$1,000 To Spend on One Coin....

go for the 1896 S Barber quarter, make sure it is certified.

You can pick up a nice G-04 or G-06 for under $1,000

 

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A better grade liberty cap, or some other AU-MS Large Cent.

 

There are some fantastic early type coins in the $1000 range. A 1795 half dollar in G4 comes to mind, or a better grade Liberty Cap large cent as non_cents just mentioned. You may even consider colonials such as the Fugio cent. I know for a fact that colonials have had steady price appreciation over decades. If I was going to spend that much on one coin I would like to have something truly historic and rare. For example, the 1909 SVDB has a higher mintage than the 1794 half dollar and most likely a higher survival rate. Therefore I would choose the half dollar or any 18th century type coin in a heartbeat.

 

I recently got back into collecting and at first I tried to find a balance between investing and collecting. I did lots of historical research and pricing and found that without a doubt the stock market is the best investment, with bullion a far second and coins way way down the list. Yes, certain coins appreciated well, but others didn't.

I've just decided to have fun with mid grade coins putting together a type set for the historical enjoyment. I did buy a few gold coins and if gold goes up to $1450 anytime soon the gold content will cover the entire price I paid.

What steered me away from buying high grade key dates, or even high grade common dates is the doubt I have for the demand in these coins 20-30yrs from now. I look at antiques my grandparents had that were very valuable 30 years ago. The demand is mostly dead for them now because the generation that can afford them now(50yr olds with kids out of college) does not find them attractive or pleasing like my grandparents and even parents did.

Will today's 20yr olds want those high grade key dates in 30 years? I don't know but I'm not confident they will based what they value today. They are used to buying all inclusive proof sets, baseball card sets, etc. The instant gratification.

My parents have always told me not to buy the most expensive house on the block. That has proven good advice. I feel the same about coins. Such a limited market for high end. Granted, it only takes 2 people to really want it and drive the price up. But is it repeatable?

Good luck in whatever you chose.

Sign up for coin facts(PCGS) for a month and just plug coins in and see what historical graphs do. It might give you some ideas.

 

This is an example from Coin Facts. In 2004 the 1909 S VDB MS65 was $7000. December 2013 it was less than $6000.

Put the $7000 in the market in 2004 and you'd be a very happy guy.

This is just one example that drove me away from high grade key dates.

 

The Expert's Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins by Q. David Bowers has some pretty good tips and advice. I'm not all the way through it yet but I really wish I had bought this as my first coin book.

 

my late coin dealer used to tell me and this girl that used work at the coin shop to buy seated dollars. we both looked at him and said our coin buying money for 1 coin was in the $1-200 range. in hind sight we saw that seated dollars sure have gone up in value. If I ever buy 1 seat dollar it would be slabbed PCGS or NGC. the second part is if you ever sell it ya got to get a buyer. coins are a gamble. and that is why I collect for fun. after time I know which of my coins will get more money from their scarcity. I would guess if you are doing it just for investment buy numismatic gold.

 

Low-mintage (1,000 pieces or less) world-coin silver, and silver proofs.

Incredibly rare, but nobody cares. ...At least for now. If the anticipated "Asian Market" really gets going, these things could be later flipped for a sweet profit.

That's my hare-brained theory, anyway.

 

A thousand bucks ain't going to buy you much of anything that will be appreciable over 20 years that would not have earned much, much more in some other investment. This doesn't even bring into account that you stated "premium" which is really, kind of a relative term!

What I would advise you to do, if your heart is set on coins, is to look for something that will not "devalue" over the 20 years. Then, in 20 years you'll be able to pull it out of the bank box (which costs you a minimum of $1,000 at $50 * 20 years) and be able to sell it for, $1,100/$1,200. Sounds like a winner! Well, until you add in the actual money spent that is.

Probably any of the classic coins will allow you to meet this goal. A 3 Leg Buffalo might be the best bet BUT you'll have to do some upfront work. Namely, You'll have to be able to find a coin that is:

1 Good for if not higher than the Grade
2 Has features which are desireable by the "collectors" of that particular coin

In order to do this, you'll have to "know" what you're doing which is going to require some effort on your part. By that I mean, attending coins, going to coin shops, shopping, studying, and generally getting involved in the hobby.

If you are looking for something that I going to "make" you money, than you're going to need a lot more than $1,000 PLUS, you'll actually have to "educate" yourself on what it is that you have so that you can protect that investment and prevent future losses.

Without trying to sound trite, taking $1,000 and buying something that will appreciate well into the future is something that is not very easily accomplished. If it were, then everybody would do it and we'd all be millionaires! I seriously doubt that you'll walk away from this thread with any information that you can actually use other than take your $1,000 and "invest" in something other than coins.

 

Better yet, take your $1,000 and attend an ANA Summer Seminar if its really coins that you want for the future.

BTW, a few years back, I took $3500 and purchased a nice 1972 Type 2 IKE Dollar in PCGS MS65 Plastic. I thought that this was a safe investment. Wrong! I'e lost better than half my investment. BUT, I do enjoy the coin.

On the other hand, I spent $2250 on an AU55 1955/55 Lincoln. That one has only cost me a couple of hundred but I feel confident that it will not lose nearly as much as the IKE has.

The point being, classic coinage has modern coinage beat hands down in the devaluating scheme of things although both are "enjoyable" and much, much cheaper than Radio Controlled Airplanes!

