Coin Collecting as a Retirement Investment

Oh yea studied and learned.
Took lots of time and education and I'm still learning. I don't think you will ever really know it all.
But like any investing you should you should do your homework or risk making mistakes and with a thing like your retirement I'm just suggesting you save for now until you find something your confident in doing. Whether is coins or something else.

 

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Naked came I, to collecting........

 

I suppose it's possible for a very knowledgeable person to start buying coins or currency as a long term investment and make some money. OTOH, that same person could take the same amount of money, using the same consistent investment schedule, and make significantly more on traditional investments. (somehow avoiding the Wall St fraudsters) In 2008 or 2009 I posted a similar question to yours in CoinTalk re: gold coins as an investment and took about 80% of the sound advice offered in the replies. Through blind luck I've done OK, eg, 1924 $20.00 Saint Gaudens gold coin NGC MS 63 for cheap, 2009 St Gaudens UHR for $1,189.00 that's worth around three thousand today and several other gold coins that have significantly increased in value. A few days ago I ordered five American silver eagle anniversary sets for $1,505.00. They're are worh around $3,000.00 now. Probably all of these coins will significantly decrease in value when the price of precious metals takes a dive. Of course, there was one piece of advice I didn't take that would had made me some big money.

Another poster, DesertGem?, suggested TD Ameritrade. I don't think anybody investing in individual stocks can to better than a free TD Ameritrade ROTH account with no charge DRIP reinvestment feature which includes a free annual statement. A stable 4% - 5% or more dividend reinvested for 15 or 20 years would fatten that account nicely over 15 - 20 years.

Good luck.

 

I've invested in silver coins, but stuff at/near metal value. both circulation coins and bullion coins. various countries, but mostly US.
I don't get into investment coins of whatever metal.
The right recent circulation issues, available at/near face value now, may hold up. However, I tend to do that with bills instead of coins.
I have no idea about the tax issues.

 

If coin collecting was a good investment, all coin collectors would be rich.
Do it for the fun of it, win some, lose some, enjoy the hobby.
If you want garaunteed income, this isn't it.

 

Coins and bullion are risky, only "invest" if you can afford to lose.

 

Over the long term, coins can be expected to hold their value after inflation. Of course, then you're subject to very substantial bid-ask spreads, and you have to buy right. If you catch commodity prices right, you have additional upside. You're better off with precious metals ETFs.

 

Idk maybe I'm just looking small picture but I see it as if you stick to bullion coins and more importantly popular collections of bullion coins it would make a good investment. Granted you are still going want to have more than just coins but seems like jim knows this and just want another place to put his money that may make money in the long run. Nothing is a guarantee but the rare ASE coins seem to make a profit. again this is just my option.

 

if you want to invest in bullion, why would you not invest in etfs where the bid-ask spread is smaller? some may counter that precious metals are needed in case the system breaks down. I'd argue that in that event, canned goods and ammo will be worth more than bullion. stick to financial assets.

 

Coins can be a fun and interesting hobby, but I personally do not see coins as a good investment. PM's can be a sound investment if you get in and out at the right times. One important thing to consider in with the amount of money I believe you are considering - 5 to 10K, you may be limited as to who you can resell that amount to. As well as tax implications (sales and/or income) on a coin/bullion transaction of that size. Many things to consider, and yes good to ask first but my advice would be no to investing in coins for retirement.

 

If your going to slabbed look up legend coins you need top 5% of the market to realize a profit in the long run...

 

Sorry, but I strongly disagree with that. You can lose (or make) money on high end coins, just as you can on low end ones. Collectors can bury themselves in great coins, just as they can in terrible ones. The keys are knowing the market and the coins, extremely well, and timing of purchases and sales can be equally critical.

 

Famous last words when selling off a collection: "I'm hoping to break even, I could really use the money."

 

We all know that mark, im just trying to avoid creating another cherrypicker.
Only way you could make a slight profit, is if you cherry picked it.

 

Retirement planing is about:

Long term diversity.

It isn't about moving large chunks of money from this investment to that, chasing whatever the current short term trend is.

Sure your 401K has been hurt the last 3-4 years..or even the last 8-10. But...who cares? Does it MATTER how it looks today, or does it matter how it looks 15 years from now?

Can coins and metals be a part of an effective and diverse retirement plan? Of course they can. Lots of investment grade coins have 15, 20, or 50 year track records of steady, slow growth in value. Nothing at all wrong with diversifying into them on some level.

But that's true of nearly any investment. Picking up some small percentage of an investment with an extended record of long term success is, quite simply, a "good idea"...whether it's coins or widgets.

By the same token, jumping out of investments every time they perform poorly for 5 years, and trying to chase the latest fad, or risking your entire future on the hope a single investment will perform well for the next decade, is a bad idea...again, whether it's coins or widgets.

I would absolutely recommend to someone that there are wise long term investments in bullion and numismatics if they're willing to do the research to find them...ESPECIALLY if they think they might enjoy the process along the way.

I would NEVER recommend anyone make bullion or numismatics...or ANY OTHER INVESTMENT...more than 25% of their portfolio or their annual retirement contributions.

 

Well said,
If you intend to retire you have to pay below wholesale, know how to grade coins etc.
I can tell you members with an eye for this are far and few... Only johnny and golden eye come to mind. Theyre good at what they do and stick to their guns.

 

My coin retirement plan, I am working now, so I buy lots of rolls to search through, I pull the copper, and the wheats and look for some varieities, I put the copper and wheats in jars, when I retire and probably will not have the extra cash to indulge in the hobby, I will have thousands of wheats and copper cents to search for varieties, rpms etc.

 

I'm inclined to disagree here, but more from a perspective of personal finance than one of numismatic.

Without a doubt, the way to make a LIVING in numismatics is to do exactly as you say. But we're not trying to make a living here...we're (hopefully) simply adding one more investment to a large basket of investments, all (or at least most) of which we hope to contribute SOME small amount over a great many years.

That said, there are a great many coins that come to mind as suitable investments. Let's consider, just as an example, the 1916-D Mercury Dime in higher grades.

NGC says an MS65 16-D Merc has gone from $20,000 to $27,000+ in the last 5 years, for example. More intensive research...the type one might do if considering a retirement investment...suggests that the 30% or so rate of return, every 5-10 years, is not unusual for this coin. Its track record since the 30's is exceptional. While it has, indeed, lost value the last 2-3 years, remember we're talking about 15-20-30 or more year track records.

Certainly, one might expect to take a bit of a hit off retail if one found it necessary to sell the coin quickly...but over a holding period of 20 or more years, as we're talking about here, we can reasonably expect to cover that loss, EVEN if we paid retail for the coin today, and, knowing NOTHING about grading, simply looked for an example in a top tier TPG holder graded at MS65.

Admittedly, it's ALWAYS possible that the track record of the last 70 years no longer holds, and the next 20 years see the coin plummet in value. It happens. This, of course, is PRECISELY why we don't sink any significant part of our portfolio into a single investment.

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Clearly, any given investor, like the OP or anyone else, may or may not be in a position to through $25k at a single coin, nor do I mean to offer the 16-D Merc as "my suggestion of a good retirement purchase". Rather, merely to have an example to illustrate the thinking.

Put another way, investing in Ford doesn't necessarily mean one has to know how they make cars, how to determine whether any given model is of high quality, nor how to buy their stock at less than current market value.

One simply has to select a company with a reasonable expectation of steady growth over a long term.