Investing vs Collecting

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Excellent article Doug, thanks for posting it!
After reading it through I can say with certainty that I am a true collector in that I just can't bear to part with any of mine Silly that I can be so attached to these darn things...but I am.

Thanks for the great read.

 

That is a good article. I have one question. Is a survivalist, who buys gold and silver coins for barter when things go belly-up, a collector or an investor?

Hmmm. Silver Bullets.

 

Boy, does that article hit home for me. I consider myself both a collector and an investor; I buy Morgans with appreciation in mind, sell them (hopefully) at a profit, take the gain and reinvest it in higher grade Morgans. Unfortunately, I reach a plateau for any particular coin date/mint beyond which I will not sell (unless I'm $ desperate) since the coin is so nice, I just can't part with it. My ultimate goal is a Registry-level collection which will be worth a lot, is eminently liquid, but is worth showing off. The ultimate question and my quandary would then be: at what point in my life do I part with my collection or can I take it with me to my grave? I guess that makes me more a collector than an investor; or maybe an investor who got converted.

 

Does that make you a "investollector" ??????

 

See Doug - we don't disagree on everything.

 

Another example : a man put a $1000 on 5% deposit in the stable bank in 1934. Lets say, for his future great-grandchildren.
IF the bank doesnt close in 71 years, IF % rate doesnt change during 75 years, IF Incle Sam will forgive you for not paying taxes during 75 years ( or interest rate is more than 5% to cover taxes) his great-grandchildren will have $31,947 in 2005.
: a man change $1000 into 1-penny coins from circulation/banks in 1934. What % of circulation of pennies could be Indian pennies, considering that they were gone just 25 years before? If even now, 46 years after Wheaties are gone, 0,4-0,5 % of circulation are wheaties. How many BU wheaties could he get? How many 1931-s, 1932, 1933D he could get in MS60-MS65? Early teens in nice grades?
Do you really think his great-grandkids couldnt average more than 32 cents a coin?

1960- $1000-bank-5%- $8,900 in 2005
1960-$1000 in wheaties(some BU, early dates)-?

1909- $1000-bank-5%- $108,100 in 2005 (how many banks do you know which didnt fail in 96 years?)
1909- $1000-in BU/early date Indians/ BU 1909, 1909s, 1909VDV, svdv--
----even at $1,5 per coin, it makes a hell of a difference.

Finally, you dont have to pay taxes over your coins, you dont have to look for tenants for them, you dont have to paint/repair them every year or two.

 

All of these BU coins existed back then, but where are they now? Even the ones that were saved, some kid spent them along the way, someone's aunt decided to clean them up with steel wool, someone else needed a few coins to pay the paper boy, etc etc.

That doesn't even consider the broken water pipe or the fire or the tsunami that could have ruined the coins somewhere along the way.

 

protect my coins

Doug
The article was great mad me rethink some of what I was doing and the comments that followed are educational.

One question: Did you notice the advertisment at the end of the article?
"Protect my coins"
for those of you who don't read the articel the advertisment is for GUNS.

 

With bullets you can get as much silver and gold as you want. Or, you can simply make sure you keep what you have.

In any case, I do not consider a survivalist a collector or an investor as much as a hoarder.

In the old days (a few decades ago) people bought bags of silver for the day when society broke down and there was no stable currency. I wonder, however, how many in the screaming hoards of lawless people in this day and age would know what a silver quarter was??

 

Lone Ranger

Yes but do you remember the Masked man who wasted his money on Silver Bullets- when he could have had some valuable coins if he had only saved them--Shoot me Shoot me how about a couple of Gold cannon balls

 

The real beauty of coins, if you buy into nice specimens that other collectors would ultimately want your money is pretty safe. I can put money in the bank, savings and checking, and me and my family eat at it and eat at it. The fridge will quit, the sweeper quit, and the car break down! It is inevitable the drain WILL never end but if I put money in coins, gold or silver or guns the money never leaves me until I am ready to sell and that point in time is ENTIRELY up to me. No paperwork, no taxes, no trail unless of course you do over $10 grand in any one outing which most of us can't or won't do. Basically my hard earned money is very SAFE as long as I purchase items that most collectors would like to have and I purchase at a very agreeable price! I am very very comfortable with this arrangement as (1) no one else is in control of my money, (2) no one else is constantly telling me what I should do with my money and (3) win, lose or draw I can blame no one else but ME! And I like the feeling that for a few seconds each day that I AM ACTUALLY IN CHARGE OF WHAT I CHOSE TO DO! It is my collection and in my collection I AM THE CEO! Sure can't say that about many aspects of our lives any more!!! Love this hobby!

 

Political opinions and pronouncements do not belong on CoinTalk.

 

Political opinions and pronouncements do not belong on CoinTalk.

 

Good article GDJMSP...
As you know I'm the collector and my dad is the Investor...now he's not like most investors...infact I would call it more collecting but he says investing
Before I was collecting he bought some coins that didn't do too well....now since he has me around I help him pick out coins and try to give advice but since we both are very different it's sometimes hard...

I will agree that investing is risky as with ANY investment...I have a good friend and famliy member that likes coins but can't believe I pay so much for them...I think he thinks stocks and bonds are better...now I know everyone is different but I just don't see what he sees....

AMEN Terry---I was just cleaning some today...no not coins

Well I need to go... school is out today

Speedy

 

I too believe I am a collector with long term rewards in mind. I have adopted the habbit of only buying UNC coins or as some of my types go nothing less than XF. I love the detail and beauty of crisp coin. Now with this criteria I cannot always afford the rare dates so I find the best quality common date coin I can for my price range. This gives me pleasing eye apeal and alot of coins in the long run. Hopefully when I am old and gray I will be able to reap the rewards, if not.....Well I will have built a very pleasing collection, and had a lot of fun doing it. Oh yeah I love my guns as well.

 

There is, IMO, a catch-22 in all this. Collectors have trouble parting with coins they love even for a profit which I believe may be true enough for many. I can't bring myself to sell a Seated dollar that has doubled in value within the last 2 or 3 years. But strict investors also don't have the instinct to understand what collectors may be interested in down the road. In the past, say 20 years ago, they could probably trust the old collecting habits/patterns of coin collectors. But I'm not so sure that's going to keep flying with the Internet and unlimited collecting options. If main stream collecting fragments into hundreds or thousands of "home-grown" topicals, I believe we collectors will still be happy, perhaps the happiest we've ever been, but investors are going to have some serious character-building opportunities in front of them. Maybe it will be we who pick their bones 20 years from now.

 

Longnine009 What do you think of my collecting habbits? The common date higher quality coins, I am curious to see if I am on the right track? I too have quite a few coins I won't part with reguardless of price as I enjoy looking at them and showing them to the younger collectors. I have helped many a boy scout get their merit badge for coin collecting using my collection as an example.

 

IMO, Those who are collecting what they like are always on the right track. There are just more tracks now with the internet and,IMO, there will be whole lot more in the years ahead.

I don't believe coin collectors are in any kind of distress just because they don't want to part with their coins. However, when anyone with a computer can think up their own collecting theme and then shop the whole world to buy coins to fit that theme, I'd say it's investors trying to figure out our next move who are going to be in distress.