How important is it to you that the coins you buy are a good investment?

PerryHall

It's nice when a coin that you buy increases in value but how important to you is a coin's investment potential? D you ever buy expensive coins without considering future resale value? Thoughts.

Zoins

It depends on the piece.

- For some rarer pieces that I have no intention of selling, investment potential becomes less important to the point I'm consciously bidding moon money.

- For pieces that are more common (using most definitions) beyond a certain price, resale value becomes important to the point of preventing purchases.

- Sometimes I like to think about coins as investments where I'm very interested in financial performance on a annualized basis.

Coinsponge

I like to think that every coin I buy will at least hold it's value. That is why I stopped buying modern proof sets.

Pokermandude

Like a good number of serious collectors, I straddle the collector/dealer line. About 75% dealer/25% collector these days. Speaking for the coins/areas I collect myself rather than just aim to resell/flip, I ask myself "What price can I pay and not be burried?". Anything I don' specifically buy for my "core collection" I do always ask myself if I can make money on the piece at the asking price. If I don't think I can, I may still buy it, after I think about how much of a hit will I take when I do eventually sell and deem it an acceptable amount for ownership.

Max2

There are some lesser value coins, usually interesting varieties, that I know I will probably not get my $$ back. The market is too small, so I would have to be lucky.

On anything over about $150, I usually will acquire with the hope of store of value.

I don't consider collecting an investment that will increase in value, like a stock, but more like gold, as a store house of value.

CollectorAtWork

I'd like any collectible that I'd buy to at least hold its value. However, if it's one of those rare items that won't come around for a while, I might over pay. I might also be willing to lose money on coins that have really nice eye appeal (e.g., I'm thinking of those reverse proof buffalo nickels that look gorgeous even though the mintage is pretty high.)

JohnnyCache

I tend to buy what I enjoy but I always consider overall eye appeal first and foremost along with quality/price ratio before making the final decision to purchase. My collection is not centered like many, more serious, collectors.

My thought is that, god willing, if I can enjoy some length of life, the coins I collect should prove to be a reasonable investment for my children should they decide to sell them upon my death.
I can only hope that time and eye appeal will be my friend but one never knows how/when a trend can go off in an unexpected direction.


JC



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for spelling

keyman64

It is important that I enjoy myself while not losing my butt. That would be the standard for me. Slightly better than break even for the entire collection is good enough. If I wasn't spending money on coins it would probably be wasted on other crap like expensive entertainment, eating food out all the time etc etc...and I would end up with nothing.

19Lyds

Personally, I would hope that, if the need arose, I could sell coins that I've purchased for about what I paid. It does not have to be exact, just somewhere within the ballpark.

johnny9434

as long as the coin holds its value then yes. i tend to lean towards me liking the coin as well

JJSingleton

Investment potential is not on the radar screen when adding a coin to my collection. But with some of my higher dollar coins I am not blind to their asset value if the need should ever arise.

rhedden

I don't love coins enough to lose money on them consistently. Accepting losses on coins one after another is like saying you enjoy playing poker so much that you'll pay people off all night long, every night. I will occasionally pay retail for the "must have" material, but those coins are going to be so desirable that I can sell them at break-even levels any time. Otherwise, I relentlessly cherrypick varieties and buy undergraded material, which more than offsets any losses I take on the retail-priced material. One exception would be the collection of BU Barber dimes I bought at greysheet levels in 2007. Many of those coins have decreased in value, even though they are truly rare and are PCGS graded.

PerryHall

A lot of good thoughts here. I think of my coin purchases as falling into two categories---inexpensive coins that are bought for fun and recreation where future value is a small consideration and expensive coins that become a significant part of my net worth that may have to be sold some day should a financial emergency should arise. I want the expensive coins to hold their value such that I can get all or at least most of my money out of them. Should they greatly increase in value I consider that as icing on the cake. The real value of my coins is the joy they bring me.

RYK

I think it is more important that the coins I buy are not a bad investment, in case I change collecting directions or decide to redeploy the money in the collection for other reasons. I do not expect an investment return, per se. Sometimes I throw caution to the wind and buy the coin knowing that the coin would be difficult to sell at or near the level where I bought it.

