't a talented grader, and doesn't have decent contacts, the odds of that person making reasonable money are slim. Dealers make the bulk of the money. A few talented, hardworking (or lucky) collectors do make some. Over the long haul, most others are doing well to break even, especially if they are buying at retail prices and selling at wholesale prices.
All of those are good options among modern silver types of coins. Walking Liberty Halves, Mercury Dimes and Standing Liberty Quarters are other options. Collect what you like though, and don't set your sights too high about making money off this hobby. After all, it is a hobby.
I have to agreed with RedTiger. Why restrict my selection of coins based on whether the coin might increase in value over the years. If I like the look of a coin and I can afford to get it I'm buying it The pure enjoyment of collecting is enough return on investment for me That's just my opinion of course.
Here's some good advice. The only thing I'd add is that to develop the passion that gets you into group one you probably need to collect what you find interesting, historic, important, rare, beautiful, fascinating or some combination of these. Don't be a slave to price guides or grading standards. Use the price guides to give you insights into how coins were used and saved and their demand. Use the grading standards to see what other collectors value. Follow your own instincts and have fun.
Please read my second blog entry. It's somewhat on the long side but in affect it covers this topic. Future entries will cover the making money approach further.
I'm surprised that nobody mentioned Franklin halves... a relatively easy and inexpensive run to complete in high grade; plus meets your criteria of 90% silver. Yep, this would be the coin that I would recommend.
I gotta throw my two cents in. How about Jefferson War Nickels. Only 11 (12 if you count the overdate) coins to complete the set and they are very affordable even in the highest grades. They have silver content, often display gorgeous toning & blazing luster, and have always been very popular. There are varieties for the error collectors, full steps for the strike conscious collectors, and no shortage of eye appealing examples. If you take a liking to the series, you can expand your collection to work on a complete Jefferson Nickel set like I did. I love the Jefferson Nickel series for it's diversity. You can collect it on a budget or at the highest level looking for full step top pops. Here is a photo of my MS66 max registry set. I also think Franklins are a great starter set. Very affordable and easy to complete.
Thanks to all that have given me some great advice on which coins to concentrate on. As has been written many other times in other threads here it's the coin and not the value that gets everyone's juices flowing. It's pretty much the same with me as well. Red Tiger wrote a lot of good things and everyone else brought up some great coins so again thanks for the help.
Personally I don't know if you've got to pick a specific area of coins to collect , I love the silver proofs but also love the older coins & I've got a little of each. Maybe some day I'll get hooked on a certain group who knows. I say just enjoy the hunt & pick up what you like & enjoy them.
I buy alot of key date Indian Heads and Lincoln Wheats and mostly Lincoln proof memorials but only NCG or PCGS, and don't forget Indian head buffalo nickels there are some key dates you can get a good price on sometimes and I agree with the silver war nickels as well. Just look at the 1999 S silver set back then you could have got it for $31.95 now it's worth over $300.00 so there are alot of coins that you can make money off of if your willing to wait until the price jumps. I think everyone has made good points so go for it and have fun. Good luck itsallngoodtime Bob
Beautiful set. This is the only area of Jefferson's I have ever considered collecting. After seeing your set I might just jump in.
