When I found out we had a grandchild on the way I decided to start to put something away for "her" (Nola Virginia) future. I started by buying silver Proof coins & sets from the U.S. Mint. We have already started a savings account at our credit union also. Now, however, I'm beggining to question whether Silver is the way to go. I can buy much more silver for the buck, but maybe I should buy fewer coins & concentrate on Gold coins, or gold bars. I would not only like to pass these on to her, but I would really like to give her a passion for collecting. I would really appreciate any & all advice.
Lee, Although there are circumstances that could intervene (a very large Silver discovery that causes the price of Silver to fall, Gold production drops off significantly which causes an increase in Gold prices, etc., etc.) to change the profit ratio, Silver is generally always the better investment! Silver prices pretty much follow the Gold market prices up or down but the profit ratio is always higher on Silver! I recently calculated the ratio of profit if 1,000 ounces of Gold was purchased or investing the same amount of money on Silver at their low in May 2004 and then selling it at their high earlier this month. The profit that could have been made on Gold during that period if I remember correctly was a little over $155,000. However, the profit that could have been made on Silver for the same period was over $268,000. If I hade the money to invest, then I would definitely put my money on Silver bullion! Don't take my word for it! Check out the talk on numerous Gold and SIlver investment sites and check out the history of Gold and Silver prices at "www.kitco.com". Good luck...Frank
Only thing to consider with silver, is it takes up a lot more space than gold for the same amount of money spent.
Collecting is not Investing Although there was as time when I collected gold bars (Engelhard, Mocatta, Credit Suisse), I never met anyone else who thought of them as numismatic items. COINS -- banknotes, medals, tokens, stocks, checks, drafts... -- are the stuff of collecting. Your credit union accounts will probably outperform the coins. Build the savings account into something for a CD, roll into it, keep the savings account to build the next one, and so forth. The stock market is always a longterm winner for investing. Coins are something else. People will tell you about making a lot of money buying and selling -- and indeed it is true: if you buy and sell. Buy and hold is not a strategy for investing. If you look at the world famous auctions of million-dollar coins, you see that Harry Bass, John Jay Pittman and the others could have "made more money" just doing their jobs (oil; engineering; etc.). The coins lost money relative to inflation -- and certainly relative to lost opportunity. To deliver to your granddaughter something that will excite a love of history -- and perhaps also an honest love for money -- I recommend the numismatic items: the coins, the banknotes, the stock certificates, etc. Imagine a 19th century banknote with Salmon P. Chase on it. How about a banknote from frontier Ohio or Tennessee with a SPANISH coin on it, and Spanish coin to go with it? (See here: http://scoan.oldnote.org/) Gold is nice. I like it. Give her a 19th century US $5 gold coin, a UK Sovereign with Queen Victoria, a French Angel and French Rooster. Don't forget ancients. You can buy a nice silver Roman denarius from the Pax Romana for the same price as a slabbed Morgan dollar. The same goes for silver of Alexander the Great. Personally, I am not much for generals and wars -- and your grand daughter may not be either. I collected small silver coins worth a day's wages from the towns and times of philosophers -- including two famous women: Aspasia of Miletos and Hypatia of Alexandria. Look at past auctions here: www.coinarchives.com www.wildwinds.com Find current sales here: www.vcoins.com If you want to give your granddaughter a pile of money, that's wonderful. If you want to give history, then give history.
Given the choice between silver and gold, silver will probably outperform in the long run because it is consumed and is actually more rare than gold in terms of ounces of .999 refined product in the world. Over the long run, silver coins well-bought will probably perform at least as well as a bank CD financially because of the continuous currency deflation. After taxes and inflation, CDs generally yeild nothing. The stock market should outperform both coins and bank CDs over the long run.
Speaking as a coin and bullion collector,I say stay with the silver.Buy what catches your eye,not your future thoughts.My new fav coin is the 1/2 Wolf from Canada.I just love the reverse,but most collecters wouldnt jump on them I dont think.Just me.
i'd say silver.. Gold coins are fun, But you'll get captivated by morgan silver. I'd stick with silver dollars and the like, and ASE's. At an ounce of pure each, they are as close to bar bullion as you'll ever get. And, silver, can go up exponentially, as there is alot of bull in silver's market yet. Gold, however, is high in price, and will probably levitate around the same mark. Same as gold for Platinum. I don't mess with palladium.
There are two types of value with coins, be they gold or silver - intrinsic and numismatic. The numismatic value will always outperform the intrinsic value over anything but very short periods of time. But your post sounds like you have two goals you'd like to meet. One, you want to invest for your grandchild. That's great, as has been stated, don't do so with coins. Invest in stocks, bonds, CD's - whatever. Your second goal is hopefully to instill in the child a love for the hobby of coin collecting. That's also great, and yes getting them coins is a great way to start. So I would go along with the Proof sets, mint sets idea. That will likely encourage collecting from circulation, which is great for kids. It's also great for you for it gives the two of you something to do together. It can be true quality time for a limetime. But if you want to get her something "special" for her collection that can be added to over time by you & maybe even others, then get her a few coins with known numismatic value and a strong sense of history to go with it. They can be gold or they can be silver - that's your choice. But there is something about gold that just affects people - it draws them towards it and can instill a lifelong love for the hobby. So if I were to recommend - it would be gold. Not for investment, I'd just forget that. But because I think it will help you reach your second goal. And oh yeah - I'm partial to world gold. It's much more economical and loaded with history
Thank you all for your ideas. I have already bought her a 1/4 oz gold proof from the mint which I am forwarding to her parents to commemorate her birth year. I also have subscriptions for silver proof eagle & sets with the mint. I think maybe I'll start looking @ slabbed silver dollars after I complete a set of "gem uncirculated" from 1986 - 2005 silver eagles. I also have some morgans left by her grandmother to show her when she's old enough along with a whole lot of wheat cents that need cataloging (I'll leave that to her). In the meantime I'll keep checking my pocket change.
What a good idea . I know my parents got me started, and it really has been a blessing. :goofer: :hammer:
I just love to bust a buck for change.The coin changer at work gives me atleast 1 '64 or older nickle each time I change a dollar.Gotta love that. :thumb:
