Numismatic Quandry
erwindoc
Posts: 5,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
You have several coins on a "Want List" on popular auction sites that rarely come up in certain designated grades. Low and behold, two different coins from different series on your list pop up as coming to auction at the same time. What do you do?
1
Comments
If you can't swing it all financing for a month or three is okay I would say.
If that's a problem it might be time to sell something. That's what I will do. I collect PL and DMPL but I also have many high grade and scarce date Morgan's set aside for just this reason.
If they are out of reach we just need to accept it and hope the day will come when we have the dough
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
Successful BST transactions with: Namvet Justindan Mattniss RWW olah_in_MA
Dantheman984 Toyz4geo SurfinxHI greencopper RWW bigjpst bretsan MWallace logger7
Do what you have to do to get them both. Perhaps sell some that aren't as scarce.
You choose one or the other. NEVER finance collectibles; it's just not a good idea.
I look at it where if these coins are on a want list, clearly they are affordable as you know your price limitations when making the list. Make the bids on both coins but don’t chase and get suckered in to wild (and arguably unsustainable) premiums on them.
GC has payment plans, advances, and you can trade against consignments if you need to offload things to cover a shortfall.
They both won’t go off at exactly the same moment- bid your max on the first, and if you don’t get it move on to the second. The question becomes what do you do if you win the first?
Easy. Buy one for your wife's Christmas present.
And of course, the other for yourself.
Good luck.
And the divorce attorney gets both for Christmas 2024.
Use Credit if it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
This. 👍
I know it is not a great habit to form, but if there’s something you’re not gonna see for a long time, and that’s the only way to get it, go on and do it!
My YouTube Channel
If the coins are really rare, take out a second mortgage on the house. Better interest rates than other loans, and usually you can pay it off early without penalty.
Buy Both!
There are likely coins you own that are of lesser importance. Sell them.
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
There’s nothing wrong with financing collectibles or for that matter anything else as long as you have the ability to pay off the loan in a timely manner.
I strongly disagree. I have never borrowed money on anything except my home, which I paid off many years ago. Consumer credit is the biggest fraud ever foisted on the American people and is a sure way to inescapable lifelong indebtedness. You've struck a nerve here.
I would either buy one, or buy both, or buy none.
Gobrecht's Engraved Mature Head Large Cent Model
https://www.instagram.com/rexrarities/?hl=en
😈 (I love it)
That is a mighty wide brush you are painting with. Perhaps there are a couple factors in the equation you may have overlooked.
Perhaps. But getting out of debt is the wisest thing I've ever done and I'm going to stay that way. Good luck with your payments.
Huh??? You just said that you've never borrowed money except for your home so what debt are you talking about?
Also, not everyone is irresponsible with credit. Just because some people can't control their spending doesn't mean that others can't make wise use of it.
I thought you never had debt? Congrats , give me a call if you ever need to borrow money cuz your credit score is 450. I'm just saying.
IF I had to choose one or the other, I would choose whichever one had been on the want list the longest.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
Stick to budget.
Maybe. It depends on his financial situation. If he has lots of assets but is temporarily short cash this then I agree. If on the other hand he does not have a high net worth and the plan is to use future wages to pay the loan off then I would say don't borrow to many thing could go wrong. Just an opinion.
What I said is that I've never borrowed money except for my home. FYI, that IS debt, and it's now paid off. I have no idea what my credit score is because I've never checked on it. And I don't give a rip about what the score is because I'm NEVER going to borrow money. A credit score is just another part of the scam.
There’s no right or wrong answer and we all have different comfort levels.
If I buy a vacation home and get a mortgage am I fiscally irresponsible? If I buy a Harley and take out a loan am I fiscally irresponsible? These are hypothetical questions but I don’t think there’s a one size fits all approach. Person A might be very wealthy and it doesn’t make a difference while Person B might be living paycheck to paycheck and this would be a gigantic stretch.
I like having debt on my house. My loan is 2.5% and it’s tax deductible.
Run up all the bidders on the first coin and if you don’t get it hopefully they’ll be broke too broke for the second.
😎 put the pedal to the metal.
The scam has given alot of poor people an opportunity to become rich and alot of rich people to become EXTREMELY wealthy. If individuals are irresponsible or make very poor choices that doesn't necessarily mean that everything is a scam. Perhaps it means they made poor choices.
I seem to be stepping on a lot of toes here because I've chosen to live my life debt-free. If paying money to use money is your thing, go for it. The OP asked for an opinion, and I gave mine. I make no apologies.
I don't think anybody has a problem with any decisions you've made. I think it's more likely your sanctimonious attitude and blanket condemnation of something which many people find a useful tool in living their life. It's the equivalent of saying because you have a negative history with alcohol and it causes deaths in many ways that no one should drink any alcohol ever. Live your life and make your decisions but what's right for you isn't for everyone else.
