Is it time to sell stocks and buy great coins again?

bidask

I think it might be.....

I was at the summer ANA and really had a miserable time in that I could not relax and focus on what was going on the bourse or even the auction!

I never viewed auction lots and get to about 60% of the tables on the bourse.....

I recall the buzz was great in the convention hall as coins were trading and gold was hot.........I think that was the week it moved about $100 to the high 1800's.

In any event I was a slave to my cell phone and computer answering client questions about stocks and watching the markets utterly tank while putting in orders.

I remember asking myself how can everybody be having such a great time when it was so dicey in the world and the stock market was tanking with worry about a double dip.

I admittedly was stressed and the few dealers I interacted with new that.

And I LOVE coins...a real addict I am yet I was really an unhappy camper at the ANA....just could not concentrate on coins .

I sold a bunch of coins at the show and thereafter to buy stocks in a big way.

The good news is that when I get stressed its usually a buying opportunity.

And luckily for me the orders I did put in were on the buyside, for myself and clients.........and I kept doing that throughout august and september.

Now I am a happy camper and sold a bunch of stocks in the last couple days and I want to buy nice coins again.

So is it time to sell stocks and buy coins for you?

MsMorrisine

risk on

that means buy from sellers in china

hchcoin

Nope - I try to keep the two mutually exclusive.

SereneDude

I'm not a stock day trader, preferring to buy those stocks that are reliable dividend payers and have proven to hold or increase in value over the long haul (say 20 years).
With money market accounts paying around 1%, a stock that yields 4 or 5% is not to be sneezed at!
Anyway, I wouldn't sell my stock portfolio to buy coins.
Coin collecting is a pleasant hobby and diversion but not a real investment vehicle for me, although I do expect that many of my coins will sell for more, at times much more, than I paid for them.
YMMV

MrEureka

The good news is that when I get stressed its usually a buying opportunity.

Stressed, or scared? I'd understand scared.

Anyway, I think you can expect opportunities to come and go much more quickly in the stockmarket than in the coin market, and the costs of trading in and out of coins are much higher in the coin market than in the stockmarket. Bottom line is that trading in and out between the two markets is probably not a good strategy. Better to keep your coin money separate from your stock money, and play two separate games.

Mowgli

Stock market doesn't affect my coin buying or selling. However, I just started putting cash back into the stock market and don't think now is the time to sell.

Justacommeman

Two different buckets for me...........I did sell some stocks this afternoon. MJ

Frankiefanatic

No- the game is just what it is- A GAME

play if you have expendable money..

MrEureka

No- the game is just what it is- A GAME

Coins are inherently no more a game than stocks. Of course, you can choose to treat either one as a game, or both, or neither. But that is just your choice.

Longacre

I've been a heavy buyer of stocks since the meltdown, and expect to ride it up. I am a long-term investor and don't get caught up in the craziness every day.

JRocco

I have never sold one to buy the other.
It is almost time to make some serious money in the market again.

Elcontador

1) Imo, one has nothing to do with the other. Stocks and other securities are investments. For collectors, coins are generally a hobby. For dealers, they are generally a product. The bid / ask spreads, among other things, make coins a poor investment for 99% of collectors.

2) Please define "great coins." Since the start of 2011, I have seen all of 'two' what I consider to be very nice coins. I bought one of them, the other went for stupid money. I can't buy a great coin unless it is made available to me.

3) Please define "buying a great coin." To me, writing a blank check for any coin is not buying a great coin.

If I appear to be cynical, it is because I have seen very little that imo interested me and was worth buying during this calendar year to date. I have basically seen low end for the grade material, coupled with a few coins being offered at moon money plus.

SkyMan

<< <i>...It is almost time to make some serious money in the market again. >>



Personally I'm waiting for the Greek crisis to go fullbore, e.g. the EU letting the Greeks default. Personally I don't think the Chinese, after potentially a few rounds of support, will be any more anxious to bail out the Greeks (Portuguese, Spaniards, Irish, Italians etc.) than the Germans are, and then the Euro crisis will really hit. After a default of at least one, and potentially several, countries, then a New Euro (or whatever you want to call it), with a new set of rules (potentially an independent oversight Bank such as the one for the old German Mark) most likely will be created. The period in between the crash and the new rules will most likely be the optimal time for buying European stocks.

golddustin

For anybody who is in the market for the long haul, the recent volatility is a great opportunity. You can dabble with a bit of short term trading, and choose days like today to sell some postions, then wait and pick up those quality dividend stocks like Mickey-D, Altria, Conoco, Pepsi, Coke, B&G, etc. on those inevitable days that panic sets in - at much lower prices - to add to your long term portfolio. That way you don't have to fret those wild short term swings....just set a target price and put your orders in ahead of time, then wait for the order to execute. I usually put orders in at prices that I think the stock will take weeks or months to reach, only to see the trade happen in a few days. Take some profit, use it to add to the big boys, repeat the cycle.

My coin collection is a completely separate endeavor, with no relationship to the stock market swings. I buy coins that appeal to me when they are available at a reasonable price and at this time I have no intention of selling any, unless I can upgrade a particular example. Even though it is a substantial investment, I don't look at it as such - it can be liquidated over time or passed along to my heirs. I never thought of selling coins to buy into the stock market - the coins are a way of diversifying with tangible assets.