 

I cringe when I read these types of analyses. The point about investing in stocks may be very true, but the selective use of numbers (I wouldn't call it statistics) pretty much invalidates most or all of the points that are trying to be made.

Yes, $7,000 in a DJIA weighted fund would have performed well from 2004-2014, but it would have required that one have purchased a DJIA weighted fund and not individual stocks that the investor might have favored and would also have required that the buyer would hold the fund for the full decade without selling while the DJIA went down quite a bit in the 2007-2009 time frame. Neither of these is a given.

Also, the numbers for coin values quoted are simply a PCGS price guide and are not real-world auction records. The auction records are much more valuable than numbers that PCGS publishes as a price guide. Auction records show that in 2004 the 1909-S VDB in MS65RD (I am using RD because that is the PCGS page that is shown) sold on average at around $5,400 and in 2013 at around $4,900. It's definitely less, but the 9% or so drop is somewhat softer than he 14% drop shown in the chart.

Additionally, the choice of coin is somewhat arbitrary. Why choose the 1909-S VDB and not the 1909-S IHC? If the 1909-S IHC were chosen with the above parameters we would be talking about a coin that sold around $4,500 in 2004 and $5,800 now or a gain of about 29%. The choice of coin to use in the analysis is critical as is the realization that these coins are not entirely interchangeable and that one piece might sell for $7,000 around the same time that another sells for $5,000; that aspect is not always present in stocks of the same class, fund or company.

Lastly, many folks find investing in stocks (or bullion or other commodities) to be rather sterile while collecting (investing) in coins is great fun. This is not addressed in these charts.

 

Case in point both I bought for right around $1k half is pcgs vg-08 I feel both are good problem free coins for the money

 

Oh how I know this being in the antiques business the standard stock in trade pieces that appealed to the customers in the 60s to the 90s are so dead now and the common lower end and problem pieces are basically the price of used furniture the better grade higher end 18th c furniture which I specialize in took a big hit but is still selling but at reduced prices same goes for real estate the mediocre houses that they cranked out and slapped together during the boom aren't selling unless their almost free the quality custom built houses and quality old houses are selling readily as long as the price is fair at least in the greater portland Maine area the same true for coins if you can buy a quality higher grade or rarer date problem free coin it will always hold more value then lower grade problem coins having my hands involved in all 3 businesses I can speak from experience and the three have many parallels

 

Yes, I knew this would generate some discussion. The point is that there is absolutely no way to determine what the future buying interest will be in anything 20-30yrs down the road. A hot coin today may be a dog down the road. Heck, who thought certain fashions and trends that died in the 70s would be coming back in vogue.

Looking at about 25 coins for historical performance was all I needed to know that I'll keep collecting as a hobby and not investment. No, I didn't utilize an in depth analysis of the coin market and trends. I peeked, didn't like what I saw and that was it. I have other people "invest" my money and I pick them based up the risk I'm will to accept and how long I want to realize a return. Yes, you can make money on coins if you pick "the" right coin. I'll just be curious to see how all these moderns going for high prices in MS70 pan out. Seems odd to me what they command but at least right now there must be a market. Of course sports memorabilia was hot once too.

I wish luck to everyone that invests in coins but for every winner, there is a loser. Some lucky winner buys when it's at it's lowest and some poor loser buys when it's at it's highest.

Simple honest question though. I've never been to large coin show. What's the average age? Is there much youth interest to carry the hobby 20-30yrs down the road?

 

I could've bought that $10 million 1794 flowing hair $1 for $150k in 1979 problem is I didn't have $150k then or now just saying tho as an investment and common $20 gold used to be $400 I feel quality coins a good long term investment and something you can enjoy just don't expect to get rich quick

 

1885 CC Morgan in a NGC, GSA Holder

 

"Simple honest question though. I've never been to large coin show. What's the average age? Is there much youth interest to carry the hobby 20-30yrs down the road?"

I'm in my 40s and can tell you that back in the 1970s when I first went to shows that the average age appeared to be about what it is today. More or less males with some disposable income from their 30s through 70s with the highest population in the 40s and 50s.

 

I don't know that you necessarily need a ton of "youth" interest to carry the hobby. Many people come to the hobby in their mid-20s to mid-30s -- when they have acquired their first steady job and have the disposable income to jump into the hobby. Others of us (like me) came to the hobby very young (I was 9), but take breaks for things like college and grad school. I was away from the hobby from the age of 17 to 23 simply because I was busy with other things. Once I got my first job, had a steady paycheck, and was established with things like buying a house, etc. I came back to the hobby with renewed interest and fervor.

Another point -- you can't gauge "youth interest" by looking at the demographics of a large coin show. How many kids do you know who can afford to fly cross-country to a large coin show? The largest coin shows simply don't cater to youth, other than those whose parents are going to the show or kids who happen to live in the same general city area. I just went to my first FUN show in Florida in January, and there are vast numbers of people who travel to attend that show. Thus, the demographic will be hugely slanted towards the ages of people who can do that (you can't even book a hotel at the age of 16!).

 

I would search for a Platinum coin. I have not a Platinum coin in my collection.

 

Definitely a bust half. They are becoming harder and harder to find uncleaned. You can get a nice au+ coin for about $1000 that will be sure to appreciate over the next couple years!