I am still going round and round about this-whether to spend my money on numismatics or bullion...........quality or quantity? Ive got a good bit of both but am gonna buy some more soon and was just looking for some opinions on this subject-i know there are TONS of arguments both ways new here and just wanted to get some of your opinions thanks in advance!
Bullion for investment. Numismatic for personal keeping. I'm not for speculating on prices for certain coins.
Bullion. Numismatic investments require experience, skill and luck. Bullion investment just requires patience and fundamentals.
I bought the 2012 proof set from the us mint for $30-it sold out-now its TRIPLED on ebay and other places ive seen it-just ordered the 2013 set today
I think you will find that there is room for both in your collection. Theres numismatics and then theres numismatics.....you just need to decide which numi direction you want to collect. Strongly suggest doing your home work....we all have different views and opinions....but I believe you will find most stackers will have some form of numismatics in their collection. Maybe take advance of bullion while spot is down....you can always hop onto the nimi. train later
The sucess of a numi set from last year does not guarantee that this years set will follow suit. Numis are very hit and miss, take the Deadley and Dangerous, Red Back=Huge hit, rest of the series not so much of a hit. When starting out sticking to low primium bullion is a good way to grow the stack while learning. Theres nothing wrong with haveing a few special numis in the stack to pass on to the kids as special gifts but just don't count on them providing a primium for their inheritance. They may get lucky and inherit the next Red Back or they may just end up with pretty Clown Fish to look at.
If it's for a kid on (say) their 21st, it wants to be a serious piece IMHO. They will look after it. Determine your budget, and decide Silver or Gold, then decide whether it should be Australian or universal; date related or irrelevent. I'd be thinking about some boxed single gold coins: Proof Sovereign, perhaps (mostly UK - and if you are leaning that way check out the 2 Pound and 5 Pound coin in the same vein). You can pick up a Proof 1980 Sov for GBP300, and a UNC 5 Pound for GBP1,300 plus. Or get a Perth Mint Proof Sov, perhaps. There is always a half Sov option. Lots of Silver options, but you can always add to their stack as and when. Take the year of their birth and see what is out there.
The Royal Canadian Mint has some great numismatic products and a few of them have appreciated quite significantly. For example, farewell to the penny roll, issue price $9.95, has tripled in value. Most products will decline from their original cost but there are always 1 or 2 coins that are great investments. I just bought the latest Venetian murano art glass butterfly silver coin at $149.99 and now its doubled in value.
Both. Numis have made me shiteloads more than bullion over the last 18 months - even with spot prices declining. Buy some very liquid bullion as the basis of your stack (say, 10z PM bars & 1966 50c). Then, when you see a good numi deal pop up, you can always sell the bullion to fund the numi purchase. When you sell the numi, buy more bullion oz's.
Some bullion can be numi, such as hand poured bars or vintage bars from companies no longer in production can sell for many times their bullion value. Perhaps research some US companies that are local to you and stack their bullion. Preserving local history for your kids and making an investment.
Definitely spend your time investing in the knowledge of both bullion and numis. Research market trends of bullion and numis. Past can be an indicator but not always a success. Knowing which coin in the series takes off can be hard to predict. However, I often look at the first coin in a series as when the series progresses it becomes worth more. Bullion can become numis also E.g. panda/ lunar. Research mintages, if they can be reminted, past performance. If investment is your target bullion will be more stable. However if the market moves rapidly u are directly tied to its value. Numis can have a buffer as they usually arent as affected by spot moves, but more demand by collectors.
Since your goal is to accumulate an inheritance for your daughter, you'd probably be best off stacking low-premium bullion. ASEs, CSMs and Philharmonics can be bought in the US for reasonable premiums from Goldmart and Provident. If you prefer generic bars, I don't think anybody beats the Goldmart premium on 10oz NTR bars. If you have any good LCS's near you, they may have good premiums ($1-$1.50/oz) on secondary market generic bars, but watch out for sales tax. Numismatic stuff costs a lot more than low-premium bullion. It may appreciate a lot better, but it might not. You never know and market trends are unpredictable,very fickle and not really the stuff of stable, sound, long-term investments. I'm also trying to build an inheritance stash. I've stuck almost entirely with low-premium bullion (ASEs, CSMs, Philharmonics and Libertads). The furthest away from that principle I've wandered is a small amount of semi-numi bullion (Engelhard bars and a complete set of silver bullion Britannias), so what I've accumulated is steady and solid value stuff that won't be heavily influenced by the comings and goings of numismatic popularity and premiums. But -- bottom line is it's your call. Good luck.
Hi kcaven, I too stack mainly for my daughter. I mainly stack bullion bars (mostly 10oz) since their premium, in my opinion, is reasonable and they seemed to be relatively liquid when it comes to sell. I have on occasion purchased a few numis, which I will keep for my collection.
I look for good quality bullion with limited mintage. Compare the price of a bullion Canadian Wildlife Timber Wolf today. I regret not buying the 5 oz America the Beautiful Hawaii and Denali bullion coins - these are hard to find and selling at high prices and not even one year old.
