to spend on coins, best grade or rarity what advice would you give to me? I can continue to build my Peace Dollar slab collection of MS64's and MS65's which I have about 6 slabs to date or I can focus on... spending on collecting Territorial Clark, Gruber golds, while being patient and focus on VF or AU's. If can spend several thousand dollars every few years...should I go with the high quality Peace Dollar slabs or the lower quality but rarer Territorals?
Without specifics...I would suggest collecting whatever is cheapest first. I don't mean cheap....but whatever the cheapest want of yours is. I'm not one to tell you how to spend your money, but out of the $2000, if you only spent around $1650 for the cheapest, you'd have an extra $1750 in 5 years to go hog wild with the Peace Dollars.
Which approach would give you more enjoyment? That's not a flippant answer. Whether your budget is $5 a month or unlimited, there are only two possible justifications for spending it on coins. 1) It's part of your worship of the almighty dollar and you think you can make more profit that way than through other forms of investment. If that's your reason, you're wasting your time on this forum - you should be spending your time with a financial planner/investment adviser. 2) You enjoy the hobby. If that's your reason (and it certainly is mine, and that of most of the members here), then you have to decide for yourself what you find the most enjoyable. Personally I am somewhat of a hoarder by nature, so the world coin scene attracts me much more than the US coin area. I can buy more, more varied and beautiful, and more historic coins for the same money. Example - my primary US interest is in Liberty Walking halves. I'm 4 away from a complete set, but those last 4 (in relatively low grades) will cost me much more than I have invested in the rest of the set, and upgrading the complete set to EF or better would multiply my investment several times. For what those 4 coins would cost me in EF or better, I can get more than 100 AU/Unc silver world coins. BTW - I think that even though they have a profit motive in their business, the dealers who post here are in it for the same reasons I am, as I'm sure they could do as well or better financially in some other endeavor.
I agree with satootoko, you should collect what gives you the most happiness and satisfaction. Will having rarity provide that giddy, silly grin on your face, or will having the highest possible grade you can afford. Frankly, I have been collecting for about 4 months, and focusing on dollar coins from the US. But I found just as much happiness finding a 1 ruble Romanov era coin for a friend than I did finding the 1890 CC Morgan coin that was in my price range. If you get into collecting for the money, you may make some bucks (in many many years) but that isn't the point. You can spot trade gold or silver on the bubbles and make more money, or day trade stocks. I don't think that is what you are talking about, but just in case I didn't want to let that go without saying. I know what I would do with $2000, what will you do with it? What will make you the happiest? Wish you well in your quest! Cris
Thus my dilema---that giddy feeling... comes from both focal points. The rarity of a territorial and the history behind the private miners is fascinating. It is pure art work, the rarity is nice too that knowin not too many collectors can or will concentrate on territorials. The Peace Dollar slabs too are beautiful but from a different perspectve of mine. It is for that era that both my parents were born. Realizing that when they were growing up they probably both came across these coins as children and young adults. I talk about them in past tense as they both are no longer living. Fortunately I can afford for the most part putting together a complete set of MS 64's and MS 65's. They are truly wonderful coins. My dilema is, should I wait until after the Peace Dollar slab is complete in 5 years, will it be too cost prohibitive to consider te Territorials in VF or AU? Who knows?
And there lies the problem!!! Honestly, if both are quests you seek ( for whatever reason I have a Monty Python streak in my writing tonight) I would try and find out the valuations on the Peace dollars, in the grades you are looking at, for the last 5-10 years. I do not yet know what source that could be, but I am sure that one exists. If you feel relatively comfortable that the Peace dollars will hold value for a few years, it may be more valuable to complete your Peace set later. If the Peace graded prices look like they are escalating out of range, and the territorials are fairly stable, you get the idea.... I think everyone at one point has run into this dilemma.
When deciding where or on what coins to spend your budget - you have to leave the money end out of the equation. This is why - the coin market like any other goes up and down in cycles. What you pay $500 for today may in 5 yrs only be worth $250. Or it may be worth $750. Problem is - nobody knows which it'll be or when. But it will - that you can take to the bank. You will always hear experienced coin collectors tell you to never collect with proifit as your motive - they are right. And the scenario I described above is why. If you just collect the coins you like and move on without worrying about what they are worth or what they will be worth - then you usually end doing fine. This is because coin collectiing is something that usually last a lifetime. And over the course of several decades - the gyrations of the market don't matter anymore because your collection has increased in value several fold. So bottom line - don't worry about it. Just collect what ya want when you can afford it
Let me add this thought. Which is harder to collect? Often times, the advice of starting with key dates can also be applied to tougher coins and series. If a customer of mine were to ask which series to collect, I would first ask which appeals the most. Buy what you like the most. If two have equal appeal, then I would suggest starting with the more difficult. For territorial gold, I would suggest that you either buy from a well known and versed dealer, or slabbed. Too many counterfeits on the market.
