Best Investment Coins

I think he is gone. That last post sounded like "Good-bye."

If he did not feel rejected by our negative replies, then he perhaps just did not feel like arguing.

Maybe he went off to do well at coin investing and when he writes a book about it in ten years, we will be in Chapter One.

 

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it's a shame he didn't stick around to see how cool this forum is...maybe the love of the coins would erase the love of the investment

 

investment coins

I am still following the discussion. In fact, I have been following this forum for some months. My orginal post was just the first time I had asked a question. You'all can count on my submitting questions when I have them. I respect the fact that your positions on this is different from mine. I definitely have a love for coins... The fact that I have kept about 60 lbs of coins in my safe deposit box for the past 30 years is proof of that, I think. Being older and richer though now, and in view of the improvement in the coin world's grading standards(via slabbed coins at pcgs), i think the average Joe gets a better chance at fairness. I wouldnt consider buying a coin sight unseen. But it is nice to know that in a pinch, there is a some kind of market that will accept a slabbed coin's grade without too much haggling. I thought it would be nice if I channeled my efforts into trying to make a few bucks, like the big guys do.....

 

I do not recommend buying sightunseen unless you know the dealer or seller very well. I have bought and sold many of the slabbed coins in which I did not agree with the grade assigned. I of course do not sell at MS whatever grade if I do not believe in it myself.

 

I think, so far, my best investment coins have been the ones I used to purchase stocks and bonds with.

Which is funny, because those have also been some of my worst investment coins as well.

 

Get this, Ill pay almost as much for a wore out vf 1884cc than I will for a ms63, because which one is more rare? Same for the 83 and 82's to a lesser extent.

I just get a thrill envisioning a wild west type flipping those coins out playing poker, etc, rather than being stored in a mint bag somewhere for a 100+ years. I can get the ooh and ahh from a cameo'd 81-S.

 

I can certianly understand that logic. Some of the treasury Morgans are much harder to find in circ grades. There is really something about finding a coin that has been used by many people. Each coin will tell the story of so many.

 

That is good to know!

It is hard to imagine a love of money not going along with accounting. In an essay, I once suggested that in a rational universe, accountancy would be the over-arching study, of which economics and numismatics would both be branches, just as zoology, botany, etc., come under "biology."

Agreed. You still have know your coins as a buyer, but as a seller, in a pinch, as you say, a reputable label goes a long way. Yes, you will have to take the hit on the buyer supposing your 63 is the worst possible looking 63, but that is better than it used to be.

I keep the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition on the same shelf as Ayn Rand and Principles of Accounting. I do not do well at the buy and the sell. I learned that when I started in the hobby. I write. So, I make my money writing and use that to buy numismatic items, usually in order to write the next piece. I am more of a Diogenes: more likely to sleep in a barrel while searching for truth. My wife once found a personal counselor she liked and recommended that I deal with some of my (ahem) "issues." So, I told this empathetic if not empathic woman that I wanted to be wealthier but that I lacked greed. (Blank stare.) I want to find out why I am not greedy. (Stare.) I want to be greedy, so I can be successful. "Greed is such a harsh word. I'm sure you don't mean that." End of discussion. So, I don't know why I do not want "things" but I accept the fact that I do not. It is who I am.

 

Key coins in a range of grades, the 1877 Indianhead, 1916-D Mercury and so on.

Semi-keys in a range of grades.

Wire rim Saints. No Motto Saints. High relief Saints.

In paper, the Educational Notes, for instance.

Proofs in all series.

Deep Cameo Proofs in all series, but for coins 1970 and later Proof-70 only.

Ancients: the toughest of the 12 Caesars: Nero, Claudius, Tiberius, and the four Caesars of 69AD. In sestertii, denarii, and aurei.

Ancients: portraits of Julius Caesar.

Ancients: Alexander the Great in high grade, drachms, tetradrachms, and gold staters.

Dusty areas of numismatics, such as Conder Tokens, Hard Times Tokens, etc.

Speculatively, for the next generation, the theory is that Mexican numismatics will explode and it has already shown some growth. Some of that is from US collectors expanding (manifest destiny!) but some of this now and we guess in the future, is (or will be) the result of the gains of Hispanics, especially those who have no direct links to the old country. (At least that's the theory that explains the continued interest in Irish and German coins.)

One caveat: when the stock market tanked in 2000, you could not get rid of US $20 gold coins. In an article, I quoted one major auction house that said that they were a bargain. "It's not like anyone wants them."