Investing in rare coins

Me, at 14, went into collecting with the mindset of not making money by buying and reselling them but do it because I would enjoy it. Coins may be worth more when you are much older but for quick money coins are not a good choice.

 

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Gold bullion has done quite nicely over the past 10 years, going from roughly $300 to $1500, which is a far better return than 9% per annum over that period. Silver's return has even been better than 9% during that period, but most of that increase has indeed been over the past 4 years or so.

But it hasn't been luck as much as it has been a matter of time and patience. The economy has been mismanaged for decades. When you have 1) a burgeoning population, 2) declining wages in inflation-adjusted terms with simultaneous rises in goods and services that cannot be outsourced, 3) higher-paying jobs being shipped overseas while new jobs are concentrated in the low-paying service sector, 4) creation of trillions of new dollars literally out of thin air, 5) policies that tend increasingly to favor the wealthy, 6) a stock market and banking sector that are watched over by toothless agencies, and 7) zero interest on personal savings, then you have a recipe for a tanking economy. It was apparent for a long time that the train wreck was coming, it was just a matter of time before gold and silver would attract the interest of people, and organizations, who wanted to prepare for it.

 

Put your money into what you know and love. My brother knows a lot about cars- he knows how to fix them mechanically and make them look pretty. He buys cars at auctions and resells them and makes some money in the process. My mom knows about collectible glassware, she goes to estate sales buys old glassware and sells it and makes a little money. I can absolutely assure you that my brother could turn $1000 into a profit on cars, and a loss in stocks. If stocks are your passion go for it, if not think twice. If coins are you passion go for it, if not think twice.

 

One way to limit your losses is get rolls at the bank. You will always have your $200 and you may find a silver half (though you do not see as many today). Get boxes of old cent rolls and pull out all of the pre-1982 copper ones (in the long term they will be worth something since they contain 2 or 3 cents worth of copper) and roll the zinc ones to turn back in. Also you could try to get new nickel and cent rolls and try your hand at picking out all of the high grade ones. I can safely say that a bag of $50 in copper cents will be a cool thing to have in ten year.

 

maybe get some junk silver and bullion. idk,try and get siome low grade coins cloase to spot. its a good idea to have your money in gold and silver considering no world coin is backed by any precious metal. its whatever "Flaots your boat if you know what i mean

 

Ryan,I am the first to join in the chorus of the people who say there are better investments than coins. But... There are a lot of negative people in coins, which is a shame because there are so many great things about collecting coins. History, artistry, rarity.So while coins are probably not as good an investment as stocks, they are better than video games or cars or a lot of other things. Don't be discouraged by naysayers -- collect what you like and really try to learn as much as you can about a particular series or two. If you become an expert in a certain series, you are more likely to have a good investment in coins someday. Have fun -- you've chosen a great hobby! We need more fifteen year olds.

 

The way I look at it is, if you can hold onto them for a while then buy 'em up. But dont put all of your money into the coins, split it up as some have suggested, little here a little there.... One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard about investing is, Be prepared to lose your money!!! You dont always win so you need a plan A,B,C, and even D. I'm only 13 and I plan on holding my coins for 40-50 years, so I put a little into rarities, a little into bullion, and I have my parents buy stocks for me. I have made a decent return on the stocks so far (7-10%). I currently own 25 shares in an undisclosed company, I paid $9 a piece and they are currently worth $17 a piece, a great return if you ask me, that's nearly a 100% gain and they oughta split soon!! You ever heard the saying "Time is money", same thing in numismatists, but you just need a little more time... The longer you wait the more you make.

 

Thanks guys. My love for coins, actual numismatic historical coins, gar outreaches my investing curiosity. I will never ever stop collecting i just wondered if i could make money doing what i love. Isnt that what we all want in life? To be able to have FUN while making money? Lol. Thats my dream

 

Try the 1914-S barber quarter. Very low mintage and the price is under $200. The 1913-S barber dime is also a good bet on your budget. You could buy a nice 1938-D walking liberty half dollar for under $200. Also many semi key Lincoln cents out there for under $200. Good luck!

 

Haha my money is all gone. I decided to screw investing and bought coins that i like. If u guys want to see what i bought go view my post " how did i do pricewise" in the coin chat forum

 

well considfering only gold and silver is actual money, maybe some of the silver coins you buy today you may view as adding to collection, but when all the Fiat Currencies tank, you'll probably see it as an investment. thats the way i think of things.

 

You can invest in coins. You just have to view it as an investment in enjoyment and love of the hobby rather than an ivestment that is likely to give you a great financial return.
I view coin collecting as a hobby that may pay some monetary return at the end of the day when I decide to liquidate, or I pass my collection on to my heirs. It'll probably pay more than many other hobbies out there.
For $200 if I was in your shoes, I'd buy some common date Morgan or Peace dollars. You can get those for close to melt value, they've got some numismatic value, and may spur your interest to collect the series, if the value of silver goes up you could even make some money on them.

 

I don't really see coins as an investment. Many numismatic coins and currency are essentially illiquid vs stocks or bullion. I do maintain a certain quantity of numismatic material to maintain a market presence. I make money on coins two ways: positive appreciation due to bullion uptick and buying low / selling high as a dealer.

 

Look for and purchase 10-20 semi-key dates, try to buy them all at once for a mini-bulk discount. Sell them on ebay one at a time and let us know how you do.