OPINIONS: coin collecting vs investing vs economy

brockdabadger

with the economy the way it is, wall street being more and more unpredictable, and individual investers on the side lines.

1-What are your thoughts of the collector and/or investor putting more attention to a less vulnerable place for their investments, long or short term, such as coins. With investments that would reflect the same value they normally would invest else where?

2-How would this help/hurt the the serious collector, long and short term, as the economy strengthens?

3-What series would be the most invested in?

RYK

<< <i>with the economy the way it is, wall street being more and more unpredictable, and individual investers on the side lines.

1-What are your thoughts of the collector and/or investor putting more attention to a less vulnerable place for their investments, long or short term, such as coins. With investments that would reflect the same value they normally would invest else where?

2-How would this help/hurt the the serious collector, long and short term, as the economy strengthens?

3-What series would be the most invested in? >>



1. I disagree with the premise that coins are inherently "less vulnerable". I do not understand the question.

2. I am not sure that I understand what you are asking here, but it probably depends on your goal as a collector. If you are assembling a collection of coins for personal enjoyment, the rest matters far less than if you are trying to use your collection as an investment vehicle.

3. I have no idea.

Nap

Coins are certainly vulnerable, as the market of 1989-1990 shows. They don't always go up, and certainly not in the short term. Most people consider them safe if you buy coins to collect in your life and you leave them to your descendants to sell.

For some non-collector who has lost money in a declining stock market, would you really feel safe taking that money and putting it into a market (coins) that you know nothing about??? Even seasoned collectors know it's a jungle out there, with grading discrepancies, counterfeits, altered coins, over-hyped common stuff, less-than-reputable third-party grading services, dishonest dealers, and intangibles like 'eye appeal.' Throw in the sharks that are looking to sell you 'investment grade' junk and you have a dangerous market for the non-collector.

The collector is only helped if they are selling or hurt if they are competing with the investors. Eventually the investors will go back to more traditional investments and sell and the collectors who keep their coins will have 'ridden the storm.'

I think investments would go to coins that are expensive and available, such as Saints, which are often touted as investments because of their gold content. I think circulated coins and coins under $1000 would be minimally effected by an influx of investors.

doh

Coins are an enjoyable store of value that sometimes increase and sometimes decrease. My personal feeling on the subject is that if you go in purely to invest, you'll probably get screwed. Buy what you like, hold it for a period of years, and you'll probably see a pleasant ROI. If you buy the flavor of the month every month you're gonna end up with a collection of junk IMHO.

ziggy29

I think the big money chasing the big coins isn't going to be as affected as most of us in the trenches. If anything, I expect the chasm between the high end and the low end of the coin market to continue to widen, perhaps more than ever.