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1916 Standing Liberty Quarter: Sell or Hold?

A friend of a friend of a friend of mine bought a 1916 NGC AU-55 SLQ a few years ago for $4,500 which could now be sold for around $11,000. He loves the series and the coin, but $11K would look really good sitting in his bank account.

The date has had a super run over the past year and a half, the likes of which are not always easy to come by in the coin market. One could easily opine that it is overvalued at this point. His biggest concern is that even if it pulls back a few thousand dollars he would still have trouble affording another one in the same grade. But again, $11K is a nice chunk of change.

What would you do?

Comments

  • BaleyBaley Posts: 22,660 ✭✭✭✭✭
    really difficult question to answer without knowing the context of the coin with regards to the rest of the collection, and the goals of the collector.

    Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry

  • dpooledpoole Posts: 5,940 ✭✭✭✭✭
    "No one ever went broke making a profit."

    Sure it might well go up, but he's made his profit. If he has use for the money, sell, and leave some slop in the trough for the next hog.
  • ERER Posts: 7,345
    What Baley said.image
  • I would sell it. Put $5000 in the bank. (investment + small profit) And look for 1-3 nice coins to invest the other $6000 into.

    Have a Great day!
    Louis
  • nwcsnwcs Posts: 13,386 ✭✭✭
    I'd sell it and buy a beautiful AU-50 one for less money and use the difference to buy some more coins.
  • Sell if he really isn't attached to it and would have nightmaares every night about the coin.

    Cameron Kiefer


  • << <i>really difficult question to answer without knowing the context of the coin with regards to the rest of the collection, and the goals of the collector. >>



    Well, he enjoys owning neat coins and he likes making a profit. But he would want to own the date in AU-55, no higher or lower (I just made that part up to make this difficult) . How's that? image
  • If he is thinking of selling the coin then SELL IT!!!! If it enters your mind to sell then you obviously don't really love the coin that much to hold it! IMHOimage
    Constellatio Collector sevenoften@hotmail.com
    ---------------------------------
    "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished!"
    "If it don't make $"
    "It don't make cents""
  • ElcontadorElcontador Posts: 7,523 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Jon,

    The 1916 SLQ always seems to be available in pretty much all grades. If it's the flagship of the guy's collection, I can understand holding onto it. Otherwise, I'd take the $ and run. There are always neat coins that are available; for me the issue is always price.

    Using this principle, I unloaded a few Morgan $s because they were up quite a bit in price over what I paid for them. Very few coins " have my name on them." If they're up quite a bit, I sell.
    "Vou invadir o Nordeste,
    "Seu cabra da peste,
    "Sou Mangueira......."
  • I'd sell and invest some of the proceeds with an eye on buying it back later.
    image
    image


  • << <i>Sure it might well go up, but he's made his profit. If he has use for the money, sell, and leave some slop in the trough for the next hog. >>





    I couldn't agree more with the good doctor image
  • Sell.
  • sell
    "I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my Grandfather did, as opposed to screaming in terror like his passengers."
  • MFHMFH Posts: 11,720 ✭✭✭✭
    Sell it. Reinvest the money. Cash in the bank doesn't earn all that much.

    Last year I sold two AU 1916 SLQ's (PCGS AU53FH & PCGS AU58FH) which I purchased years ago. Made a tidy profit on both, and with the proceeds bought another 1916 SLQ in PCGS 63FH. I then reinvested the difference in other things for for collection.

    Mike Hayes
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !

    New Barber Purchases
  • Sell/auction at FUN show and get something else with the profit thats just as rare. Bank the original cost or paydown any variable rate loans because interest rates are going up.
    morgannut2
  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,636 ✭✭✭✭✭
    That's an easy one. If it's going to go up a lot then buy, and if it's going to go down then sell.

    As DPoole said:

    << <i>"No one ever went broke making a profit." >>

    However, this is not a good time
    to lock in profits from well performing assets or from coins you need in your collection to put the
    money in the bank. Negative interest rates will chew this money up in time.

    If he comes to believe that taking the proitf is the right move then at least put it into an investment
    like the stock market or real estate. Even other coins for his collection would be a good place to put
    it if is investment needs are already taken care of.
    Tempus fugit.
  • STEWARTBLAYNUMISSTEWARTBLAYNUMIS Posts: 2,697 ✭✭✭✭

    Sell it and start collecting Barber Quarters ?

    Stewart
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,303 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A 250% increase in a few years is a nice profit. It's safe to say that the coin will very likely not show strong gains in the future. However there are many worthy areas of the coin market that haven't budged since that coin was purchased for $4500.

    Why not trade it towards some quarters that are far rarer than the 1916 yet multiples rarer with a good chance to outperform it:
    1842-0 SD, 1851-0, 1852-0, 1860-s, 1864-s, 1871-s, 1872-s are just a few. Or pick some nice Barber quarters like Stuart recommended, those are still largely unappreciated, esp. the "O" and "S" mint pieces. Finding some of the semi-key dates in XF/AU will be tough, but at 1/10th or less the price of a 1916, they are many times rarer with untapped potential. Leave the 1901-s to the set collectors. A nice 1901-0 in XF/AU is a great coin though. Even key date MS63-MS66 Morgans and Peace Dollars have barely budged in years. Type coins included. There are lots of good opportunities out there. I think key dates have had a nice run but unless you need that 1916 for a set, I'd be looking for greener pastures to sew.

    SELL!

    roadrunner





    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • jdimmickjdimmick Posts: 9,674 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sell it, especially if its not PQ ++ , the 16SLQ is always available and you might even be able to buy it back in a few years much cheaper. This coin is readily availble in all grades. I sold my PCGS-45 earlier this year, (probably a few months earlier than market top, but havent regretted it since) . There are so many being offered for sale currently, that its only a matter of time before the ones who need to sell to recoup funds will have to discount them.

  • ColorfulcoinsColorfulcoins Posts: 3,364 ✭✭✭
    Jon, I recall from several years ago that you also have a 1916. What would YOU do if it were your coin?
    Craig
    If I had it my way, stupidity would be painful!
  • Old time stock investor Bernard Baruch.

    Bernard,how did you make all that money in the stock market ?

    I sold too soon !

    He was also very close to Winston Churchill,a notoriously poor stock picker,everything that Winston bought Bernard sold short !
    image
  • I always regret selling a "special" coin.

    Keep it.

    Steve
    Collecting XF+ toned Barber dimes
  • Hold.

    Possibly most popular 20th century quarter. They aint making anymore, and they are going up for a reason. Most quarter collectors think the 1916 SLQ is the King. I have two. Sold one I wish I had held. if you need the money, that's another issue.
    The Accumulator - Dark Lloyd of the Sith

    image

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