Any Recommendations or Advice?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by Good Cents, Nov 15, 2019.

  1. GoldFinger1969

    GoldFinger1969 Well-Known Member

    Substitute a greedy coin dealer for RV Bob and a novice in place of Homer Simpson::D

    "Thank you, God !!"

     
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  3. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    For a minute I thought that that 2014-D Zincoln was one of your most expensive coins. :D
     
    LA_Geezer and -jeffB like this.
  4. sonlarson

    sonlarson World Silver Collector


    Take a peek at some of the Silver coins I have collected over the years. The link is on my signature line. Some are winners and some are not. But, I have enjoyed the process of obtaining them over many years. There is some reasoning behind every purchase. They all fit within my collecting criteria of collecting what I like. Very, very few were obtained with profit motivation.
     
  5. CaptHenway

    CaptHenway Survivor

    EVERY investment entails substantial risks. Ask people who bought homes in 2007.

    Coins are a great hobby. I would not recommend them as an investment, especially for someone who does not know them well.
     
    ldhair and GoldFinger1969 like this.
  6. LA_Geezer

    LA_Geezer Well-Known Member

    Agreed with all of Randy's post (abbreviated) and the many others here. Let me add that I have way too much "invested" in ASEs, and a large amount in Morgan and Peace dollars, Walkers and Indian Head cents. My biggest concern is that if I pass away before I can unload most of what I have, my spouse will take the collection to one of those places that put everything on a scale; they may not even want the IHCs.

    I've reduced my own coin buying to one per month.
     
  7. Randy Abercrombie

    Randy Abercrombie Supporter! Supporter

    Don’t mean to hijack the thread..... My dealer is a very trusted friend. I set up a deal with him to look after my wife and fairly compensate her for my collection. He will even auction the high value pieces for her. I keep his business card on top of each of my coin boxes. She knows where to go when I leave the party..... Just a thought. I know I want to keep enjoying my coins. It has to be quite a burden worrying about selling off a lifetime collection at the right time.
     
  8. GoldFinger1969

    GoldFinger1969 Well-Known Member

    Guys, just give your wives an approximate value for your coin portfolios. An Excel spreadsheet with approximate prices per item is also recommended.

    I do this with stock and bond and other assets for F&F.
     
  9. mynamespat

    mynamespat Well-Known Member

    I'm kind of surprised nobody has said it yet: If you want to make an investment in this hobby, the best investment is knowledge. Buy the book(s) for the series you are interested in (and read them ;P).
     
  10. Bob Evancho

    Bob Evancho Well-Known Member

    I totally agree with "mynamespat". BUY the BOOKS before you buy the coins. I did this 64 years ago, starting out with the red book, a grading guide book, Spadone's error and variety book and my blueberry and princess pine money. First coin bought at a coin show when I was a little tyke was a Good 1918-7 D Buffalo for $20. It's in a graded holder now and still good. Coins were cheap 64 years ago. You could still get a silver dollar at the bank for a buck. As the years went by I would buy a key coin from time to time. Not as an investment but for the enjoyment of the hobby and/or the beauty of the coin or the history of the country. I can safely say this, In 64 years, I have never lost money on a coin. Buy a cherry pickers guide and go to small shows. Knowledge is power. You could cherry pick some key and semi key coins if you have the knowledge and a good eye. Enjoy the HOBBY. My best cherry pick is an 1878 VAM 44A Morgan dollar now graded MS-61 which cost me $50. I have an original copy of Les and Sue Fox's "Silver Dollar Fortune Telling" and many books by Q David Bowers and Walter Breen. All of my books have paid for themselves hundreds of times over. Happy coin collecting/investing.
     
  11. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    My advice is worth the price it costs to post here. :) The only "safe" investment would be to pick one or two "key" coins in a series and buy the highest grade slabbed example you can find. Guaranteed profit...no, but you shouldn't do badly.
     
