Coins, a sound way to invest for retirement.

Now let me start off by saying NOT ALL coin are "safe" for retirement. Eliminate bullion completely, it's value can always crash.

Lately I have been buying old world coins, and some US coins.

If you look at the prices of a lot of the US coins and world coins, from the 60s and 70s, and compare them today, most, if not all, have gone up in price.

A world coin worth 35 cents in 1970 is worth $1.25.

A US coin worth $5 in 1970 is worth $12 today.

....and so on and so on.

Now people might tell you that stocks might be a good way to invest, but with ANY company, it can always go bankrupt, leaving you with nothing. Some of the most well known companies have failed.

Also, a company-based retirement ( a 401k, not a pension) can also be risky. When K-Mart went bankrupt, every employee lost their 401k.

So if you look at it, a $1 world coin should always be worth $1 (provided there is a buyer).

So the value might go down, but usually not.

If you think value CAN go down, pick ANY coin from the 1970s red book, and compare it today. Just about every coin has gone up in value.

So the coins, in theory, should hold their value.

Now if you save money in a bank, guess what? That can go out too, it did during the great depression. I also don't buy into the BS of how your money is "protected" by the government. If something did happen, you would be left with one big IOU. With coins, you at least have a physical object that can be sold to people in other currencies, or traded.

As I said before, you can put your $$ in PM, which could "burst" at any given moment, you could save with the company, which as proven by K-Mart, is not good idea, you could play the stock market, and loose your butt.

So, I think coins are the safest investment.

 

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Most 401K's these days cannot be entirely lost. The majority of corporations that offer their employees the plan have a no risk benefit, meaning their invested amount can never be lost as it is guaranteed by the employer. Mine is both invested and match guaranteed and it's not even our primary retirement, just an added perk to save on taxes.

Now, if you think a 95 cent return on a 45 year old investment is the bees knees, well, there's not much I can say that'll make any sense to you.

Oh, and look up FDIC....your money in the bank isn't going anywhere, even if the bank does.
Guy

 

Let's say you're right and all the coins go up in value . $1to $10 , I bet if you adjust for inflation you will lose money . You always have to adjust for inflation for any investment . I do agree that you will always have something but I think the only coins with real investment opportunity are rare coins , coins that people collect readily and are wanted . I'd think most of these coins are over $1000 and more like $3,000 and up , even then it's a risk . Collect coins because they give you enjoyment and not profit and you'll do fine . JMHO

 

What a novel concept. One that is usually lacking around here anymore.

 

Well, pop always said those proof sets of mine would always be worth at least face value. How right he was on many of them.........

 

:thumb:

 

Coins are a good way to BLOW your retirement investment completely out of the water.

On the other hand, coins are a good way to spend your retirement!

YOU figure out what that means!

 

Okay, Tim, you've found a couple of world coins that increased 2.4x in value from 1970 to today. The MS Morgan that my grandparents gave me around that time has increased 4 or 5 times in value. Not bad, huh?

Yes, bad.

In the mid-1980s, with help from my parents, I put some money into a mutual fund. Even after a 5% "front-end load" fee, that investment has increased by about 9.5 times.

Where do you think I'm putting most of my retirement money?

 

WOW......

Let's just say I respectfully disagree STRONGLY with the OP and leave it at that.

 

Yeah, I'm definitely going to listen to the kid who has thousands in debt at the age of only 21. What do you know about investing lmao. It is unbelievable that you are trying to educate adults with financial backgrounds and life experience. What a joke. You know NOTHING about investing. Although almost every coin has gone up in value since the 70s, many other financial instruments have gone up way more! Stop trying to preach ignorance and a narrow point of view. How do YOU know one investment is better than another? How can you say PM can crash at any time but coins can't? This is probably a good troll I just fed into.

 

Detecto, you don't have the slightest clue about making money, saving money, or investing money.

 

Yeah, I think this thread is the last I'll read of detecto's. Congrats Detecto, you are the first and probably the last on my ignore list.

 

Isn't there losses with mutual funds as well?

 

:jumping-jack:
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Sure. Sometimes they'll go down over the course of a day, or even over a couple of years. But, on average, they gain steadily. I'm still a pretty long way from retirement, so I didn't lose any sleep when the fund dropped heavily in 2000, or in 2008. It's recovered from those drops, and then some.

Now, let me ask you: aren't there losses with coins as well? I remember longing for a 1970 proof set in the early '70's. They were scarce, don't you know, and going for something like $20-25 in early-1970s dollars. I finally got one a couple of years ago, on eBay, for somewhere under $10 (in 2010 dollars).

 

Sure, and you keep investing with your earnings. Possibly you may, if you are lucky, see a 100 percent increase in value (meaning they 'double' in value) over then next 10 years or so. Let's make you double lucky and have them double their value each 10 years. So, if you take 1000 $ of coins purchased and save them for 20 years (and you will --- said no one ever) and then sell them at twice doubled, meaning they are worth 4000 $. You find someone to purchase them at 65 percent of their new value, so 4000 X .65 = 2600 $. Wow! You've made a whopping 1600 dollars on a 1000 investment over 20 years!...... (I'm not really one to figure the annual rate, but I think it's probably pretty low, probably less than inflation even.) But wait, here's the catch.....

During this time, you are so gung ho on buying these that you choose to put some things on credit, which you end up paying --- after interest ---- and 10 or 15 years ..... approximately 3 times the value or cost of the item. So.... you'd rather make sure you have a safe investment rather than putting your money to paying off bills. Amazing logic.

 

I read that mint state 1903-O Morgan dollars sold for 1500.00 in 1960. How would you be doing if you bought a roll of ms62 1903-O Morgan dollars for 30k in 1960

 

The only coins I've made money on have been highly sought after key dates with great eye appeal. Keep in mind...whenever you make those purchases, you'll always feel you've overpaid since they generally carry a hefty premium.

In 1972, my whole family (except my Father) thought I lost my mind when I bought an uncirculated 1916-D Mercury dime for $800. I was 13 and it took me an entire year to save that much money.

 

The thread discusses the value of coins from the 70's and red book values. I wouldn't trust the value of any coin listed in the red book. They do not provide the value of coins but only the value that some coin dealer would like to sell it to you. If coin dealer will pay red book prices, I might believe them.

 

Welcome Phil...haven't seen you post in a while!

When I was growing up, it was well know that the Red Book was only a very loose guide to retail prices; prices you might expect to pay in a coin store. Selling coins was quite a bit different. 50% of Red Book was my rule of thumb.