SkyMan

<< <i>Investment potential is not on the radar screen when adding a coin to my collection. But with some of my higher dollar coins I am not blind to their asset value if the need should ever arise. >>



+1

Shamika

<< <i>How important to you is a coin's investment potential? >>


Not in the least. This is a hobby that has brought me decades of enjoyment. If my coins have value when the time comes to sell, great! If not, so be it.

PerryHall

<< <i>I think it is more important that the coins I buy are not a bad investment, in case I change collecting directions or decide to redeploy the money in the collection for other reasons. I do not expect an investment return, per se. Sometimes I throw caution to the wind and buy the coin knowing that the coin would be difficult to sell at or near the level where I bought it. >>



Good point. You raised a scenario that I never considered. If your interests change you may want to sell those coins that you are no longer interested in to buy those coins in your new area of interest.

RYK

<< <i>A lot of good thoughts here. I think of my coin purchases as falling into two categories---inexpensive coins that are bought for fun and recreation where future value is a small consideration and expensive coins that become a significant part of my net worth that may have to be sold some day should a financial emergency should arise. I want the expensive coins to hold their value such that I can get all or at least most of my money out of them. Should they greatly increase in value I consider that as icing on the cake. The real value of my coins is the joy they bring me. >>


I think that you summed it up nicely here, too.

ctf_error_coins

I am extremely strict in my buying habits, unless I really like the coin

Raufus

Extremely and never (buy an expensive coin w/o regard to appreciation potential).

I do buy some inexpensive coins just because I like them w/o regard to appreciation potential.

PerryHall

<< <i>I am extremely strict in my buying habits, unless I really like the coin >>



I can identify with this. It's hard to be totally rational buying coins when emotions get in the way. I'm not sure I want to buy a coin that I don't totally love.

lostincoins

it goes both ways for me if it is a coin I intend to keep and I want it I get it. If it is for reselling price is all that matters.

AMRC

I try to buy the best coins I can and I am not afraid to over-pay given I do not see selling in the next 3-5 years. Some of the purchases I have made over the years have indeed become a good investments. While others I am sure I am buried in. But that is only true for the coins I collect. The coins I buy to sell make no sense to buy unless I can sell them for more. Fortunately that works most of the time.

In the ten years that I have come back to collecting I would say coins have been a good investment, not my best investment (that has always been, and continues to be, Real Estate), but a good investment none-the-less.

coinkat

In all fairness, Shamika raised something that most may not consider-

What is the value of the enjoyment?

And not to take this too far off what was anticipated with the question, enjoyment leads to longer and more productive lifes

epcjimi1

I only buy coins if I think I have a good exit strategy on. I might like a lesser coin, but refrain from purchasing them to buy fewer but more expensive examples that I like, thinking that it will be easier to unload them should the need arise.

sonoranmonsoon

It really depends on what part of my collection I am buying for. When I purchase early or classic material, I feel confident I will at least break even when I sell (assuming the sale does not coincide with a severe market downturn). The modern and ultra modern items I buy for my collection are a whole different story. I have very little confidence that I will ever will see a positive return on most of those items. I am OK with that, as I need both for what I collect. Hopefully they will balance each other out, and when the big selling day arrives I will not be seriously hurt.

Actually it does not matter much to me either way, as I do not include coins in my "investments". I think of my coins as a hobby. A hobby that may actually come close to break even for me someday. A lot of hobbies do not come close to doing that.

bosco5041

I really love and enjoy collecting coins and yes it is important to me that they turn out to be decent investments. It just makes them more fun to own if they appreciate in value.

BryceM

It's a consideration, but I never spend money on coins that I couldn't live without. To me, they're a luxury item, a way to diversify in a non-traditional way to store value, and if they happen to appreciate, great. Honestly I don't really expect them to. Mostly I just wish the nice ones would be less expensive to buy.

