"How much of your coin collecting is investing"?

Deb048gold

I was just curious about finding out from some of you how you view your coin collecting. Obviously we all love collecting. What part does investment potential come into play with your decisions about why you chose the sets you did and your future decisions. Just curious!

sumnom

I would have to say, "none." I do have some valuable coins here and there but overall, my hobby costs rather than makes money.

hookedoncoins

I would also have to say none, although I would hope to get at least 85% of what I put in back. If I make money, thats great, but I would consider placing my money in the bank (i.e. 1% compounded yearly) a much safer 'investment' than the money I place in my collection.

ElectricEye

none ~ I have no intention of selling even if it were to double

greghansen

At least half. While I am not primarily looking to 'make money' with my collection...neither am I looking to toss money away indiscriminatly. I would say on my higher end purchases, it is more of a factor since there are a lot of other things I could be doing with the money.

cladking

I only collect things I enjoy collecting but won't collect something if I feel
it is substantially overpriced. If a collection becomes overpriced while I own
it then it will be traded for something else.

There are too many interesting things to collect to not take cost into account.

Of course there are also many interesting things which are simply out of my
price range.

chuckfarthing

0.00% investing. It's all for fun.

291fifth

Coins are a hobby. As an investment they are, overall, miserable, due to the high margins.

Jody526

Depends on your definition of "investing".

If that means buying coins with the anticipation of making a profit from them, then my answer is 0%.

I have, however, profited greatly from my involvement in the hobby.

Barry

Though I collect to collect, I have to say just a little. I won't buy a coin if I think it's overpriced or has potential to lose value due to the current irrational exuberance of segemnts of the market. OTOH, I will buy a coin, even if it's in a series I don't collect, if I think it's a good deal and I can flip it.

UncleJoe

None but ...

I don't call it investing but this is what I basically do. When I make purchases at a show or other venue, I do so with the intention of selling about 75% of what I purchase. By doing this I usually reap 100% or more than I spent. The 25% of the coins that I did not sell go into my collection and I start the process all over again.

Very enjoyable and relaxing for me and it doesn't cost me a thing.

Of course as I have written before, it comes out to be about earning $1. dollar an hour. Much cheaper than my golf "hobby".

Joe.

puff

Zero.

hamiltonjh

Zero for me too, I see it as a fun hobby.

If it was investing, it would take on a different meaning and I doubt it would fun

nwcs

None and all. I don't buy coins with a specific purpose of investing. However, I do try to buy smartly so that when the time comes to sell I will either take a small loss or make a little money.

BAJJERFAN

What Greg Hansen said. When you start laying out $1000 or more for a single Morgan its hard to ignore the "investment" that you have made in your hobby. If you buy shares in a mutual fund at the top of a cycle and 3 weeks later its down 12% you might be nervous about your investment. Same with coins; if you buy right and are willing to hold you should be able to break even or make money on most of them. Right now its hard to resist selling when a coin you have purchased can be flipped for a $1500 profit. There is no telling how long before one could buy it back at close to the original price.

mommam17

I started as a collector and it was fun. When I got into my 20`s I became an investor and that wasn`t fun and I left the hobby for 20+ years. In 1998 I came back as a collector and I`m having a blast, never to be an investor again.

g097103

0%, although some of the more valuable coins will be handed down to the boys to do as they wish. They both know which ones are valuable and the correct way to convert them for best yield.

ziggy29

While I don't buy at all for investment purposes, the general history of coin values to rise in the long term makes it easier for me to justify my purchases. I know about past history and no guarantee of future results, but it's still better than not having history on your side at all.

LincolnCentMan

I used to be at about 0%. I had two kinds of coins that I bought: the kind I bought for me, and the kind I bought so I could make a little profit so I could buy coins for me. However, as my coin collection value grew, I began to look at the investment stand-point. I decided to sell my collection and start a new one, one with a focus on coins that I felt would show increase (or in the event of a bear market, would show the least decrease.) Now I'm working toward a key date type set. While it is still collecting, the investment aspect is there as well.

David

coppercoins

I don't collect any of what I collect because it has potential of making money. I collect for the challenge of finding a set of rather scarce coins in what other people consider common because they don't know any better.

Darkhorse

0%

My collection is only made up of works of art I deem worthy.

coincollector1989

None, I do it for the fun.

mirabela

I have to echo what a lot of people said. I don't do it at all with money I have earmarked for investment, as on the whole it seems like a place where the odds of making much more than a modest return over time are limited. I don't deny that big scores happen for many, but I put money that needs to make money elsewhere. That said, I've made a little money at it. I tried to figure out annualized return since I started collecting, and while I have to do some guestimating since I didn't keep good records when I was a kid, I've definitely beat inflation. When you average the winners with the dogs, though, I haven't beat inflation by all that much, and the same dollars put in residential real estate or an index fund would have generated a much better return.

I do consider market trends when I purchase, for reasons others have stated -- I'd like to think I'll be able to get out of a coin for most of what I bought in for, or better.

Finally, though, with a few notable exceptions most of the better coins I've bought recently are pieces I like so much it would take a really BIG profit or a really GOOD reason to pry them loose from me.

KollectorKing

The bulk of my collection consists of "investment" type coins. My strategy is to leverage their gains to finance my "dream team" of coins.

coinguy89

I collect, but make sure that there is atleast some potential in my coins, just incase I run into a money crisis.

coinbuf

I'll echo what most have said; coin collecting is for fun but when I spend over 1K it becomes more of an investment coin.

