@jmlanzaf said:
Looking back, if i were 17 again, I would buy NOTHING until I had 100k in retirement savings. Then I would never have to worry about money again and my peers would never catch up. Of course, at the time, waiting 10 years to start having fun would have seemed ridiculous. So... do what you want. In the end, you probably will anyway.
I often wonder how much money ib would have if I had just invested the money in every coin or collectible "mistake" I ever made. Even the "winners" were usually lovers of the opportunity costs were considered. But, I would have more money but had less fun. It's really an impossible calculation.
At my age, I bought gold coins in the 1960s and made out like a bandit. I lost money on a circulated Indian cents. I made a lot of money on type coins. Coins are a double edged sword. With medals prices as high as they are, I wonder if the same thing would happen for a young person if they bought gold now.
And it’s the same old question. You need to know how to grade coins to buy well, even with certification.
Depends on the gold coins. $100 invested in the S&P 500 in 1966 would be worth $28, 500 today. That's really the point. Most coins simply will not keep to up with investment portfolios.
If you invested $50 per MONTH in the S&P 500 starting in 1966, it would be worth $2.66 million today.
I hesitate to post this, but I don't believe you could buy a basket or combined fund for the S&P 500 in 1966. I think this is something that occurred later, perhaps as early as the late 1970s. Regardless, the S&P 500 is not a static fund; it has stocks removed and added regularly, so it isn't quite the same as buying and holding one coin for decades.
The index funds date to Vogle in the late 70s. There were institutional funds earlier, although maybe not in the 60s. But that's really besides the point. The S&P just provides an easy benchmark to compare to.
Berkshire Hathaway under Buffet dates to the mid 60s. My aunt was a school teacher and started investing in stocks in the 1930s.
The point remains, even the coins that "win" don't tend to compound and match the performance of a steady investment portfolio. Investing $50 per month starting in the 1960s results in $2.7 million today. Hard to beat that with 99% of coins or other collectibles. But, as I said, I would have had less fun even though I would have been richer.
John Vogle?
Sorry, Bogle. My fat fingers. Yes, he Main Streeted funds, although they existed prior for investment banks.
Comments
Mr Goob,
Collect what you like.
1) Study/ research before you go much further
2) Refine your grading skills
3) Go with PCGS (CAC when available), NGC (CAC when available) or CACG
4) At your age, don't focus much on collecting as an investment. 10 years from now, when you have a career job, you can focus on investing!
Great Collections is an excellent source for "lower cost" coins; excellent photos; auction archives (historical sales price info).
I remember the name well 👍