@MarkKelley, I agree the OP asked for an opinion and you gave yours. Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure everyone here would love to be debt free. Other than medical bills Wifey & I finally are debt free. I have never financed a coin simply because I don't wanna be in debt. I'm 67 years old and still working simply because my paycheck and S.S. combined allows me to continue in this wonderful hobby. That being said, there are a few coins with single digit pop numbers that if they ever come up for sale I will find a way to purchase them. If that means financing, so be it. I'm not talking 5 figure coins though.
Typo. I am talking 5 figures.
It can also affect your auto insurance rate except in a limited number of states where prohibited.
Interesting debate! Neither are a "once-in-a-lifetime" coin. Just one of those rarities in certain grades that dont come up that often. In fact, I have had alerts set on them and this is the second alert in about 2 years for one of them that is problem free. Ill have to compare population reports to see which is the rarest and look at what I can afford to spend/liquidate!
Unless it is a tough early federal issue (e.g. gold) or super rare/in demand antebellum coin, I’d wait on at least one. Time is on your side. There are issues again with a housing bubble and years of loose monetary policy are again setting us up for potential economic calamity. As asset bubbles pop, you might save money later.
I have no debt and no mortgage and my credit rating is 820.
Well I have extremely large hands, use credit to buy EVERYTHING, and my score is higher than that. I think it may depend on when you pay off the debt perhaps? I also have big feet.....I'm just saying...lol
You missed my point. You told Mark that his lack of debt was going to give him a credit rating of 450. That's 100% incorrect as demonstrated by my credit history.
I do find it interesting that my credit rating moves around between 815 and 835 even though there's literally nothing going on other than my paying my monthly credit card bill and my utilities.
How do you think your score got 800plus? Are you saying you have never used credit/financing to get that score? Debt and credit are 2 different things. I also want to apologize because I lied earlier. I have small hands and feet.
I find it somewhat shocking that people don't consider a mortgage "debt" or that they think having tax deductible interest is somehow financially beneficial compared to not paying interest. People who advocate for debt use seem to be the least knowledgeable about how finances actually work.
I had a mortgage at one time. Paid it off in 2009. The last car loan I had was in 2000. I charge about $50,000 per year but pay it off every month. I pay all of my utilities and bills on time.
I think your assumption that you must have debt to have good credit is flawed. My father and mother have 800+ credit ratings and they have NEVER had a mortgage or a car loan or CC debt. They last paid rent in 1971. However they do use credit cards and pay all of their bills on time.
How long do you want our posts to be? LOL.
Mortgage is debt. It is, of course, secured debt so it is different than most other types of consumer loans (CC, student, etc.)
Having tax deductible interest COULD be beneficial compared to not paying interest because it could end up being cheap money. If you have even a 5% mortgage (yes, I know they are more like 7% today) and you are in a high enough tax bracket, the net cost of that money is less than the rate of inflation. So, it might well be financially better to leave the money in a mutual fund that earns 5-10% (tax deferred until sale) while only paying a net 3% (or less) for the money. [Yes, that assumes you are investing the money not spending it.]
Personally, I can't figure out why financial institutions want to write mortgages. While they are 7% today, when they were writing fixed rate 3.5% mortgages over 30 years, the net rate of return has to be close to zero. I know they tend to repackage them to investors, but why do investors want a 30 year investment with a lousy yield?
In terms of this thread, I don't think debt for hobbies or leisure is ever a good idea. That said, if someone wants to increase their cost of acquisition by financing a coin purchase, that's their own business. It doesn't make good financial sense, but neither do most hobby costs.
The market has risk. Some people can obviously win at that game but I would never advocate borrowing against a paid for house to invest in the market. I agree though, people can do what they want. It's their business.
I’m a financial layperson but I have a mortgage at 2.5% and if it’s tax deductible I’m effectively paying 1.7-2%. Bonds and T bills are yielding 4-5% now. Debt if used effectively can be very good.
I still say no debt is better than so-called "good" debt. Yes, I use a credit card for everyday purchases and pay the bill in full every month. Just to prove one of you wrong, I finally did check my score and it is excellent, not that it matters to me in the least.
I didn't advocate borrowing to invest. Subtle difference, I know, but I'm merely suggesting that accelerating payments is not necessarily beneficial.
And the isste you posed wasn't about risk but about the financial benefit of a mortgage vs not having one. And the fact is that at the right net interest rate, it could be beneficial. Not always, obviously, but sometimes, especially if you are in a high tax state and a 39% federal bracket.
You also don't have to invest in the market. There were times before the recent run up in rates that you could take mortgage money and buy 10 year treasuries with a higher rate than the mortgage. Arguably less risk there than in owning a house.
Pay cash for one. Skip the loan trap for either.