Let me start by saying i have no actual working experience buying or selling gold coins, and my experience with silver coins are limited compared to many on these forums. I understand and appreciate buying the best you can afford, and also that there are higher premiums paid for smaller(lighter weight) coins. I have narrowed my price range from 400-600$ and have been looking at 2.50$ Indian eagles and 5.00$ Indian eagles(1908-1929). Due to my lack of experience at this current time i have decided to purchase a slabbed specimen from PCGS or NGC. In this price range i have found 5$ Indians slabbed AU53-AU58 and 2.50$ Indians slabbed AU55-58 and MS61. I'm assuming the dates i found are not "rare" or "key" and also realize certain slabbed coins are going to have more or less eye appeal for said grades and i will pick carefully. With all that said here is the question: Considering these coins are fairly close in grade between the two denominations would the 5.00$ coin be a better investment/value because it contains twice the weight in gold?
Consider - Your price range for the coins is $400-$600. The value of a 1/4 oz of gold is approx $300. The two coins weigh approx 1/4 oz and 1/8 oz. So the numismatic value of the coins, either one, ranges from $100-$300. That means for the gold content to have an impact the price of gold would have to double just to overcome the numismatic value. So the answer to your question is that the value of gold is unlikely to have much impact on your decision.
I see your point there....Do you think i would do better trying to find a more rare date in a lesser condition?
Everything depends on your intent. Do you want to collect a date set? Do you just want to spend $400-600 on something gold? Are you buying to sell in 5-10 years? Are you buying to pass your collection down to your children?
I would like to complete a date set of both the quarter and half eagle indians to pass on to my kids, but i also want to get the best value for my money in case i do need to sell the coins for whatever reason in the next 5-10 years.
Tough one. I would disagree with Doug slightly in that I do think the price of gold has a lot to do with the prices of these. When PM go up, gold coins go up disproportionately since many who start buying gold move to coins. When gold was cheap there still was a numismatic premium, but it was about equal percentage wise versus gold, not absolute dollars. Neither of the options are scarce by any means, so I think the more gold the more security the investment would have. AU $5 used to be almost twice the price of AU $2.5's. I think that is fairer so I would definitely go for a nice looking AU $5. Try to find coins that are attractive versus absolute grade, meaning an attractive 55 I think would be better than a blotchy toned 58. If you like it other collectors will too. Just my opinion but I don't have as much experience as Doug, I have only been around coins 30 years, I think Doug was there when Kroisus invented them.
This being the case, and seeing that you aren't buying simple bullion coins for close to melt value, I would recommend that you do a lot of reading and studying before buying. There are hundreds of fine posts on CoinTalk about the coins you mentioned. Buying gold can eat up your budget very quickly and it is pretty easy to make bad purchases unless you know what you are doing.
Gonna getcha for that Cloud is correct. It is quite easy to get taken to the cleaners when buying gold coins if you do not know them very, very well.
The idea of buying a nice looking AU-50+ 5$ Indian was along the lines of my thinking also. When you say its easy to make a bad purchase is this in reference to counterfeits or are there other issues i should be worried about? Any suggestions on the best place to make a purchase like this where i wont be ripped off? Is looking for an ebay dealer who has good reputation and a good return policy a bad idea? Also want to say thanks to those of you have taken the time to answer my endless list of questions:thumb:
Examples of "bad purchases" would be: 1. Counterfeits 2. Buying a coin presented to you as AU that is really XF or worse [gold is very hard to grade] 3. Buying a coin that is harshly cleaned or damaged 4. Grossly overpaying for what you get My personal opinion is that gold should NEVER be purchased from Ebay. I would stick with coins slabbed by reputable TPGs purchased from reputable local dealers or online dealers recommended by CoinTalk.