All the same, virtually every collector yearns for coins at the next higher, unattainable level, while contenting himself with those just within reach. If we could all learn to be completely satisfied with coins we didn't have to reach for......... Now I'm thinking too much.

derryb

since they will eventually be sold by someone someday, it is important that they provide a good return.

ambro51

Not a focus of mine presently as a beginning "serious" collector I lost money on nearly every beautiful slabbed collector coin I bought. As a more focused collector according to those who have seen some of my colonials it appears that they have more value than I have invested in fhem.

Cougar1978

I buy coins considering what I can sell them for now and have a reasonable chance to make a decent profit. That they will yield some fantastic amount is speculation and the fact is we do not live forever. I do buy material like gold and silver coins to put away for my full time retirement date. Its like a coach red shirting certain newly recruited freshmen players.

I would not sacrifice that boat, muscle car, or SB to buy expensive coins especially if these are marked up in the stratosphere above sheet.

Type2

A coin needs to be very specail for me to take a risk like that. I dont like to lose any $$$ it does happen but if i can contral it i will do so. So to what you are asking it is very important for me to get a deal that i can win or not lose $$ on. If i can do this every time i buy i will alway make a good profit if and when i sell. You make your profit when you buy and you will never go Wrong in a deal. Pick your fights and you will win most of the time, If not you will lose or most of the time you will if it is not a good deal just pass. But that is just me dum~ Type2.

Justlooking

Finding something that's undervalued is an aim of some collectors (maybe not here). I would never buy something I thought was going to go down in value ... If I thought that, I'd wait awhile before buying it.

ambro51

Do you own a car?

Justlooking

<< <i>Do you own a car? >>



Good point, but I didn't buy my car as a collectible item. A tube of toothpaste also goes down in value after you use it awhile.

magikbilly

<< <i>Finding something that's undervalued is an aim of some collectors (maybe not here). I would never buy something I thought was going to go down in value ... If I thought that, I'd wait awhile before buying it. - Justlooking



<< <i>Do you own a car? >>

- ambro51

Heck JL, what do you do with money then? The unspent dollar - well, some 538% inflation just since I was born. You need almost $6.50 to get what $1 got you in 1969. To purchase what a single dollar in 1913 bought you'd need $23.50 today. But some people still do very well.

I buy and enjoy what I love to the best of my ability as far as quality and knowledge and combining those together within the means of my "budget" (LOL it is very good I find deals...). Let's not remember the "bank" in I Remember Mama! Anyway, that "system" (not a system) seems to work well when time to sell comes. I am finding this even with stuff I bought for myself, paying stronger as a collector. But the inflation has to be factored in - as a believer in vantage I suspect its just a matter of when and where you do that. Sort of like including the BP in your bid and that is that. I will say very plainly I wish I had a better understanding of economics - a small % of what some folks in here understand (the trinity three) would be way more than sufficient. I am sure I am making many mistakes ans missing opportunities. I have had some wonderful experiences and accomplishments too! The single thing I have learned thus far is that a lot of folks do not follow contracts - reputation has no bearing except in extreme cases, sometimes. Executing the other thing I have learned - ignore the pack and follow your course - hard to do! But what else is more compelling?

My problem is often that I become engrossed in what I am buying and selling and often "sell" myself an item by the time I am done writing the description. Anyone here do that? I always strive to add something new to my auctions, some new aspect of interest (or more). This can mean a lot of searching, looking up dates, things, events, and looking at many images, but it nearly always pays off. Research is good for the mind and the pocket. I need to start assembling impressive and "complete" little collections of items I can bear selling! Right now I am experimenting with an avenue of interest - buying doubles and selling the finished duplicate secondary set. I think it is working well as I am adding information not available before and may be getting a littler more $ I also get to express my preferences in condition etc. with dupes of this or that.

Eric

EastonCollection

I find that I will not overpay for a coin so the investment side of me is talking. On the other hand, I will pay a premium for a coin that I think that is worth the premium. I love acquiring a beautiful coin. I believe if you buy original coins that are very nice with great eye appeal, you should be able to sell that coin equal or greater than what you pay. Unfortunately, I can't predict the future and coin prices are solely based on supply and demand. Don't kid yourself on that fact. If the number of collectors decrease and the amount of money goes less into coins in the future, most of your coins will go down. On the other hand, if there are more collectors that go into the hobby or business, then coins will increase in value.

