The box (es) of twenty.....

yellowkid

When I again began collecting coins, my plan was simple, a nice set of commems. I soon found that there were some very cool token designs and thought that a few of those would be nice. Then came the the US types, followed by Conders and world coins. Next I decided that I didn't care for a full "set" of commems as many of the designs left me cold.I went with the "buy what you like " method but it doesn't seem to be working, it has become too much, no focus and all of my resources are going to feed just one of my many collections.
The box of twenty has always appealed to me, but I never thought I could pare things down to such a small sample. The OCD sufferer though, not too be dismayed can always find an enabling rationale. Hence, the two, and maybe more box of twenty collection! The collection will consist of a box of US, one of world, and I am trying to figure out how to keep the inexpensive world pieces that I pick up with the intention of making a lot of money on in a few years

So that will be the goal for 2012. I wil need help trying to figure out the allocation, how many commems should I keep, how many tokens? I will be soliciting your input as the need arises.

Now I just have to find comparable strategies for my decoy, postcard, English ceramics and a few other miscellaneous collecting habits.

And no, the Pilgrim and SM will be staying ed for grammar

erickso1

<< <i>
And no, the Pilgrim and SM will be staying >>



Damnit.

shorecoll

yellow, measure your SDB and see how many boxes of 20 will fit...that determines your collecting strategy.

mrearlygold

Mike Sussman ( my senior numismatist ) wrote a newsletter about this Box of Twenty. If anyone wants to see it let me know and I'll post a link to it here.

jhdfla

<< <i>Mike Sussman ( my senior numismatist ) wrote a newsletter about this Box of Twenty. If anyone wants to see it let me know and I'll post a link to it here. >>



Of course I would.

mrearlygold

Collecting-Investing: A Box of Twenty – The Idea
By Mike Sussman

Several years ago a well known professional coin dealer proposed the idea of putting together a Box of Twenty key coins as vehicle for good potential in the future. Twenty coins spread over different series are diversified enough so that if one does not perform well, the others can make up the difference. It’s well known that not all rare coins appreciate in value at the same time. Some remain dormant, some depreciate in value, some increase modestly, and some rocket into the stratosphere. Wouldn’t it be great if we knew the rockets in advance? Since we only know them in retrospect, it makes sense to choose a group of pieces that are fundamentally or conditionally rare so that any downside risk is outweighed by the upward movement of a few of the superstars in the group. Now is an excellent time to compile your Box of Twenty.

One compelling reason to get started is that on October 31st it was announced that four new rare coin investment funds will be formed by a management company that will add $250 million to the rare coin market. It is believed that this infusion of new investment capital will encourage the market to reach new levels. It has also been speculated that the presence of institutional investors will allow individual rare coins to break the $10 million barrier.
Continued Here:

Collecting-Investing: A Box of Twenty – The Idea

bosco5041

With $250 million coming into the coin market a lot of collectors will be pushed out or opt to go to less expensive coins. I can't afford to purchase key coins in high grade now, much less competing against that kind of money. I guess the ones that can afford to should be buying heavy now.

yellowkid

Thanks for the article. I used to think the idea of a coin "fund" would be something to stay away from, but with what the market has been through the last ten years I think I have changed my tune. IMHO now it's all about diversification.

bidask

whoever those institutional investors are that are supposedly buying coins they sure are quiet about it

MidLifeCrisis

<< <i>Collecting-Investing: A Box of Twenty – The Idea
By Mike Sussman >>


I never thought of the Box of Twenty concept as a means to diversify your portfolio.

I don't like the idea.

In fact, I think collectors in recent years made the most money by focusing on one type of coin or series and going after the best they could find. Along the way, they became recognized experts.

As for the OP - good for you! Focus and patience are the most difficult traits to develop and maintain as a collector...but they are the most rewarding.

LotsoLuck

I could never do a box of 20 so I just got the box. Either way YKid you have a good eye and have shared many outstanding examples of coins/tokens here, best endeavors.

coinsarefun

I am in the process of doing something very simaliar and I hope you and I will have the fortitude to stick to it
I am going to try and have one box of 20 for each of the following.

1) US box, i want it to be a type set and I want to have gold included, so it might
be more than one box.

2) Tokens, to include certain CWT's, HTT's and Merchant

3) World, which will consist of only Russian....copper, silver and gold.

I will try to do only the best examples.

IrishMikey

I have always felt that the "Box of 20" concept was SOLELY for the investor/speculator. I cannot imagine
anyone that I would consider a "true collector" could get by with such an extremely limited collection. I
have more than 20 Byzantine coins (mostly copper) and I am not all that interested in ancients.

yellowkid

<< <i>I am in the process of doing something very simaliar and I hope you and I will have the fortitude to stick to it
I am going to try and have one box of 20 for each of the following.

