hi all, am new to this field and was planning on getting some proof coins. so besides dragon lunar coins (which i feel is hugely over inflated with promises), what coins should i look into if i wish to invest some money on silver/ i prefer the idea of proof coins as the mintage is limted and dont mind forging out the extra mulla for it. any advise would be appreciated. thanks.
If you are new to the field then i wouldn't go with the proofs but stick with bullion. I can't offer the advice that you are after though sorry.
Mintage might be limited but the demand might also be limited. Gotta consider that when buying Proof coins, many of them end up being duds. I agree with Naph Man, stack bullion unless you intend to do LOTS of research. Even then it's a bit of a gamble still.
If you buy new silver proof coins at their retail price, you are collecting coins, not investing. Buy whichever coins you think are the prettiest so you can admire them - you will most likely lose money on them anyway so may as well get some enjoyment from owning them. Obviously this dragon mania is going to spawn a whole new raft of 'flippers' who think every coin that hits the market will be like the dragons - an easy way to make money Check out some of the older threads on this forum - especially the ones on the clownfish Oh except for pandas of course - some here believe they can only ever go up, never down
i'd start with this http://www.perthmint.com.au/catalogue/2011-royal-wedding-1oz-silver-coin.aspx pick up ~100 or so, if he turns out anything like his dad it will give you a double exposure in the Heroes and villains collection http://www.perthmint.com.au/catalogue/heroes-and-villains.aspx good luck... cause you sure gonna need it!
I have bought several proof RAM Roos for less than the going rate for the carded UNC ones. You just have to be patient and look everywhere, ebay, retailers, forums
I think it all depends on timing. I started to buy first silver coins from May 2010, first I got U.S. Mint silver proof sets from 1999, (still do not have 1999 yet, since I have not seen one with the price I want), then I got Philharmonic, Perth mint lunar II, koala, kooks, some Canadian Olympic silvers.... Then I got some proof ones. But due to my timing was good, silver was only $17 or so an oz, so most of coins I got (except proof ones) now appreciate at least 60% in value, some good deals appreciate >100%. So most Proof coins are NOT for investment. they appreciate little except a few occasions. Plus, I think now is a bad time to start, frankly, even though many people think silver price can double from here. So go slow. Do not buy proof set except for some widely after ones, the FIRST issue in the set, thing like that. I do not know how is Australia, but in the U.S., a lot of people struggle to put food on their tables, roof on their heads, proper temp. in their homes, and medicine they need for their normal daily lives. Not many people can afford or want silver. Just look at Ebay auction, really not many buyers except for some very hot issues like Perth Mint Dragon coin<g>. Even the Canadian Dragon coin do not have many pursuers.
Interesting you want to stay away from Dragons. If you can get Dragon proofs at Perth mint release price I would say these are the most likely to increase in value of any proof. Numismatics really is a professionals game and collecting proofs is very rarely an investment so unless you are very experienced I would be cautious. Saying that - out of all of the current releases the endangered and extinct series from the Perth Mint is looking like it might do ok. At the end of the day it's a bit of a guessing game. I thought the wildlife in need series would do ok. The jury is still out on that one. eBay prices are showing you shouldn't loose money buy it's no red back spider either. The next three animals in that series should be more popular (as individual animal coins) and may get more people interested in collecting the whole set but as I said before - it's a guessing game. If I had $1000 to spend I'd wait a couple of months until the mint has sorted it's production issues and split that money between 1/2, 2 and 5oz dragon bullion coins.
I have a few 1oz Proof series you can buy, because I can't sell them to anyone else it seems so my advice is stay away from them until you get a feel for the market. While Dragons have done well there are so many that haven't. In saying that I think the Tassie Eagle is a good buy. Plus Deadly and Dangerous you can get. Treasures of Australia would be my 3 to look at, Otherwise only buy Proofs for personal collection I do not see these as investments normally. Good Luck
