Coins: collector vs. investor
jonesor
Posts: 65
Which are you?
Is there a negative connotation to being one vs. the other?
Is there a negative connotation to being one vs. the other?
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hobby is for me. However to say that having around 5% of my retirement portolio in coins as an investment "hedge"
against inflation is not investing, would be absurd and untrue.
I hope my collection increases in value, but I buy the coins because I love them and have no intention of ever selling them.
Doesn't mean I never sell however, I just don't buy with the intention of doing so.
i consider myself a mix of both. i'm a collector who understands the value of the coins i own, so i buy/sell accordingly and try to move forward in the total value of what i own, while never putting anything outside of the collection at risk or dependent on what happens to the collection value. i think that's a safe hybrid of both sides.
al h.
<< <i>However to say that having around 5% of my retirement portolio in coins as an investment "hedge" against inflation is not investing, would be absurd and untrue. >>
That's fair enough, and that's just about my situation, too (right down to the percentage). While I don't consider my coins as a "retirement asset" per se, I suppose in a real sense they could be that -- but only if I was willing to sell them to help fund my retirement.
One can take some comfort in the long-term potential for price appreciation even as it's not the primary or even secondary reason why one collects.
I just recently started and I bought a few mixed lots on ebay. I wanted to get a nice array of different coins. Before my purchases arrived, I had only seen coins with president's heads on them.
Granted, the coins I have now are (probably) not going to appreciate much in value but I like to look at them. This prompted me to explore coin collecting and I noticed it might be possible to make money in the long haul (40+ years for me).
So I'm thinking about expanding my collection of "so-so" quality coins while also investing money in coins I think will appreciate well.
for collectors, "investor" has negative connotations. i don't see how the opposite could be true.
to a non-coins person, neither term would have negative connotations.
K S
<< <i>I am a collector and buy what I like, and while I hope my coins hold their value, if not I can always spend them. You cannot do that with beer cans! >>
If you're ever looking to spend some of your gold collection at face, let me know, I got a whole fridge full of beer to sell you.
Self Indulgence | Holey Coins | Flickr Photostream
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Connor Numismatics Website
Mmmm...beer.
Tom
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Mainly a collector, but I wouldn't be disappointed if the coins increased in value over time.
As for the beer it's still coffee time.
Those who "invest" in coins, with no interest and/or little knowledge of coins, will more often than not get screwed or get sub-par returns. There are likely a few exceptions to this, but it is not like there are coin "mutual funds" or "portfolio managers" with successful track records (that I know of) that you can just hand you money to and then watch the returns pile up (or not pile up).
<< <i>However, I would imagine the most successful "investors" in coins are collectors. To successfully "invest" in coins, knowledge of the market is crucial, and only seasoned collectors and dealers really have that.
Those who "invest" in coins, with no interest and/or little knowledge of coins, will more often than not get screwed or get sub-par returns. There are likely a few exceptions to this,
That's a good way of putting it. I just got a copy of The Rosen Numismatic Advisory after speaking with Maurice who sent me a copy of Oct/Nov issue and on page 5 he talks about "defining" your purpose in buying coins.
This is a large and diverse hobby AND investment. To simply go about buying any coins because you like them will generally result in an accumulation ( care to call that a collection?) of mish mosh stuff with no rhymwe or reason, put together either at auction or thru dealers who are equally ignorant about the series that they just happen to have in stock or are "middling" for someone else.
I think someone had a thread about that here a couple weeks ago ( about what responsibility does a dealer have in accepting coins on consignment, or which ones he's willing to buy from you, ie: should a dealer accept your early gold when he primarily handles ike dollars etc)(I'm paraphrasing obviously)
Doesn't the same "focus" apply to the collecting of coins whether for enjoyment ( fill in the blanks as to what creates that enjoyment) or pure profit motive? Or at least shouldn't that focus be in the forefront?
Tom
Coin's for sale/trade.
Tom Pilitowski
US Rare Coin Investments
800-624-1870
Collector.
I don't mind the investors too much, because they do provide liquidity (if I ever needed it).
I also agree that the best investors are specialized collectors, they know exactly what market prices are, pop counts and markets (other collectors) that will offer the best price.
-g
I'd give you the world, just because...
Speak to me of loved ones, favorite places and things, loves lost and gained, tears shed for joy and sorrow, of when I see the sparkle in your eye ...
and the blackness when the dream dies, of lovers, fools, adventurers and kings while I sip my wine and contemplate the Chi.
The collector invests money, time, research, angst, triumph and defeat and has an element of "value" in every purchase. Whether the value is personal or monetary, the collector enriches his holdings constantly.
The investor ONLY has the "value" element and is therefore many times hoodwinked and discouraged.
THAT's the difference.
collect world coins, tokens, and medals. I also play around with various other collectibles.
This doesn't preclude me from promoting or "investing" in coins which appear to me to be
undervalued and underappreciated. Around here I tend to call it "speculation" just so the
other word can be avoided.
88-89 was the wild wild west !
I think i made about 30 k a yr and took 10 k cash to every show i could get to.
Guess i was an investor then,sold all my Walkers at San Diego in july or august 88 i think.
Common Walkers in 65 like the 41P were bid 325-350 !
Now i just have a small collection/investment to hand down to my Kid later,though i must admit i would never have seen myself with a 900 dollar 57 Proof Set !
Proof
I get whatever I like and learn a bit about it along the way. I definitely have favorite series and, uh, unfavorite series.
I'll call myself a collector first.
The only coins I have that I view as an investment is 4 gold coins purchased very recently. Three of them are modern bullion and the other is a 1924 double eagle in MS-63. I view them as gold and not a part of my collection.
Yes it's nice when coins I own appreciate in value. Would I get out of collecting if the value of my collection plummeted? NO, I'd go out and buy more or nicer examples of coins I like.
At this point in my own life I'm more of a collector and have no (financial) need for anything more, but the discussion and numismatic information help me stay tuned...it's an interesting world.
Michael
An investor is a person who roots for his investment to grow in value and demands that such investment grows in value.
jim