I'm looking into collecting coins and it seems as if commerative coins may be a good investment, I've just bought a beatrix potter 50p piedofrt coin, it was £100 and I figured it might be worth something in the long run. Am I wasting my time or should I keep going and if so how do I know what I should invest in
Forget about investing...dirty word. No one can predict the future as things go up and down /get popular then not. If you are spending surplus money on something fun you'll find a place in coin collecting. If investment is included, why not collect coins made of gold as "everyone" says it is going up sometime.
Coins are a bad investment. Collect what you enjoy, keep it as a hobby and keep your investments separate.
Like @Insider and @beef1020 said, forget the investing side of coins collecting. Unless you really know what you're doing or you're a dealer, forget it! I would recommend getting yourself established in life (education, car, house, good paying job, etc...) before spending money on any hobby that could "potentially" cost a lot of money. If you have disposable income, go for it. You could get lucky with some commemorative coins. But like @beef1020 said, keep your hobbies and investment separate. If I had to make a living off coin collecting, I would starve! As a kid (many years ago) I bought mint and proof sets "every year" thinking it would be a great investment someday. Big mistake! I collect strictly for the enjoyment and history of the coins. I take it you're from the UK and you're fairly young. Not sure how it is over there today (I do know "everything" is expensive, I lived there for seven years), the economy, jobs and investments here suck! JMO. Good luck with those commemoratives.
I agree with what's been said. Buy what you like and collect because you enjoy it. You can "invest" your money into coins as a labour of love and that's fine. They may appreciate in value over time, or they may not. If you really want to buy coins with hopes they may go up in value, take a long term outlook...minimum 10 years, just as if you were buying stocks, property, etc. Hope this helps. By the way Piedfort coins rock!
If I buy a large collection of British or mixed coins, I usually push all the modern commemoratives aside or only count their metal value if any. Once the initial marketing dies down after a year or so, no one really wants them enough to spring any good money for them. They are happy to wait and pick them up for a fraction of the price after a rew years if they want them at all. Nowadays these things are made in such large numbers and for so many occasions the market is just about saturated with issues. No one can or should try to keep up, the producers will keep churning them out as long as people buy them. All that modern non-circulation coinage that I buy in when picking up a collection that does contain stuff that I want (Pre 1960 UK and world coins) I sell at flea markets for a fraction of the issue price to young collectors, or non-collectors who just fancy then for some nostalgic reason. The way my collection grows is randomly from what might be called finds in the wild, coin lots in non coin auctions, stuff people unearth and bring me because they know I like coins and notes, stuff I just happen across at the right price and even the occasional nice piece I find in large lots of junk silver bought as metal.
Investments are just that-Investments! Collecting is not an investment. Collecting is a hobby. Sure you can combine the two but that's a mistake. Collect what you like, not what anyone else says to collect. The toughest part of investing is summed up in one question-How much of my hard earned money can I expect to get back? Notice, I didn't say make or profit. That's the idea of investing-to make money but a good investor expects to get what they put into the investment back. The profit is a bonus. I personally do not collect commemoratives. For me, the market is unstable and there are too many fads that come and go. Take a look at the Baseball coins and you'll understand. I stick with coins. They have history!
@yusuo , first off Welcome to Coin Talk! It's a great place to learn about the hobby. There are many knowledgeable collectors in most series, World and Ancients included. I echo the sentiments about using coins as an "investment". IMO, it's a place to preserve some money, while at the same time, learn about history, coin minting and many other things. Before spending a lot of money in the hobby on coins, spend some money on coin books. Educating yourself early will be your best investment. Find out which series appeal to you, then buy a series specific book. Learn about the series! If you like the commemorative series, by all means, collect them. It's YOUR collection, no one else's. Also, please ask questions.
Dave knows I love commems......... Welcome to the forum Yusuo. My advice is to 'collect' commemorative coins and not to treat them as an investment tool........why?........you'll lose your investment. Oh sure, the coins will always be worth something, but probably nothing in relation to what you paid for them. If investment is your forte then steer clear of coins, especially commems........fickle market. Best to 'collect' and not invest when it comes to coins. Believe me, I've got a footlocker full of moderns, and I love every one of them, but they wouldn't fetch me a pittance of what I paid for them.........but I love them dearly. I wouldn't part with them for the world. The grandkids and daughters may be disappointed (when it comes to settling up upon my ultimate demise) but I think they won't be counting on any windfall as I've already briefed them about the market trend regarding these. Too bad I couldn't get one man (woman) jack among them to 'collect'. Oh well, it all goes back to the community......others will 'collect' my offal and make sandwiches, and think themselves lucky.............
Everybody here is right. Coins are generally a bad investment. My general rule is to not invest in anything that isn't fungible (other than real estate). So, stocks, bonds, commodities, and derivatives of these things are ok. Collectibles, including coins: no way! This is good advice, and probably applies to all world commemoratives. I also stay away from gimmicky coins like what Tuvalu and the Cook Islands put out.