My suggestion to all of us 50 and over folks is to encourage younger folks into the hobby. I give to my employees and friend's children proof sets and whitman coin folders for birthday presents to them as well. This hobby can be very financially rewarding but us collector base but we must bring younger folks to coins. Some of those younger folks will be buying our coins in the future when we want to sell.

Coin collecting is very fun, pass the fun to the younger generation!

PerryHall

<< <i>I find that I will not overpay for a coin so the investment side of me is talking. >>



Collectors that don't care about the investment aspects of coin buying also don't want to overpay since most of us have a fixed coin budget and want to use our money as efficiently as possible so that we can buy as many coins as possible to build our collections.

jdimmick

The coins I buy for my personal collection, not as important as enjoying owning them, however, I still do not want to loose money on them when the time comes to sell. I hope they at least hold theirvalue over the long haul. I have had to stretch quite a bit at times when I purchased an item just to get the chance to aquire it. Sometimes It paid off financially when the time came to sell, other times it did not. I have learned that impulse buys usually don't turn out profitable in the long run. Also, there is nothing in my collection that the right price would not keep me from selling it. I have learned over time, there is no better time to sell when you have an eager buyer willing to step up to purchase. Some coins the buyers seem to disappear when your ready to sell it, for example I have one now that I upgraded recently, and the prior coin I am having a difficult time moving even though I got it at a great price(at least I thought) when I originally bought it.

ctf_error_coins

<< <i>

<< <i>I am extremely strict in my buying habits, unless I really like the coin >>



I can identify with this. It's hard to be totally rational buying coins when emotions get in the way. I'm not sure I want to buy a coin that I don't totally love. >>



I try not to let emotions get in the way when I go after a coin that I need for my collection. If it is a piece that I need for my set (and most likely it would be a one-of-a-kind specimen) then I choose a price I am willing to pay and it may be a nuke bid. Not from emotions, but from a logical view of having the most complete error type set around.

As far as buying coins that I don't love, I buy them all the time, IF they are undervalued.

PerryHall

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>I am extremely strict in my buying habits, unless I really like the coin >>



I can identify with this. It's hard to be totally rational buying coins when emotions get in the way. I'm not sure I want to buy a coin that I don't totally love. >>



I try not to let emotions get in the way when I go after a coin that I need for my collection. If it is a piece that I need for my set (and most likely it would be a one-of-a-kind specimen) then I choose a price I am willing to pay and it may be a nuke bid. Not from emotions, but from a logical view of having the most complete error type set around.

As far as buying coins that I don't love, I buy them all the time, IF they are undervalued. >>


As a dealer you're going to have a different mind set than that of a collector. Buying a coin that you are planning to flip for a quick profit is a whole lot different than buying a coin that you are planning to keep for a very long time.

ctf_error_coins

Actually I rarely buy a coin to flip for a quick profit.

Most of the coins that I buy as a dealer are very unique eye appealing coins that I plan to put on my website if I can ever find the time to photograph them.

I am in the process of building UP my very unique inventory.

TwoSides2aCoin

Well, it's a good question. It's hard to address.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the importance of my money is 10
The importance of the coin for my money is also a 10

silverpop

not important at all

blacksmoke

I try and balance it out between collectable coins, bullion and things I just like cause they be purdy....

Elcontador

As long as overall, I can get out what I put into my coin collection, I'm fine. Just remember, it's much easier to buy a coin than it is to sell it. As a collector, you're at a minimum 10%-15% behind the eight ball as soon as you pay for the coin. You don't have the connections of the big fish, and if someone buys the coin from you, unless it's an end user, they have to make some money on the transaction.

Baley

I try to buy coins I need for my collection at fair prices for what they are (not necessarily what they are "purported to be" by sellers; While I hope that I (at least) break even on them someday, whether they are profitable investments is not even secondary as a consideration, more like somewhere on the top ten list of things I think about when buying.

OKbustchaser

a good financial investment? I couldn't care less. The coins are purchased with entertainment dollars not investment dollars.

a good investement in mental health and quality of life? Extremely inportant and every coin I have ever purchased has done its part.