How to start????
TerrapinWill
Posts: 848
If you were advising a new collector on what to buy that may over the long run increase in value, or coins that will hold their value..I'm just wondering if Im on the right track......
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Early classics such as Seated Dollars and Bust Dollars not to mention key dates from just about any series should treat you much better over the long term.
I'm with Jon on this one ...
Semi-key original quality coins are also worthwhile (IMO) if you stay before the presidential series
btw ... WELCOME!!
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
<< <i>What are the thoughts on graded Silver Eagles? Or Silver Eagle sets >>
They help keep the grading companies profitable, and are a popular item for marketers.
If your interest is in recent U.S. bullion coins by date, spend some time finding these raw. Send them in for grading yourself if you must.
If you simply want to learn about U.S. silver coins, including grading, why not start with a bag of pre-1965 business strike silver. The premium will be less and the variety greater.
I kinda like the Lincoln Cents. Bought a 1909 and a 1909 vdb three years ago for $60 and $30 respectively. They are both BU red and one is toned so pretty it makes me cry just visualizing it. I dare not post a photo for fear of getting my keyboard wet. But it seems that cent prices have jumped tremendously in the pasy year or two. I don't see how you could lose if you bought the key & semi-key cents right now. I look for coin prices to continue to rise for a few more years. The internet, EBay, Home Shopping Network and the Statehood Quarter program have brought an attractive number of new coin collectors onto the market and I see no end to it. There will no doubt be a lot of places where a new collector could amuse himself over the course of a few years.
You should probably read as much as you can here and at other coin websites. Try clicking the links found in some of these threads to get the good atricles, etc. Good luck and have fun.
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<< <i>I got what I thought was a real good deal on a 1986-2004 20 piece MS 69 NGC set that included 2000 Millenium Eagle in same grade......what do you think is fair market price??? >>
The melt value is about $165 and since you'd be melting MS69's in NGC plastic - probably about $250?
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<< <i>
<< <i>I got what I thought was a real good deal on a 1986-2004 20 piece MS 69 NGC set that included 2000 Millenium Eagle in same grade......what do you think is fair market price??? >>
The melt value is about $165 and since you'd be melting MS69's in NGC plastic - probably about $250? >>
But you can buy it from CoinVault for a discount price of only $899.
Older coins (arbitrarily 100 years or older), which are not cleaned, are problem-free, and which have excellent eye-appeal have generally appreciated over the long term. These are coins which stand-out from the crowd of similarly graded ones. They are the coins which when you see one, makes you wish you owned it. They can range in grade from good to uncirculated. Eye-appeal is the key.
A more current group of coins which I believe will do well long term, are modern uncirculated commemoratives in PCGS holders graded MS69, which commemorated the Olympics and were issued in 1995 and 1996. (Some of these coins have hazed-over and/or toned in their MS69 holders and some are not mark free. These should be avoided from an investment perspective.) Concentrate on the coins which have the lowest mintages.
If your only objective is investment, you must think like an investor and not like a collector but you must understand the collector's motivations. Right now, because of the perceived likelihood of a continued decline in the USA dollar, bullion is hot. If one could have seen this trend starting two or three years ago, one could have achieved financial gain. Then again, you could have done better if you had purchased steel, cement, coal, etc. rather than coins. My opinion is that coins are not the best vehicles for investment. They should be viwed as an enjoyable hobby which if one is astute in one's purchases may appreciate in value long term. The inherent overhead in coins, like almost all hobbies, makes them a very challenging vehicle for investment.
The nice thing about collecting circulating business strikes is that you can go to the bank and buy some rolls or bags of these and search through them. Sounds like work 'eh? Well that's how most folks start out. You may be a paper collector and just don't know it. Buy a stack of wrapped $1 bills from your bank for $100 and go through them and see what you got. You might like this more than those coins. Another thing you should do early on is go to a couple of coin shops and see what they have...you should leave your wallet at home for the first few visits. Don't expect much from the dealer if you got no money, but you can see what's on the table and what is for sale to the public.
Then, you can narrow in on something like some silver eagles, something like 18 coins in unc. condition that you can hold and feel and look at and they are big and they are silver and they are pretty fun too. Maybe you are a dark side collector, foreign coins. There are some beautiful designs and some valuable coins to be had but it takes a while to figure what you are interested in when you are searching the whole world.
Good luck and take your time, this is a hobby that lasts a lifetime!
Mike
<< <i>I guess I was thinking that New Sets like Silver Eagles, 1999-2008 Silver/Clad Proofs and of course some key date Morgan and peace are good places to be right now. >>
Sounds like you've been watching Coin Vault!
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<< <i>I sometimes watch, but never buy......Isn't it possible that if they stopped making ASE at some point in the near future, the value of sets and the demand for same could possibly increase. I realize that much of what they say is to sell coins that are marked up 400%. But if collectors keep entering the market, and production of something is halted, and demand rises, doesnt price follow? >>
If they stop making Silver Bullion suddenly, sure! Are they going to? Not likely.
Self Indulgence | Holey Coins | Flickr Photostream