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Coins As A Store of Value, Tapped for Reasons
RockyMtnProspector
Posts: 754 ✭✭✭✭✭
I've read multiple posts here on liquidating, selling, re-allocating coin collections for a variety of other numismatic--and not numismatic reasons.
Some have used their collections, or portions, as capital to be tapped for remodeling, buying a house, etc.
What are your thoughts on using the value in one's coins, rather than, say, an investment instrument of some kind, to raise capital?
In my specific circumstance, it would possibly be as funding for an engagement ring. 50/50 could happen within the next year or so.
Just curious.
GSAs, OBW rolls, Seated, Walkers. Anything old and Colorado-focused, CO nationals.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
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Keep the coins. Someday you'll thank me for this advice.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
I appreciate your opinion, no joke. If you have an elaboration, I'd be interested to hear it.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Run dude!
Diamonds are an even worse investment than coins. So it's all about love. Make your favorite coin into a ring.
Keep the coin collection. Use currency to buy the diamond.
If you start thinking of your coin collection as an investment; then it’s no longer a hobby... regrets.
IMO
Folks have been known to sit on coins for decades without ever realizing any price appreciation.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Your money, your hobby, your decision. There can be regrets or, it could be looked upon as a wise decision... Careful consideration is the best you can do in the present. Good luck, Cheers, RickO
In 1974 I sold a 1907 (Arabic numeral) Gem BU (probably MS66) $20 Saint for $160 (had bought it for $82 in 1969) to help finance an engagement ring. As a young cost accountant I was basically broke. My wife married me in late 1974 at age 21 one week after she graduated from college on an accelerated schedule to marry me. A very pretty impressive, smart personable young blonde of 19 I met my senior year. As a matter of fact she was VP of her HS class and queen of her HS drill team. In 1975 we moved in to almost new house few months old (couple was divorcing) cost $30 k / $320 a month - assuming payments (no credit check).
Have had mixed feelings about the sale but a good and necessary move at that time.
If you need to sell your collection to fund things that make for a rewarding life (ie: marriage, children, purchasing a home, etc) then you are off track, as coins should be purchased with discretionary funds with no expectation of selling for profit. You would not tie up your saving buying a new Bentley knowing that you'd have to sell it in two years to buy a house unless you enjoy losing money.
Commems and Early Type
Read "Have you ever tried to sell a diamond?" online. It was published in the early 1980's and is required reading for anyone thinking that diamonds are a good investment.
Get out of your coins, build a life with your chosen one. Coins are merely things in a secular declining trend. You will not miss them. Step forward into your future, save, and put your savings into real investments. With the help of time, your real investments will do far better than any coins you are acquiring.
^^^^^ Great comment PQ.
To add to @PQueue ‘s post:
Then once settled, comfortable, kids are grown, and maybe grandkids are enroute maybe... with your disposable income (as @CommemDude posted) get back into the hobby.
Enjoy the hobby!
Lots of good philosophy here. It’s ok for your priorities to change over time. Your coins are part of your holdings, and unless you feel strongly about them, I would liquidate them for a purchase like a ring before I would liquidate any interest earning investment. I would also liquidate the coins before taking out a loan.
Love is much more important. Coins, not so much. We have many coins go through our fingers.
I borrowed money from my Aunt Kay to buy an engagement ring from a divorced woman. You need to do what you need to do. I'm still married to my wife 51 years later. I sold off a majority of my core collection of CC Morgans to buy the house I'm in for cash as I'm now retired. No regrets. Still dabble in coins.
So, I'm one of those that just think that coins are just a passing hobby. We certainly don't take them with us, so why not use them to our advantage?
bob
Good Luck, I hope you choose wisely. A life long partner to enjoy life with is a very precious thing to have. Sell a few coins and buy a respectable ring. Your coin collecting might go dormant for several years after this life change.
Now with that said, I am a little more jaded. My life long partner ended up with over half my marital assets. Keep your remaining coins as pre-marital asset. I could see an issue arise if you took out a loan on the value of the coins and then used marital funds to pay back the loan. I would find a different loan option if that is needed. But if you choose wisely you don't have to worry about all that garbage. Best of luck to you!
are your coins unique that cant be replaced? answering that would go a long way in guiding me if I was in your shoes
Wow, all great responses. A few points of clarification:
1) The coins were purchased with discretionary funds, and I'm not particularly concerned with "investment" potential as I fall mostly into the coins for coins sake numismatist category.
2) None of the coins are truly "rare" as @Gazes asks. Not widgets but nothing I could not re-purchase down the road, and certainly none are part of my core collection. Would also include some bullion.
3) I do know about diamonds. I'm also familiar with how the world works and the diamond aspect of this next process.
4) Would be used to supplement the purchase, and not as the entire basis for it. I have sufficient cash flow from my employment to take care of it, and the other option is financing. I just wish to avoid need that last option.
5) If she turns out to be the one, she's one of a kind.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Good to hear/read! Wish you and the future Mrs. RMP the best!
Keep the coins, buy a zirconium!
Yeah, I know the wife wouldn't like it. My $1700 diamond fell out of the ring two years into the marriage. We replaced it with a fake stone, and it dazzles all the same. My wife actually gets more compliments with the zirconium. We found the diamond a couple years later in her make-up bag.
I researched how to sell the diamond but realized it was all mostly a racket. I don't even know where it is, I probably just threw it away.
Cigar band.
This is a picture of my grandkids.
Any of them.
Except I see Waldo more often.
For most coin collectors, the source of specimens was pocket change or coins crossing a sales counter. A few albums were about all the accessories needed along with a free Buyer's Guide from Macy's Coin and Stamp Department. If cash was needed, the collection was an available, if emotionally testing, source.
