I've been looking at platinum eagles as bullion coins and have been shocked to see asking prices on Ebay which far exceed bullion type prices. I know they are made in limited quantities, but I'm not sure if they are considered a "real" coin, or looked upon more as a commemorative coin or other novelty. Mike
You have to try to remember that this is a hobby, not an investment thing. Such coins will be made as long as this hobby is booming which it is now but in the future, who knows. If times get worse or start downward again, or this hobby wears out somewhat, commemoratives are the first to go no where. They would be always worth something, but just as with many such items, you need collectors. Commemorative collectors may not be into those if times get bad again or still. As to ebay? Why not ask for anything someone will pay. If those sell for more thant they are worth, on ebay, that's called normal.
If you look hard enough you can find platinum eagles closer to spot - that said, they are difficult to find though. I sure as heck am too much of a parsimonious Scot to ever pay a premium on what I consider bullion.
What makes a coin numismatic vs. bullion? I've always felt scarcity played a big role. Is that less important than I thought? PG
Check out apmex.... they have them for around 1600$ and maples for 100$ over spot. Great company to deal with. Numismatic vs bullion is generally how its issued... Proof finish coins can become a bullion like coin if they are common enough. 2006 buffalo in proof and bullion go for about the same thing but 2008 ones the proof goes for over 3500$ and the bullion goes for much closer to the 2006 bullion coin.
What's "common" enough? They don't make very many of these, somewhere in the 10's of thousands, yet the term "common" is used... That's part of my confusion on the subject. PG
All depends on demand.... common can mean 200k or 50k depending on how many people want them. Platinum has a low demand generally.
It's because there are way tooooooo many people on ebay who don't have enough sense to get in out of the rain, let alone buy coins. Now this may sound harsh, but they are idiots who have no more of an idea about the true value of a given coin than they do about how to fly by just flapping their arms. The TV hucksters sell their wares by the millions. They offer a "coin" made of base metal, or perhaps silver, plated with 35 cents worth of gold, and they sell them for $50 each. People buy these things as fast as they can make them. Now do you think for one minute those things thos epeople are buying are actually worth $50 ? Well the people on ebay are just like them. A coin has numismatic value because that given coin is in demand and for no other reason. It is not the age of the coin, it is not the mintage of the coin, it is nothing but demand. Now people always want to argue this point with me. But there are plenty of coins out there with a total mintage of less than 50, some less than 30 - and yet these coins sell for not much more than bullion content. Why ? Because there is no demand for them. Nobody wants them. In fact, usually for a coin to have demand it has to have a mintage that is large enough to generate that demand. Take the 1909-S VDB cent. That coin is not rare by any description of the word. I can go buy 50 of them in just about any grade I care to ask for at any given moment in time. But yet it sells for more than all other Lincoln cents. Why ? Because there is a demand for them. Everybody want's one and there are enough of them to go around. It's just that simple.
O.K., fair enough Let me ask this question, do you think these coins have the potential for numismatic value? I agree there are many coins that are out there more for a quick buck type of scheme, commemorative and the such, base metal plated in gold or even solid gold that just won't generate interest. Do you see these as that type of coin? One that will really only ever be treated as bullion? PG
If you are asking about the platinum coins, or any US bullion coin for that matter, as of now they are only considered as bullion by the vast majority of the numismatic community. The numismatic aspect of their market is very, very slim. If that will always be the case I have no idea. But I am reasonably certain that none of us alive today will be alive to see the day they are accepted as having numismatic value.
