I have seen these ads in Coin World for quite a while, here is the website: http://www.randicoins.com/ If you buy one of their "Everest" coins a modern dime, quarter, or half dollar in high grade for thousands of dollars, what would be the profit potential or downside on such a coin if you sold it six months or more later? I can understand that if it fit into the Registry Set phenomenon, it might actually be worth more down the road.
I think it is a matter of how one wants to enjoy their hobby. Its like a Model Railroader prefering to buy expensive Brass super detailed, custom painted rolling stock vs a shake the box plastic kit.
So maybe the way to go for a Modern collector/investor would be to see what they are listing and look for the same coins at a show or from a lower cost dealer. I have heard from others disbelief that people would actually spend big bucks for such coins.
Oh they spend the bucks for them alright, have been doing so for years. R & I has been around for a long time. The question is, how many other people are there out there that will spend that same amount money for a given coin - or more ? You have to realize, a large percentage of the coins that R & I sells go to registry collectors. The company carved out that niche for themselves to cater to those customers and they filled it quite well. But how many other dealers do you see that do that ? Yeah, there's a few, but not many. And that right there provides a pretty good indication of how many buyers for such coins there are - again not that many. So just like with selling any collection, it's a matter of timing. If there are no or few buyers for what you have at the time you sell, then you are going to lose money. But if you get lucky and there just happens to be several people out there wanting to play the same game that you played, then you might make money. It's all a crap shoot, always has been. But in this particular niche market the odds against you are a lot higher than in the regular coin market.
R&I is not for the collector who trolls in eBay looking for a bargain coin. If you are playing the (20th century) Registry Set game, they are the place to go. Considering that, their prices are not out of line for the quality of coin they sell. FYI, Rick Tomaska (the R in R&I) is an authority on Franklin and Kennedy halves and was one of the people responsible for getting the TPGs to differentiate between Cameo and Ultra/Deep Cameo.
My personal opinion is the BU coins are almost sure winners if you get truly high grade coins. Of course this presupposes you don't just get the few dates that are common in high grade. Collectors will probably continue to see spectacular gains and these will actually improve in time as these markets become mass markets rather than specialty niches. I've been almost alone in this belief for decades but then I am getting some spectacular gains for the last ten years as well. The proof market in which R and I concentrates is even more a niche market than the BU's. There are more pitfalls. Largely these markets are smaller leaving a smaller market when you sell. The grading spread in proofs is much narrower meaning these will always be a market that exists at the whim of collectors. It's not that they will go out of styles because they are highly distinctive cameos and will always attract some specialized demand but the supply is tiny meaning they can never become a mass market. I believe these are ideal for collectors and collectors will do very well financially if they stick to good high quality dealers like R and I. However this is a market that is likely to be murder on speculators. Most limited demand very tight markets can be murder on speculators because they shop price lists and deals and never end up with the best or rarest coins. They never "stretch" to buy a coin because they don't have it in their collection. R and I is a solid company with a solid reputation for good checks and selling quality coins. Don't expect that they'll buy a coin back at any given price just because you bought it from them. Shop around for the best quality and value and don't try to invest in these coins and I believe you'll find this company gets a lot of your business.