    LA_Geezer likes this.
  13. gbandy

    gbandy Junior Member

    I have to say I have been very puzzled when I come across anyone supporting the idea that coins or any collectible can be an investment (lots of authors who are also dealers seem to advocate this quite strongly). In my opinion, an investment should have some kind of underlying value, for example a commercial property: market rents are a known quantity, and maintenance expenses can be accurately estimated, it is reasonable to predict the profitability of a property given the initial purchase price. Of course there is an element of speculation as we have uncertainty about potential periods of vacancy, fluctuation of market rent values over time, etc. However, I would argue that predicting the future value of any collectible is nearly 100% speculative, you're hoping someone in the future will be willing to pay more than you did at the time of purchase, the only way that will happen is if there is more demand for your coin in the future, and that cannot be predicted with any reliability.

    My point of view is to enjoy collecting spend what you feel comfortable spending, but don't use the idea of this as an investment to spend more than you would on any other hobby.
     
  14. juris klavins

    juris klavins Well-Known Member

    An interesting one time collecting/speculating opportunity is coming up in the next 13 months - accumulate a 1921 year set of (14 coins) cents, nickels, dimes, quarter, halves and dollars - in AU-50, you can get it done for about $20k - if you're willing to go VF-20 for the three halves, it's only about $8K. If you'd like to include the double eagle in AU-50, another $50k should complete the set in its entirety.
    1921 was a special year for US coinage, with lots of low mintage 'keys' produced that year - 2021 will be the centennial and lots of serious collectors may be interested in the '21 year sets - you'll have a high quality complete set ready to offer at a nice profit - just an idea, definitely a speculation, but worth considering - even if you can't attract an acceptable price, you'll still have a cool key year set that will hold its value into the future - your descendants can try again in 2121 ;)
     
    Randy Abercrombie likes this.
  15. wxcoin

    wxcoin Getting no respect since I was a baby

    My mother's birth year was 1916 and I've come to the realization that I'll never put together a complete nice grade set.
     
    -jeffB and juris klavins like this.
  16. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Counterexample: historically, you'd do poorly betting against fine art, as I understand it...
     
  17. gbandy

    gbandy Junior Member

    Sure, I'm certain there are plenty of examples where people have collected something profitably. My point is that when you make the decision to purchase a collectible, there is no data or information available to help you reliably predict if that item will appreciate in value 10,20,30 years down the road.

    When I mentioned "value" in the previous post, I meant it in the business sense of the word. If I make an "investment" in something I am expecting it to provide value, i.e., profit for the duration of ownership: rents on a property, dividends from a stock ownership, interest earned on a deposit, or a reduction in my operating expenses (e.g., converting your house to solar energy).

    With respect to OP's original question, I would not consider buying collectibles to be an investment for anyone without expertise in that domain(possibly/probably not even for an expert). Further, there is no one who can advise you on which coin to buy that will be profitable to own, any suggestions along those lines is purely speculation. Its easy enough to find any number of articles written by experts in the field that claim the coin market rivals the stock market for "investor" returns: (https://invest.usgoldbureau.com/new...n-the-past-vs-the-dow-jones-industrial-index/) anyone who followed the advice in the article from 9 years ago is most certainly quite disappointed. I'm very skeptical of something labeled as an investment when the primary driver of value is speculation on the future sale price. If you are not familiar with the Tulip Mania episode from the Netherlands in the 1600's I highly recommend checking this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania. When the market price of something continues to go up and up without any change to the underlying value, you should be skeptical.

    If you have extra cash looking for a home, I would recommend paying off any outstanding consumer debt (guaranteed payoff in interest avoidance) and then parking whatever is left in a low fee stock index fund, like an S&P 500 index.

    I really enjoy collecting, I love the history and it seems there is always something new to learn, but I have been quite frustrated when dealers and coin business-people advise collectors to buy the "best coin you can afford" with the implication that it will be a better "investment", this advice is certainly helpful for dealers, but for the average collector, I'm not so sure.
     
  18. gbandy

    gbandy Junior Member

    Here is the last 10 year trend from the PCGS Key Date and Rarities index:
    upload_2019-11-17_8-54-29.png
     
  19. Cheech9712

    Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

    Dude pick. Forget it. Find a set you like and lose money on something you can enjoy
     
    gbandy likes this.
  20. Cheech9712

    Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

    I
    I use to bet on the greyhounds. Lose money quicker
     
    Kentucky likes this.
  21. Cheech9712

    Cheech9712 Every thing is a guess

    Seabrook N.H. track. Anybody know it?
     
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