I mostly roll hunt but lately I have been enjoying watching Whatnot coin auctions. I have even won about 5 nice give sways. Which brings me to my questions. 1. Is it a good value to purchase the silver coins? I do mainly 1 oz. Like the Canadian silver maple. 2. Or is it a better value to go with US silver coins like the American Silver Eagles? 3. I have also became quiet fascinated by the older coins like the Barbers, standing quarters, large cents. Are these worth their higher price?
It's not "investing". The only way you'll make money on coins is if you know more than the person you're buying from/selling to, or you make a lucky guess. Sure, if you buy a bunch of random stuff and hold it for thirty or forty years, you can probably sell it for a paper profit -- but the dollars you get will be worth less than the dollars you spent, and you'll have missed out on the decades of returns that an actual investment would have provided. It's hard to go wrong with roll hunting, though. All you're "spending" is time, and if you enjoy it, that's earning, not spending!
I have to say that "coin collecting" and "investing" are mutually exclusive terms for most of us. Not to say that there aren't exceptions, nothing is absolute. But my advice would be to separate these endeavors. If you're buying bullion coins for hedging or investment purposes, then you have to buy this material as close to spot prices as you can possibly achieve. If you're paying $3 or $4 above spot for a coin, then you are probably not going to recover that investment in any reasonable amount of time. And remember that the value of what you've accumulated is exactly what you can get somebody else to pay you for it, not what you've paid for it. It isn't at all clear what you're asking about with this question. As a general rule, if you want a numismatic coin to have the greatest chance of an increase in valuation over a reasonable (two to 10 years) period of time, then you have to focus on the best of the best grade and/or eye appeal and/or rarity. For the coin types you mentioned these can range in price from a few thousand dollars to six figures or even more. Happy to exchange views but maybe narrow the focus of your question.
In my opinion coins and precious metals are like any other type of investment in that there are no guarantees!! However, if you decide to invest in one of these, I suggest coins because if you buy just the metal, (for example silver bars) your only hope for profit is dependent on current market value of that type of metal! With coins though, you also have condition, rarity, availability and desirability in addition to the current market value! Having said that, I will tell you in any form, precious metals are too volatile for me, so I just collect coins I like! If that someday results in a sizeable profit, it's icing on the cake! JMHO!
Full agree with the guys above. Collecting coins and investing are like oil and water. However bullion is a wonderful way to store some wealth in a fun and interesting way.
I see coin collecting as something fun and a place to park money I will never need. I buy Silver Eagles as an investment. They are not part of my coin collection.
coin collecting is NOT investing... You will LOSE money collecting coins.. bullion/silver/gold that's another story, but No unless you own a coin shop, and even then most that try the LCS route fail.... coins are NOT an investment opportunity they are a "collection" made out of love and enjoyment of coins... Making a profit is a rare thing in this world
I'm sorry to disagree, but a learned Numismatist can collect coins as a hobby, and profit over the years. The Caveat is that you shouldn't listen to coin dealers and those that provide advice without practical experience. Mint products generally are only profitable for dealers, of which I've avoided, as stock brokers. If one uses "common sense", finding the "sweet spot" in the various coins, they generally won't lose their funds. If one tries to build the most cherished set, GOOD LUCK at retaining investment. You may lose money at virtually any investment, which I've proven to individuals who listened to others, rather than their inner logic voice. It's the average that counts!. I've generally not lost money on leverage borrowed average funds, but it's a fool that waits for the BIG sale. A collection of less than mint state pre-1965 common U.S. Silver and same condition pre-1933 common U.S. Gold purchased as close to melt that prevails at purchase time will generally result in a future profit. JMHO and experience over 7 decades.
Well…. I see it like this. The more wealth I have tied up in bullion in my safe is less spendable cash that will end up as clothes in my wife’s closet….
