Does anyone else Collect & Speculate & Invest in coins ??

fantasiize

I know most of us are collectors, most of us (myself included) advise not to invest (unless you use disposable income) and we also advise that speculation is dangerous. However, does anyone else do all three with coins ?

Personally, I have recently been collecting my type sets and clad quarters (not state quarters). I have converted my "collecting" of Ikes and other coins (Morgans, WLH, Silver quarters, Franklins) and are "speculating" quite a bit (though I have sold off a few Ikes and am on the bench until they come down from the sky, hope they do or I'll be really pissed). My conversion from collecting to speculating has been by selling the masses and picking/choosing the coins I feel may move (quality over quantity).

My investing deals with using a fixed monthly amount (outside of my collecting & speculating interests) which is purely disposable (i.e. would drink it, eat it, gamble it or otherwise squander it away). So the investment is more on the base (not the profit) of what I buy (and enjoy doing so).

I believe most of us may combine all three but I have recently tried to break it out so I can better assess/appreciate it.

Finally, I must disclaim that I am not an analytical person ("Rain Man" comes to mind) but rather just tryng to manage/justify the madness.

Russ

Not really speculating, but I've bought a few I knew I was getting cheap, and flipped them for a profit. Mostly, though, I just lose money on my sales - but, I make up for it on volume.

Russ, NCNE

itsnotjustme

I'd say I do some speculating too.

I bought loads of 2000 silver proof sets... unloaded a few at a moderate loss. Now I see the prices may be recovering some (anyone have current GS bid/ask?)

I also bought a bunch of Buffalo Commems... Can it be called speculation when it is a sure thing??

Last, I bought .15% of the $5G CVC coins.

And on the side of what may be toward business, I've bought raw coins, slabbed them, and sold them at a loss or profit depending on the grade.

Donny

Unfortunatley, when I purchase a piece, it is off the market, permanently. Can't seem to part with them!

merz2

I think we all do to a lesser degree.In our own way we all dabble a little.

fantasiize

Russ,

I hear you (and feel your pain)

Brian,

I have always thought that we have very similar interests. Regarding the Buff commem, yeah, I agree, it was like fishing in a barrel and I had my lines in as well . However, there is always the West Point that the speculating was not as good but hey, maybe it will appreciate by the 300 year anniversary. For now I am holding onto them and trying to find MS70s (I have 3 that I feel may qualify, no marks under 5x, will try 10x before I send them in).

Donny,
Don,

I have you down for all three, which I think that most of us do, it has just been recently (6 to 9 months) that I have tried to segment each (if nothing else to justify it to myself, maybe).

coppercoins

No dabbler here. I'm a strict collector. I do sell duplicates, but that's not on the basis of speculating a market.

wallstreetman

If I own something and it flys up too fast on hype, I will sell any extras I own, otherwise I plan to own for 5+ years! I let the Market tell me what to do, this means Im usually doing the opposite of what the dealers are telling you to do!

FatMan

"Mostly, though, I just lose money on my sales - but, I make up for it on volume".

Russ- were you a used car salesman in a previous life? What a great line.

cladking

I used to buy nice clad coins and it was called speculation. Now the same coins
are called an investment. Something must be happening!

fantasiize

Cladking,

Oddly enough, some of my collecting and investing is from your speculation.

Sounds like a symbiotic relationship

fantasiize

Cladking,

P.S. Just up'ed my "collecting" hopes to help your properly "speculated" 83d

cladking

How did they look? I'm not as familiar with this date as I should be. There
should be some real nice ones out there since there are lots of near misses.

I latched on to a few nice 83-D souvenir sets the other day. The quarters were
mostly MS-65's and a couple of the halfs were pretty nice too. Hope I didn't
steer us wrong, but I've gotten a huge amount of enjoyment and met a lot of
great people no matter what happens from this point. Good luck!

Woodwind

<< <i>Unfortunatley, when I purchase a piece, it is off the market, permanently. Can't seem to part with them! >>



Sounds like me. My coins (along with my saxophones) are my babies. At least until I have children.

FatMan

Woodwind,

What kind of Saxophones do you have? I've got an Alto Selmer Mark VI (1972). Unfortunately it is collecting dust as I no longer play and my daughter gave it up last year.(before you ask - no, she had another horn but I did let her play it on occaision) I know its worth a few bucks but don't know how much? Any idea.

BigD5

I collect, and almost by default I sell stuff on Ebay etc. also. I have a quality coin show I could attend every weekend. It's hard not to pick up nice coins that you know other people would pay more for. Doesn't work all the time, but most times what I find decent, someone else does too.

MrKelso

yes only where Gold coins are concerned.

dingodog

This is a really great question!

In my humble opinion (imho), everyone that collects coins does it for a profit motive. Even old Sig. Frued said, "If you ain't horney, you're greedy!"

Makind was built on a profit motive. So, for that matter, was just about every living creature. Profit takes many forms as does collecting, investing and speculating. A spider weaves a web for profit, right (nice jucy flys). When it comes to coins, I can even tell you when and where it happens (IMHO). Where the "purist collector for the love of collecting or for connecting with our glorious historical past" becomes a spec/investor - when he goes to a garage sale and buys a MS 1841-D (small "D") for $5.00 even though he argues vehemently with the "liquidaotr of Grandpa's junk coins" that $5 is a rediculous price for the coin in question. Heck, don't you think you might be convinced by the stupid young jerk that said, "Look, it says $5.00 - take it or move on!).

If there are any collectors out there that collect for the love of it, I have a fantastic collection of lint bunnies I'll sell you at a good price.

nwcs

I do very little speculation. And I do consider all my coins a type of investment. That is, instead of buying a plasma TV I buy a coin. A plasma TV has no value after a few years, but a coin generally doesn't lose value (thought it may not gain any, either). So I see it as an investment but not one where I'm concerned about ROI. But sometimes I'll gamble on something and hope it does well. Usually with proof or mint sets I get from ebay.

mbbiker

i do a little of all three. I enjoy spending time on e-bay looking at the going going gone list of coins at 2:00 in the morning. You can find some great deals. I also buy coins when there are no pics in the auction. When i get them i usually always sell for a profit. If no one wants it then it goes into my collection. (I don't buy coins that i wouldn't want in my collection so if i'm stuck with it no big)

dorkkarl

wife won't let me spend our $ on coins, so i pretty much have to collect based on the $ i make from investing in speculative issuess.... or something like that.

of course, once in a while, money "accidentally" slips through the cracks...

K S