I am not sure if collecting this series in a regular bullion strike coin is worth it. I know the proof strikes are the most desirable to collect but what is your view on it? It seems to work for the Chinese Panda series.
I think you have to look at these as bullion, perhaps with a SMALL premium over melt. Given that and if you like them, go for it. Do I think they will ever become fantastically valuable? no. There are a few bullion pieces that have a premium, usually because they are a series that is collected and the specific year or mintmark or condition has an unusually low mintage.
The biggest question mark is mintage. AFAIK, the Royal Mint hasn't announced any mintage totals for the 1st coin ("The Lion") -- which presumably is no longer produced because they've already minted the 2nd coin ("The Griffin"). And the 3rd coin ("The Dragon") was recently released.
Quality is also a BIG worry. And maybe a BIG opportunity -- if you submit raw bullion and it grades MS70. Out of 1685 submitted QB Lions (so far), only 36 graded MS70: http://www.pcgs.com/pop/valueview.aspx?s=607270 These sell for stupid money right now.
Depends if you are a stacker or a numismatist. If I were investing now, personally, I'd be buying graded large size paper money, 1880s to 1920s. And NONE by mail, only face-to-face across a coin-show table, looking for ultra-high eye appeal, and driving a hard bargain, offering ca$h and a coin or two, just to keep the seller off-balance.
I think the graded proof coins will be quite valuable to the right buyer, have you even tried to find a perfect 70 1oz lion? The investment is there