After about 1970 and the demise of circulating silver and Buffalo nickels. collectors have had to buy coins, and that places greater stress when a financial emergency occurs. Liquidating any enjoyable possession, or exchanging it for other enjoyable things, it an emotional as well as financial decision.
If the OP reads all of the diamond article - written 40 years ago - he might want to think about the diamond decision - especially since man-made diamonds are equal and about 1/2 the price.
Use your bullion to buy the ring. Keep the coins you like. Bullion is good protect the core collection insurance. For investing their are better vehicles than coins or bullion. You collect as a hobby with disposable income. If you have lost interest, sell both. However, your coins will hold value better than her clothes or makeup and diamonds are a fair investment at best. You just have to get her one to marry her and most know the old wedding cake joke.
With the amount of scrap I melt for dealers/customers. I don't recommend diamond rings to people. I'm sorry, but your better off buying her a simple band with a stone of some meaning. My wife wears an eternity band with fine diamonds all around, a $300 item from a coin dealer. Might only be worth $100 melt, but heck of alot better than dropping 5K on something that you'll be lucky to get 1/4 your money back if your met with hard times. Instead offer to put the money towards a killer honeymoon.
Investors should churn their coin portfolio. Coins can always be replaced (may be something different).
Don’t keep coins if they dragging down your finances. Focus on material that is liquid.
As far as coins being store of value that water went under the bridge a long time ago (see Pcgs 3000). Many classic commems cheaper than they were 25 years ago.
Find a jeweler who can make your bullion into the ring, then add a stone...... or not. That’s a personal decision. I think that’d actually be kind of cool.
As for the collection, only you can really decide. Avoiding debt whenever possible is a wise move, even if the ring ends up a little smaller. One of my most favorite things about my wife is that she’s still satisfied with the itty-bitty diamond purchased in our poverty. Classy people are like that.
Most coins don't keep up with the cost of inflation and even fewer can beat inflation plus the high rate of interest on a loan secured by risky collateral. You are better off selling the coins and buying them back later when finances permit.
P.S. Congratulations! I wish you luck.
If you're determined on selling your coins to supplement your cash and buy a ring then do it this way: buy the ring on a cash back credit card and then use your cash and coin proceeds to pay off the credit card in full. You'll pocket a little extra cash from the credit card cash back transaction.
Successful BST transactions with lordmarcovan, Moldnut, erwindoc
I have sold out 2x in my life to fund business start-ups, I wouldn't do that again, I'd borrow the money. I am in the process of selling one of my sets because I promised myself I would (to pay off a kid's college loans). If you are young either don't sell, or just sell stuff you don't care about...I would follow the advice shown above re: diamonds I think an old platinum setting with some old diamonds would be way cool and cheaper from an independent jewelry store, pawn shop (gasp!) or coin/antique dealer. If really allergic to debt, follow your plan, but the US is still awash in cheap money, just shop for it like anything else. Credit union loans can still be 4% or less.
On that note, shop around for new credit card offers. I don't know what's currently out there, but a couple years ago there was one offering $500 back if I spent x (large) amount on it within 3 months. I was about to buy round trip international airfare for the whole family. Boom, free $500. Of course you don't want to make a habit of this because too many cards and applications negatively impacts your credit score, and only do it if you can pay off the balance right away.
This. (In bold)
The ring should be something SHE will like, enjoy and show to her friends. It is an emotional investment, not a monetary one.
From a purely financial perspective, dump the woman and buy more coins.
LIBERTY SEATED DIMES WITH MAJOR VARIETIES CIRCULATION STRIKES (1837-1891) digital album
Not a bad idea, thank you!
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Too many years with coins, not enough with a lovely woman. LOL
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
I totally get that, having gone through this with my sister and knowing that female/friends dynamic. This is definitely an emotional investment, but one to approach on my side with additional monetary considerations (so that emotions don't get the best of me in debt, unwise sale of coins, etc.)
Great conversation and input, and some much needed humor to lighten the mood. That's why I enjoy this forum. Thanks all.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
You guys who noted the poor investment qualities of diamonds make me laugh!
The diamond in this case is for the symbolic tradition of a marriage proposal.
There is a formula I read once: "Happy wife" = "___________________ "
Ha ha ha
When you sell a few coins to buy the ring, on your wedding night you'll be reminded of David's byline about having fun with [or from as the case may be] your coins.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
Coins are an excellent store of value, especially if you are a shrewd buyer. I use coins to fund my car hobby, most recently to do an LSx swap into a 1962 Pontiac Catalina convertible.
I'm already married so coins get to buy stuff like new garage doors and couches.
Don't seek relationship advice on a coin forum.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
Only seeking input on the relationship with coins part LOL.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Over the years, I have been setting aside interesting coins and all 1911 $2 1/2 that have come through my hands with my ebay business. At one time, I had over 100 1911 $2 1/2 Indians, plus probably an addition 50-60 other interesting $2 1/2 Indians. Two years ago, my wife decided to stay home with our newest baby girl, so we dropped to one income. I was glad I had a decent stockpile of coins to slowly sell off, to help ease the one income lifestyle. 99% of the coins I will not miss. I try not to sell any of my coins that I feel are irreplaceable, though I have sold off more of my gold toners than I would have liked. Buying an engagement ring is obviously not an investment.. but you should not look at it that way. I think it's worth selling off some coins to be able to buy a ring debt free, for sure. You can always buy more coins later.
I bot my engagement ring first, house second, started coins third, then two kids. I've slowed down a ton in my coin buying lately just due to time constraints. It's to the point where my coin collection doesn't even factor into my capital allocation, which is a nice feeling. And they don't make much of an appearance out side the SDG. Little grubby fingers abound.