I have been strictly a silver coin collector, however I am seriously thinking of changing into gold. Could some of you gold collectors give me some pointers on purchasing gold coins. What is the best series to collect, Maples, ASE, old US type gold coins or ??? Has anyone made a study on which gold monetary value would be the best buys, (One ounce or less). In your opinion, would you stick to slabbed gold coins or get the sometimes cheaper raw coins? Is there a good internet site or published book that you would recommend ? Any suggestions on a honest fair Dealer/seller? Dave
if i had gold it would only be one of the old ones because of the history if i wanted a high grade id get it slabbed if i wanted to actualy feel the coin id get a raw lower grade
not to repeat enochian, but establish very quickly in the beginning whether you are stacking gold, or collecting gold...trust me. i speak from personal experience here, trying to blend the two is sadistic. next, be prepared to drop some coin. on coins. entry-level is $100-$200. to me, it just turns up the importance of researching each purchase. i used to have silver coin-binge nights where i would snipe like 5-8 coins in a single night with a bottle of wine. i would wake up, and realise i spent a significant enough amount that it ate my coin budget for a little. doing the same with gold coins could be catastrophic. it takes discipline. but is highly rewarding. also, to echo enochian a bit; the "playing with in hand" factor. i have one tube of silver eagles, one roll of silver washington quarters i play with like scrooge mcduck. i stack them, clink them, roll them around in my hand, and i dont get upset that they are all losing their shine very quickly, catching dings, etc. they are like my sacrificial cathode, taking it for the team. i do not have this luxury with gold. its all slabbed. and yes, it does chap my buns a little. but its worth it. 70s. yum.
I'm with the old us type coins too I prefer slabbed if you wanted to play with them I'd buy more common dates in circulated grade raw as your primarily buying the bullion value myself I'm more into eye appeal and numismatic value I buy the later dates in is high of ms as possible and tend to buy the earlier ones in au as it seems you get a lot more appeal for your buck as high ms grades become extremely expensive fast yet you can buy a nice mark free au 55 for half of a banged up ms 60-61
It's an expensive neck of the woods to venture into Dave and the fellows above have lent you some good and sound advice. My advice would be to try and narrow your gold collecting down to a small series or maybe a 'type' set to keep costs as low as possible. Still, a major outlay will be required. Most of my gold collecting lies in the commemorative series.........
Collecting gold is a different animal. Not only is it usually more expensive in a general sense, it has a whole different set of rules, a different knowledge base. Copper, silver, gold, they're all different. And there are different things you have to learn for each one. But in a way copper and silver are easier because they are the most popular, the most widely collected. So there is a wider knowledge base, more books, more articles, more knowledgeable people than you find with gold. And not only are the gold coins more expensive as a general rule, the books about them are often more expensive as well because there simply aren't as many of them to be found. And that applies not only to the number of books written, but the the number of copies printed for each book. And any time you have a smaller number of things, it usually cost more. I used to specialize in collecting world gold. And that all by itself is a different animal than collecting US gold. And I was especially fond of hammered gold, yet another huge difference. And if you think books on US gold are hard to find you should try finding books on that, especially those written in English. But as to your question Dave, what series is the best to collect ? Only you can define that largely because only you know you define "best". I can guarantee you that what's best for me or best for somebody else is not what's best for you. So you decide what you want, how you define "best", and I'll try to help you figure out how to get started going down that path
if it was up to me id want to own atleast one gold coin but i would not get more then oneof them inless my intentions were to sell. like if i came into a bunch of extra money id buy some gold save it intill i needed money and see how themarket is then. way to pricey for me
Looks like your comments got mixed in with a quote of what I said there Dave. But to answer, yes that applies to gold coins too. And yes, hammered coins were produced before they had presses. But dies have pretty much always been around except at the very, very, beginning when I believe coins were cast. In simple terms a hammered coin is produced by having the anvil die stuck in a block of wood with a planchet on top of it. Then a man places the hammer die he is holding by hand on top of the planchet. He then strikes the end of the hammer die with a large hammer. The force of the blow is what strikes the coin up.
Good explaination on the hammered coins Doug. The comments were meant to be mixed, your comment first, my comment followed. On the gold coins I have been looking at are the 1848 series because I am from California, get the connection ? Dave
Yeah I get the connection, but unless you've got very deep pockets I hope you're not including the 1848 CAL quarter eagle. Even problem coin examples of those start out around $20,000 and go up from there. Since you specify 1848 that leaves out the California gold coins/tokens issued by private mints because those didn't start until 1849 with most 1852 and later. Knowing that, in 1848 there were only 3 denominations - quarter eagle, half eagle, and eagle. So are you interested in just that, or do you want an 1848 date/mint set ? Again I'm asking because of the expense involved, you mentioned you've been looking the series, are you familiar with the prices for these coins ? If you are not I suggest you visit Heritage and check realized auction archives for the 1848 gold coins. Seeing what the coins cost will help you figure out what you want to do. In the meantime, to give you a bit of reading material, check the links you find here - http://www.cointalk.com/threads/gold.13985/
I'm going to be less enthusiastic, or perhaps interpreted as supportive, than others with this current plan. The reason for this is that I do not actually see any plan at all. If you are seriously thinking about this change in direction then I would expect that many of these questions would already be answered by you. At this point, it reads to me that you are window shopping and that is fine. If you can define what your interests and goals are then you will be well on your way.
Well put Tom. I think of myself as a "wanna be collector". I collect what I like and then stash it away, looking for other types. I agree that much planning is involved when it comes to high price coins and I only intend to invest in what appeals to me, and what enhances my collection with the limited knowledge that I have. Serious ahead planning has always been a problem for me. At my age now of 77 I don't think it's going to get much better. Thank you for your input.
