Coin Price Index(s)
cameron12x
Posts: 1,384 ✭✭✭
Of course individual coin prices will vary with time, but are there coin price indexes which measure the overall buy/selling prices of coins as a whole? Perhaps measured year-by-year? TIA.
0
Comments
https://www.pcgs.com/prices/frame.aspx?type=coinindex&filename=index
Not sure if this is what you are looking for but this is a link to the PCGS 3000 and has links to market segments. the data set goes back to 1970. I hope this helps.
That's just terrible looking data. WHAT happened to coin collecting? Did all of the interest dry up?
No one with discretionary income to spend?
Demographics going the wrong direction? (e.g. baby boomers dying?)
I suppose it looks bad if you were expecting prices to always rise.
It will look even worse if you correct for inflation.
I think what happened is that there was a bubble in 1989 when slabbing first started,
and slabbed coins were sold in packages to investors.
Later when the investors tried to sell, slabbed populations had gone up and they didn't make money, so the investors left.
That left the usual old guys who got into collecting from Boy Scout merit badges, and that sort of thing is declining in popularity.
So you have basically a declining industry. Not a realistic investment area. It's a hobby/luxury.
Start looking from the 1994 data. 1989 and 1970 are too long ago and too different in data sources to be of any utility.
Date are data. It has to be analyzed and understood to gain anything meaningful from it. Coins are unique items, not general commodities analogous to metals, soybeans or stocks. The market is also very thin and weakly supported - there is no underlying "need" for collectors' coins.
Overall you are seeing a reduction in the number of collectors and changes in preferences by newer entrants into the field. Millions spent of NCLT from US and other mints, plus credit card values of garbage shuffled by TV-gangsters to ignorant saps, further drain resources from traditional coins and other collectibles.
Buy and collect what you enjoy and will give you pleasure. That is its purpose.
NO hobby should ever be considered an "investment". Enjoy it as you would a movie or a pizza. If you get any money back later, it turns out better than the movie or the pizza. You will be far happier if you consider coin purchases to be a sunk cost.
I sold my Barber Half set at the peak of the modern era market (2011) and more than doubled my 12K+ costs. Now, it is reverse. My Seated / Barber collection is probably worth half or 2/3 or what I paid and dropping by the week. I love that coin prices are dropping...I mean I really love it. Then again, why buy anything today when the prices keep getting better?
It is a double edged sword. You get more coin for the money, but then again when the same or similar coin comes up at auction and it sells for much less than you paid, you have to wonder if collecting makes any sort of financial sense.
I am now doing simple calculations as interest rates rise. Is coin X worth it at $2k, or should I let my money earn interest and keep all my principal and make money on it too. Now, a coin has to reach out and grab me by the ba*** ...and be priced right (no more high retail prices) or I just don't care.
Tyler
You are grouping all coins into one graph. It is like the stock market in the it is no longer a coin or stock market but a market for both. The best and highest grade will always do well but the material you can be purchased on the from the mint, television marketers and on E Bay are to be avoided with minimal exception. Old gold in 55 to 58 that is low pop will continue to do well.
I love this feeling, though it is sometimes as rare as the coins themselves
While it is true that some make money buying/selling coins (Lots of dealers here), and the ultra rare coins will command premiums.... in general, coin collecting is a hobby and should not be considered an investment. Collect and enjoy your coins, if, when you dispose of them, you make money (or even break even), consider it a lucky break - because a hobby is spare time pleasure. Now, if you want to make it a profession, then you must approach it totally differently and preparation/planning is critical. Cheers, RickO
Lots of good comments on this thread.
Most non dealers make money in the hobby by having a deep knowledge of a specific area of numismatics, or working with a dealer who does.
If a person is going to make money in the hobby they have be able to identify relevant coins, even better if the coins are priced right.
I think idea that investors can consistently profit by just putting money into this or any other hobby is pretty foolish.