If you're looking for an investment you should probably consider something besides coins. Very few collectors make money at this hobby. Setting that aside, I would rather have the keys. But I know others feel differently. Buy what you like. Lance.
Like Lance said , collectors usually don't make money , Me I'm mainly a type collector so I go for the cheapest coin in the best condition . Key dates tend to do better if the demand is there . But I don't plan on selling my collection , hopefully one of the grandkids will take an interest .
I agree...coins are not a good investment, collect them because you like them but not to make money. That said, I think keys are the safer bet.
Agree with the others the words coins and investment in the same sentence equals a bad idea As in any collectable quality over quantity
Key's hold their value better than common dates, so they would be the "better" investment, but neither will be a good investment if your goal is to make money. If your goal is to collect for the fun of it, and perhaps be able to sell it when you're old and grey, then key dates would be better than commons. If the coins you are talking about are silver or gold, then that's a different story.
Do it because you love it!! And the reason is a simple one why very few people make a dime at collecting! there are so Many collectors and so many coins and everybody wants to undercut the other guy even If it,s losing money and that,s what usually happens!
a type set of semi-key coins would be a cool thing to have. For example choose the 1912 S nickel over the 1885. the 1908 s cent over the 1877. You could still snag a few full key coins on a budget though- the 1932 d quarter in lower grades should be do-able. The best part is reading up on various series and learning about them.
There are ways of making money in coin collecting, but you can't just dive in head-first and expect to make a killing. You really have to do your homework, and that includes learning about everything from grading to pricing to determining authenticity. But even if you have done your homework, I think it is extremely difficult to make money with the following: Ancient coins Medieval/hammered coins Common low-grade coins Common slabbed coins Modern slabbed coins Uncertified type coins* Foreign coins Modern mint products Coins sold on the teevee and in non-numismatic publications Personally, my best luck has been with junk silver that I bought several years ago.
Of the two, key dates. But really that's the lesser of two evils, IMO, as coins tend to be a terrible investment.
Collect coins if you like them. You won't make a lot of money with coins (with the obvious exception of buying low and selling your silver at the peak of the recent silver spike/bubble).