But that's just me - I sleep well......

golddustin

Skyman -

coinkat

not time to sell quality dividend paying stocks-

The next 6-9 months are going to produce the opposite of what many anticipate

Walkerguy21D

I was laughing today about that Legend report 3-4 weeks ago, where they claimed a client called and said he was "done with the market - go build me a type set".....sounded like someone cashing out at the bottom, then putting the proceeds into high retail+ coins..... but who knows, maybe he'll be laughing at me some time down the road.

RYK

<< <i>I've been a heavy buyer of stocks since the meltdown, and expect to ride it up. I am a long-term investor and don't get caught up in the craziness every day. >>


Same here.

golfer72

<< <i>

<< <i>I've been a heavy buyer of stocks since the meltdown, and expect to ride it up. I am a long-term investor and don't get caught up in the craziness every day. >>


Same here. >>

Long term? The markets are down like 30% to 40% in the last twelve years. Is that long term? Seems pretty long to me.

TahoeDale

As the great philosopher H Cain has said on many occassions, you are talking about apples and oranges.

The buying/selling opportunities for each asset will not be inversely proportional. If there are great coins available, at any time,
buy them. makes no difference what the stock market is doing. And hold them as long as you can.

And if Dupont, for example is at an all time low, then buy Dupont and hold til it is no longer desireable--priced too high for the earnings, price
multiple,etc.

I would never sell great coins to buy stocks. But I would sell stocks that have run their course, to have the available funds for the next big coin that comes around. You probably will have to wait patiently for the right ones.

Barry

Are you a coin collector or a stock collector?

CoinCrazyPA

I sold some stocks last summer to buy bullion and far out paced the dividend stocks I was in.

bidask

Generally I would not sell coins to buy stocks.

But the stock market had fallen to virtuallyy bear territory. ( Down almost 20%)

I had over 40% net worth in coins and gold.

The temptation to rebalance was to great.

That is , sell an assets that had not fallen or had gone up and
rebuy an assets (stocks) that had gone down.

The good news is I made a lot of money.

The bad news is I sold some very rare coins that most ilikely
cannot be replaced.

The bullion coins I sold can be replaced.

golddustin

When coined in those terms, it is a very good idea to rebalance. It sounds like your precious metal portion of assets was getting a bit out of whack, and even though it has been a stellar performer, it's never good to have a large amount of your wealth in a single asset class. Sounds like you've made some nice profits in gold/silver bullion - now if the market behaves as usual from November to March, you should have enough to buy back a couple of nice, rare coins.

But since nobody knows for sure exactly what's gonna happen, it is a good idea to diversify into other investments, and rebalance when necessary.

fishcooker

I think stocks and commodities will do well until the Gov runs out of money again.

TwoSides2aCoin

I come here to read people like Tahoe Dale in this thread, not to be mistaken with Taco Belle, in another.

RYK

It's time to sell stocks and coins, quickly, and buy tickets for Game 7.

pruebas

The time to buy great coins is when they are available.

mrearlygold

Depends on the coins

JCMhouston

I don't mix the two, stocks are invesments and coins are for my collections. In collecting I continue to try to buy the best examples I can find in my price range. I have very few expensive coins, the great majority are worth under $1000, and in fact a couple of the series I collect the average cost is probably around $50 per coin. I try desperatly not to spend more than I can afford, and although I have high hopes my heirs can recoup most of the money I have spent I don't look at these as investments, just expenses to keep me entertained.

As far as stocks go the time to buy was when Chevron was at $63, GE at $8, Intel at $18, BMY at 18, MSFT at $17, Unilever at $20 etc. During late 2008 and through 2010 we went heavily into stocks. You could get dividends of 4-6% on some good companies at prices not seen in 20 years or more. I keep thinking about selling some of the biggest winners, but with current dividend yields on our portfolio of over 6% (on a cost basis) where else would I put the money to work.

Just as a note, I am not a trader, I'm not trying to get greedy and make the last dollar per trade, that's a sure way to lose a bundle. Unless there is some dramatic change in the companys we bought I'm not sure if I will ever sell them, they are all well known with solid dividend coverage and yields. I do keep a small amount of money to trade in short term stocks, but it's about 5% of our investments, for the most part just a boring old portfolio. But it's up almost 120% since the August 2008 lows.

I also have a little stack of bullion, primarily european gold coins from the late 19th and early 20th C. But I consider this a separate pot and don't trade in and out at all. I did sell all my silver the first time it crossed $35/oz earlier in the year and have not bought any more yet.

Is this a good time to buy stocks? Who knows, certainly not the "investment advisors" at the major brockerages and banks. The time to get in is when everyone else (investment advisors) is running away, as long as you have a long term perspective. There are still a few I think are decent buys but some of my current stocks I would not buy at current levels.

johnny9434

keep the dividnend paying stocks for now. that was never a bad idea to begin with in ther first place

Lakesammman

2 buckets is a good idea - I trust the stock bucket to a manager - I'm not patient enough to manage that one.