Coins

planteria

further to threads re. Gold and Silver where coins are mentioned, are any folks here investing in Coins?
i have a few Silver £20s, a Britannia, some Kookaburras, and some commemorative coins.
i'm not really a collector, but wouldn't mind trading some of what i have for 1 or 2 coins of higher value that perhaps would be more likely to appreciate more quickly.
anyone here got experience of this?

puk999

I have 11kg (350 troy ounces) of silver coins. Two kilo kookaburras, two 10oz kookaburras, a 10oz year of the snake and the rest is mainly 1oz Canadian Maples or Vienna Philharmonics. I only collect bullion coins and have no real interest in anything other than .999 fine. Also have no interest in the numismatic/collectable aspect of coins. The solid silver kilo coins are simply awesome to hold!

I was buying a lot more Perth Mint stuff at the beginning but now I largely avoid it because I don't like the premium. The Perth Mint coins are gorgeous but I feel that paying the premium is straying into the collectable territory. I'm more interested in the precious metal value.

Also have 4.5 troy ounces of gold. A couple of one ounce bars but then switched to bullion coins (Australian Kangaroo, Lunar Horse, Canadian Maple Leaf).

Haven't added to stack for a few months now. I felt like too high a percentage of my money was in PMs so focusing on S&S ISAs. Been weighing up the pros and cons of PMs also and realising there's a lot more cons than I realised when I started so they've lost their appeal a bit. I can still see myself buying more coins in a few months though.

I'm not seeking to swap/trade and not sure where you would do swaps.

planteria

great reply puk.
when i say 'trading' i just really meant that i wouldnt mind selling some to buy a smaller number of higher value coins.
i have no physical gold at all, so maybe that is something i will invest in. ideally i would have something that is Precious Metal but also collectable...trying to hit both angles:think:

Devon_Sailor

planteria wrote: »

great reply puk.
when i say 'trading' i just really meant that i wouldnt mind selling some to buy a smaller number of higher value coins.
i have no physical gold at all, so maybe that is something i will invest in. ideally i would have something that is Precious Metal but also collectable...trying to hit both angles:think:

As long as you don't fall for their pretty literature and buy "collectable" bullion from the likes of the Royal Mint, there are plenty of ways to get into the coin market.


Auctions are the best way as much cheaper (even after commission) than from dealers (who have probably brought from auction themselves, and thus you are getting charges commission + profit margin!). If you are after gold, why not plump for some Sovereigns? Readily available, and can be bought for either purely bullion value (ie the more recent ones), right through the price ranges until you get to ones that have a numismatic value too (eg, Georgian ones, Australian mint Victorian ones, etc) - or go the whole hog and get something like a James I Gold Angel (£10K +).


If you go for silver, my personal favourites are hammered silver coins.


World is your oyster really, but bear in mind there is a SERIOUS and large collecting base for coins - if you go down the numismatically collectable route, then prepare to be involved in auction battles to secure them.


Regards


D_S

Anthorn

planteria wrote: »

further to threads re. Gold and Silver where coins are mentioned, are any folks here investing in Coins?
i have a few Silver £20s, a Britannia, some Kookaburras, and some commemorative coins.
i'm not really a collector, but wouldn't mind trading some of what i have for 1 or 2 coins of higher value that perhaps would be more likely to appreciate more quickly.
anyone here got experience of this?

I don't really collect coins as an investment although that is an element of it. My collection of U.S. coins started many years ago during a trip to New York. What I like about U.S. coins is that they reflect part of their value in the metal. For example a modern dime is copper clad with nickel and so is a quarter but the quarter is bigger and so the value of the copper is greater. Mainly in Britain by comparison we get nickel or bronze which doesn't have much of a value at all apart from their face value. If you look at the edge of a dime you will see the copper showing through the nickel.

Overall I collect dimes and quarters including the commemorative quarters such as the National Parks but the commemoratives are always silver where available.

So yes I'm a true collector but investment is always a consideration: In the unlikely event that one of my quarters became worth £1,000 I would be falling over myself to sell it.

planteria

interesting stuff, Anthorn:)

have you considered Kookaburras or Britannias?

cydney65

I started off with bullion last year, mostly sovereigns, but have jumped onto the numismatic band wagon more recently. I tend to go for guineas, florins and older sovereigns now.

The way I see it a lot of these non-bullion coins are getting rarer and the price can't help but rise. You do have to be very sure you are not buying fakes as there are a lot of them out there. I try and stick to coins which have been certified as genuine by the CGS or I buy from reputable dealers such as Chards or Bairds, but there are still some bargains to be had and I think they are a great way to diversify your portfolio.

planteria

i am going to look at trading some of my coins this month...i would happily have 1 coin of value rather than a selection of lower value coins, but suspect i might aswell hang on to some of the low value ones.

are any of the current issues from RM worth buying?

http://www.royalmint.com/our-coins

planteria

do you buy direct from Royal Mint, Warehouse?