1) US box, i want it to be a type set and I want to have gold included, so it might
be more than one box.

2) Tokens, to include certain CWT's, HTT's and Merchant

3) World, which will consist of only Russian....copper, silver and gold.

I will try to do only the best examples. >>



Stef so you think that the three boxes of twenty is the way to go?

coinsarefun

<< <i>

<< <i>I am in the process of doing something very simaliar and I hope you and I will have the fortitude to stick to it
I am going to try and have one box of 20 for each of the following.

1) US box, i want it to be a type set and I want to have gold included, so it might
be more than one box.

2) Tokens, to include certain CWT's, HTT's and Merchant

3) World, which will consist of only Russian....copper, silver and gold.

I will try to do only the best examples. >>



Stef so you think that the three boxes of twenty is the way to go? >>






Heck ya......how can you turn your back on tokens? actually I will add Conders to my box of 20 for the tokens

RYK

<< <i>

<< <i>I am in the process of doing something very simaliar and I hope you and I will have the fortitude to stick to it
I am going to try and have one box of 20 for each of the following.

1) US box, i want it to be a type set and I want to have gold included, so it might
be more than one box.

2) Tokens, to include certain CWT's, HTT's and Merchant

3) World, which will consist of only Russian....copper, silver and gold.

I will try to do only the best examples. >>



Stef so you think that the three boxes of twenty is the way to go? >>


I am doing something similar.

Having a fixed number of boxes, while arbitrary, is allowing me to keep my collection manageable.

The Box of 20 concept as an investment vehicle does not appeal to me.

coinsarefun

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I am in the process of doing something very simaliar and I hope you and I will have the fortitude to stick to it
I am going to try and have one box of 20 for each of the following.

1) US box, i want it to be a type set and I want to have gold included, so it might
be more than one box.

2) Tokens, to include certain CWT's, HTT's and Merchant

3) World, which will consist of only Russian....copper, silver and gold.

I will try to do only the best examples. >>



Stef so you think that the three boxes of twenty is the way to go? >>


I am doing something similar.

Having a fixed number of boxes, while arbitrary, is allowing me to keep my collection manageable.

The Box of 20 concept as an investment vehicle does not appeal to me. >>







RYK, out of curiosity can you explain why?
Not saying good or bad, rather with all your
experience I would be interested , thanks

RYK

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I am in the process of doing something very simaliar and I hope you and I will have the fortitude to stick to it
I am going to try and have one box of 20 for each of the following.

1) US box, i want it to be a type set and I want to have gold included, so it might
be more than one box.

2) Tokens, to include certain CWT's, HTT's and Merchant

3) World, which will consist of only Russian....copper, silver and gold.

I will try to do only the best examples. >>



Stef so you think that the three boxes of twenty is the way to go? >>


I am doing something similar.

Having a fixed number of boxes, while arbitrary, is allowing me to keep my collection manageable.

The Box of 20 concept as an investment vehicle does not appeal to me. >>







RYK, out of curiosity can you explain why?
Not saying good or bad, rather with all your
experience I would be interested , thanks >>


I am not a proponent of coins as an investment vehicle. I collect coins because I enjoy them.

coinsarefun

<< <i>

RYK, out of curiosity can you explain why?
Not saying good or bad, rather with all your
experience I would be interested , thanks >>





I am not a proponent of coins as an investment vehicle. I collect coins because I enjoy them. >>






A simple and true answer, thanks.

I guess I want to have nice looking coins, enjoy them and think or hope
that in the future it was a good investment.

Sonorandesertrat

One big problem with coins as an investment vehicle is that the 'exit strategy' for an investor is all about maximizing ROI. A collector may choose to indefinitely hold on to his/her coins, and the coin market may be bearish when the coins are sold. A shrewd investor will seek to sell when an acceptable ROI seems likely, not waiting until he is 'done' with a particular coin as a prized collectible as a pure collector would.

If you intend to use coins as investments, you simply cannot become very emotionally attached to them. Money is the only issue, not ties to history or anything else.

coinsarefun

<< <i>One big problem with coins as an investment vehicle is that the 'exit strategy' for an investor is all about maximizing ROI. A collector may choose to indefinitely hold on to his/her coins, and the coin market may be bearish when the coins are sold. A shrewd investor will seek to sell when an acceptable ROI seems likely, not waiting until he is 'done' with a particular coin as a prized collectible as a pure collector would.

If you intend to use coins as investments, you simply cannot become very emotionally attached to them. Money is the only issue, not ties to history or anything else. >>








Very well said and I agree

jhdfla

Nice idea for investor types I suppose. I've always found the box of 20 approach to be unrealistic, too constraining for us collector types. It has to go out the window if you are a date and mint mark collector of any long series.

seanq

I could probably do a box of 20 albums, but never 20 coins. There's just too much neat stuff out there to collect.


Sean Reynolds