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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;physics-fan3.14, post: 3287870, member: 19165&quot;]Do you account for Inflation when you are calculating the cost basis of your coins? </p><p><br /></p><p>Should you? </p><p><br /></p><p>Let&#039;s ignore the definition, cause, source, or political commentary surrounding inflation (I don&#039;t want to sidetrack this thread). Let&#039;s just take inflation as a fact. Inflation changes the value of money over time - A dollar in 1969 bought a certain amount of goods, a dollar in 2019 buys a different amount of goods. </p><p><br /></p><p>So, lets say I&#039;m looking at the very first Capped Bust Half dollar that I ever bought, this gorgeous 1827 which I purchased raw in 2008. It later graded as VF-25, and is the O-140, R4 variety. I paid $200 for it in 2008. </p><p><br /></p><p>However, if you compare that to 2019 dollars.... that&#039;s $251. If I only tracked the actual price paid, I&#039;d think I paid $200 for it - which is a significant difference. The spreads only get wider the further back you go. If you bought a $100 coin in 1985 (the year I was born), that&#039;s the equivalent of $231 today. Some of you have been collecting even longer than that - a $100 coin in 1970 is the equivalent of $642. </p><p><br /></p><p>I know many of us track our collections. Purchase date, price, and who we bought it from are important pieces of information that many of us keep a record of. But, does anyone else adjust that purchase price for inflation? The spreadsheet that I use updates it for me every year (I just plug in what year I bought a coin, and I have a table of inflation rates for each year. Based on what year it is now, it updates the price paid). </p><p><br /></p><p>This information is somewhat trivial if you&#039;re just holding onto your collection. However, the way I see it, inflation must be considered when you are selling a coin - you need to know how much you really spent on it (in today&#039;s dollars). You must also consider inflation when purchasing a coin. You have to consider the future value of the coin, especially if you are making large purchases. (This goes back to the &quot;coins as investment&quot; debate we&#039;ve had a few times recently - but I feel that this is an important topic to cover that often gets ignored). </p><p><br /></p><p>You may say $200 to $250, not a big deal. But let&#039;s look at a second coin - this 1815/2. I paid $5315 for it in 2012. In today&#039;s dollars, that&#039;s $6154. For most of us, that&#039;s a lot of money. Assuming the inflation rate holds around where it has been (on average about 2% for the last 20 years), the price I paid for that coin will continue to rise exponentially. Will the value of this coin continue to rise at a commensurate pace? I don&#039;t have that answer - but when you&#039;re talking about expensive rare coins, I feel it is something that must be considered. I am first a collector and numismatist, but I absolutely have to consider the investment aspect of the hobby at the same time. This may be anathema to some of you, in which case please just ignore this thread. </p><p><br /></p><p>So, what do you think about inflation, and how much of a concern is it to you and your collecting strategies? </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]869220[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]869219[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]869221[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]869218[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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