Coins Worth Investing In, Strictly Your Own Opinion.. Please Contribute

Supply demand, demand supply.

 

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Collecting situations may not last as long as you think. Yes, another old timer with a tale of experience. The high graded coins today ( with Tom's superb coinage excepted) may not have the best future as far as "investment" is concerned. I suspect quite a few have gone through the rare morgans years, as well as the "Classic Commemorative" years of investment.

The commemoratives such as the '35 and '36 San Diego being close to $500 or more in MS-65 in the '80s, and now they are about $200 on the average. Those with rarity such as the hawaiian have held up well, but not as much appreciation as expected.

In short, you probably can't expect investment results from coins unless you really have deep knowledge of their history and popularity rather than just grabbing modern 65-70 coins and expect appreciation. Prices go down as well as up over decades. Eventually coins/ paper money can hit a financial cliff like other historic collectibles over time. Philately ( stamps) being a very recent and visible example. Many new collectors are being caught up in a frenzy fueled by the TPGs and the distributors of modern coins ( not to mention eBay stupidity). It is a big smart dog eats little less smart dog world

Jim

 

If for some crazy reason, I had to invest a large amount in the hobby, I would buy nice looking, problem free key dated. Coins the average collector would wish to own. With Lincolns, I would pick the 1914-D and the 1955 DDO. With the Walking Liberty half and the Mercury dime, I would buy anything 1921. Not sure I would actually make a profit but they would be easy to sell.

 

Good point. Ease of sale is a factor in ROI. I look for coins I like, then historical trends. Consider the series within the trend to see where the pricing is now. Learn from your mistakes.

 

I watch those antique shows on the History channel and notice that some collectors when selling their collection end up selling for significantly less than what they paid, which was full retail. If coins are anything like that I would think that many coins that were bought at full retail would sell below that unless demand on those coins increased significantly. Ebay is just a little weird. I bought some nice IHCs for buck or two but now see coins selling for the same or more that are significantly lower in grade. Sometimes people are asleep too. I think that silver sometimes spike which cause silver coins to increase dramatically when the intrinsic value starts to surpass the numismatic value. The people that make money on coins are those who buy wholesale and sell for retail and have the knowledge to do so.

 

if I had money to put into coins I'd probably sit tight and wait for the next sure thing from the US mint and buy a lot of whatever coin or set they are offering. Like 50 2011 silver eagle sets (that would have cost about $15K) you would have doubled your money in a month or two. Some say that there are no sure things but if you watch close and keep current you should see them pop up.

 

In thirty years of collecting I have noticed a few things. First of all, collecting and investing are two very different things. Second, silver and gold have done much better than coins as an investment. Third, owning coins is much more fun than owning a giant block of silver or gold.

I believe it is very possible to make some good money dealing coins, but this is a far different than long term investing. Dealers will buy anything that walks in the door at a much cheaper rate than we as collectors can buy and try to flip them immediately. Collectors are paying a premium when they buy a coin, so it may take years to break even.

About twenty five years ago, I saved my money and bought ten MS rolls of 1950-D Jefferson nickels as an investment. Today, the price has not really moved. If you factor in inflation, I have lost plenty on that "investment". Conversely, many of my early proof pieces have risen in value ten fold. Since these pieces are in my family collection, they are not really an investment, just coins in a collection.

 

I think that mid-range coins are selling VERY poorly right now...coins that aren't Stunning, but still have collector appeal. High-end examples are expensive because of investors and junk silver is expensive because of metal content. I'm going to give an example with my favorite series:
2002, junk 40's Walker - $2
2012, junk 40's Walker - $13
or
2002, 1916-P G/VG Walker - $18
2012, 1916-P G/VG Walker - $18

There are just some coins that are weak right now compared to what they could be and I'll even include MS-63-64 CC's because by-and-large, their prices have been stagnant while junk counterparts have seen prices triple. JMHO