Chris

mgoodm3

I collect because I like the coins. But on the other hand it would be nice for me or whoever sells my coins in the future to get back the money I put into it, not asking for big profit or anything, just don't want to lose too much.

mintluster

All of it.

tradedollarnut

A lot of both. If I thought I was throwing my money away, I wouldn't spend near as much.

majorbigtime

<< <i>A lot of both. If I thought I was throwing my money away, I wouldn't spend near as much. >>




I agree, and beleive most wear both hats ("collector" and "investor"). We may not recognize it, but it is a likely scenario.

We "covet" the coins because they are scarce and valuable. We pay big buck$ because we want them for our collection, but also because we beleive this is money "well spent" since the coins are likely to apreciate in value and ultimately yield a profit.

Windycity

Both but investment is a critical part of every purchase decision. I will not buy a coin that I don't believe has upside and every coin I have can be sold at the right price. What I have enjoyed the most over the years is putting together a great complete collection at the highest grades I can afford and when complete, I sell and then move on to a new series.

kieferscoins

0%. Its a hobby and fun.

Cameron Kiefer

khayse

Well I sure don't buy to lose money.

Also with the way the stock market has been the last few years, not losing money IS making money.

-KHayse

jcping

None; otherwise, I won't buy any modern coins.
Nevertheless, I will consider how much I will lose if I want to sell the coin tomorrow. If the price is over 25%, I will be very hesitate to buy it.

FatMan

My collecting is done with entertainment dollars. If I didn't spend the money on coins I would spend it on some other form entertainment. Like an annual trip around the world.

catfish172

0 I purchase nothing for resale. I give them away to my children and grandchildren. A few even get returned to circulation, ie the other day I returned 1960 and 1963 Franklins and a 1972 Kennedy to circulation.

Bear

I lose money on every coin I buy and sell........................I make it up however

on the turnover rate.

ChuckC

I'm doing it mostly for the fun, but I'm not gonna take this stuff to the grave with me. I'll pass it on to the kiddies (or grandchildren) when the time is right. So for me, it's a lil of both: an enjoyable hobby and an investment in future generations. Completing a set contributes to the fun factor.

aem4162

none

Pennycase

0% .....Nuff said

colorman3

I could not resist !

I buy when I need the coin and always look at the down side. I love collecting and so far have had opportunity to sell collections on many different occassions and for many different reasons with many different series. Each time I have "Overall" done quite well.

Recently I cleaned house and many of the coins I sold were purchased after 95 tiill about 98. These did very well. It was easier back then and prices were terrific on top pop key dates. I dont see that changing even at todays prices.

75% of the time I am looking for a return on my investment. The other 25% is because I needed the coin to complete a series and often paid much more than the coin would ever be worth over a 5 year period. Law of adverage applies here and I think carefully about that when paying high side prices.

colorman3

lclugza

0% for "numismatic" coins.

But for common date precious metal coins, and non-proof "bullion coins," I'd say quite a bit is investing. They've been rather POOR investments! Maybe someday thet will do well.

lava

100% investing, and darn proud of it!

DesertRat

I don't collect any of what I collect because it has potential of making money



If I did that I would have never paid the price I have paid for some things. I collect because I enjoy it, it occupies my free time and it is a hobby with history attached. Of course if I were to find the value of some coins goes up that would be nice but it's not why I'm in it. I also wanted to have something to leave my kids and hopefully their kids so that somewhere down the road one of my heirs can walk into a show and say "my great grandfather had these coins in an old safe....."

100proof1957

I would call myself an investor !
I am collecting some things to pass down to my Son.
My 1957 Proof set (#2 NGC registry set,shameless self promotion ! )
Working on the SHQ Proof sets in clad and silver.
After that,a short set of Walkers in MS65.
My son was born in 91,maybe try to do all the commems from 91 on,silver eagles dont do much for me.
I do like all the coins i am looking at,so you could call me a collector.
My DAD collected stamps which turned out to be a total waste of money,i am trying not to do the same.
The 2005 Jeff nickels look awesome and the 2009 Proofs should be very interesting !

DHeath

When I joined the forums, I had about 10k of my own money "invested" in coins. All were raw. I slabbed and sold most of them, and took all of my money off the table. I've been lucky enough to profit from the hobby for the last few years, so I consider my collection a reward for my real "investment"; my time, energy, and passion. I've had a good deal more fun chasing, researching, documenting, reading, making friends, kidding, and learning than I had "investing". Lots of folks seem to worry about their investment, and I suppose that's normal, but if you forget to have fun, it's not a hobby, it's a job.

fishcooker

100%. Not independently wealthy so it all matters.

ddbird

Its only an ivestment for me when I can make a quick profit on a coin I dont really like. If Im going to loose money on it, or like the coin..its all about fun!

dorkkarl

i own zero coins for financial investment purposes. coincidentally, i own zero coins in slabs.

K S

BillJones

I have rarely bought a coin for my collection that I bought with the idea that it was an investment. Back when I was a YN, I did buy a couple coins because I thought that they were good investments and lost money on both of them. For my collection profits are a by-product. And of late they have become QUITE a by-product, but so far only on paper.

crito

My life has been a series of boom and bust cycles, so I always consider how much I can get back out of a coin if forced to liquidate my assets. That said, it's never my intent to do so when I buy them. Just always seems to happen that way.