I'd take the stater. An an ancients guy I don't understand the interest in 20th century U.S. coins, just me though.
I consider neither an investment. Can you find a private buyer or predict when two rich folks want a '45D Jefferson or a Kushan 113-127 AD Gold Double Dinar at an auction (plus the vig)? I collect ancient coins and am not an expert in uber coin grades. Is the coin pictured really the best known 45D? It looks to me like there are several corrosion spots around / on the edge lettering. I think they detract from the quality of the coin. I would pass on this coin due to being over-graded.... buy the coin not the slab.
I'd take the stater, too -- and I'm not an ancients guy, and I am a 20th-century US coins guy. But I am not a registry racer, and gambling on a TPG's reckoning of how many points fit on the head of a pin is pretty much the opposite of my interests.
Its very easy for me to decide..... investment potential= Kushan AV Double Dinar beautifull to have in yor collection=same choice historical aspect= same choice I collect everything, including US. In past 20 years, everything has gone way up in prices, except for US coins (they have dropped) due to the fact that they where way overpriced, even 20 years ago. For me personally, I would buy the Kushan Double Dinara....and would NEVER sell it Here is my cheaper Vima Kadphises AV Dinara...
It certainly is a lot cheaper to put together a classic US commemorative set today than it was 15 years ago when prices were sky high. If I ever get some modern coins again, it would definitely be that, a type set for silver US commemoratives from 1893 through the 1950's. Modern commemoratives (1980's through present) are ugly, uninspiring, and not worth more than bullion prices. Obviously there's a few exemptions here or there, but the majority of the modern mint products are a bust.
I agree! I got some really nice high quality MS-66 examples of Louisiana Purchase/ McKinley/ Grant/ Lewis&Clark AV Dollar Commeratives.
That would be my primary concern, war nickels are far from the most popular and heavily scrutinized US issue so it would be much more likely that a hoard of untouched minty rolls would come to light in the lifetime of an investor versus a hoard full of those minty gold double dinars. The most interesting thing about the nickels is that at 35% silver they contain 1.75 grams of silver whereas a dime only contains 2.25 grams of silver, so dollar for dollar they are the richest of American silver coins. It's nice to get them in change occasionally but I'd never spend 1/1000th of the asking price for one.
Yeah, but it's diluted with stuff refiners don't like to mess with, so they trade at a substantial discount to spot. ("Top-pop" examples excluded, obviously...)
India has over a billion people. If many more of them get rich, they might want the Kushan gold. They will recognize the US nickel for what it is--a vastly overpriced common coin of almost no intrinsic interest.
CT members who have seen some of my older threads posted on this website can probably guess I would choose the Kushan gold coin over the 1945-D Jefferson nickel pictured in this thread as an investment . My track record for U.S. coin investments is anything but successful . I haven't bought many U.S. coins in the $20,000.00 range, but the coin pictured below is a good example. After enjoying the coin for a long time I put it up for auction with Heritage & lost $2,000.00 selling it . I still have about 30 U.S. in my collection that I admire for their artistry or historical interest but have no hope of making a profit when selling them . It takes a certain amount of luck to to make a successful investment in modern U.S. coins, but it can be done. Recently Heritage auctioned a 1975 no S proof dime for the astonishing price of $456,000.00 ! See photo below. There are only 2 known examples of this coin. The buyer of this coin resold it by private treaty six days later for $506,000.00 . The other known example of this coin was purchased by a Ohio collector, still in its proof set packaging for $18,000.00 . See photo below. Now that's what I call successful investing . For the most part I've done very well investing in ancient coins & find them more artistic, interesting, & rewarding than modern U.S. coins .
Well...I put my new top pop nickel up for auction last night, and was very pleased with the results. It seems there was a bidding war with the victor paying the hefty hammer price of $125,666.99 + $2..99 economy shipping. I wanted to make my profit quickly. I just purchased 2 of the Kushin gold staters, and still have almost $100,000.00. Not bad for a 1 day flip, right ??? Oh, I'm guessing the buyer may have had a couple drinks too many. ..........."the Buyer"........... HYPOTHETICALLY OF COURSE.