what sort of minimum grade would you seek for a set of rare sovs?

P

phrenzy

In Memoriam - July 2017
Silver Stacker
I sent 4 sovs off for grading at PCGS a little while ago and excepting one aUnc-details-cleaned (I really don't think it was) it was very good news. I even got back one ms60 type 2 ('67)! Plus, an aU58 '66 type 2 and an aU55 '71 large BP st George.

I'm really happy with the grades but it gives me a problem. I have a couple of the rarer type 2's in lower grades (the '57 in vf35 and xf - cleaned for example) and I can't decide what minimum grade to keep to collect a set. I have a couple that I wouldn't bother to send in for grading because of the wear on Victoria's wreath even though they ate otherwise nice, so I'll definitely be trying to find replacements for them but do I keep the vf35 or should I shoot for an xf minimum? I have a few nice aU coins but getting '58, '59, '60 and '62 in aU will be very expensive (not to mention'55 and '56).

What grades would you be satisfied with? Would a set with the rarer coins in solid vf that looked nice enough satisfy you?

Obviously it's mostly about how the coins look and what I'm satisfied with but it's partly an investment as well so it would be good to field opinions.

Of course it might all be moot as I am thinking about trading a pile of them in for an 1855 but I'm interested to know what everyone thinks.
 
Collecting sovs, beer mats or silver spoons is just so personal and subjective. Having said that, I aim for a straight run of dates or types irrespective of their condition although I buy the best I can afford at the time. Once I have the dates, types I want I then sit back and enjoy the achievement for a while. Boredom then sets in and I upgrade the quality of specific years as they become available/affordable. That way you have your collection and it won't deteriorate and upgrading specific coins is cheaper because you sell the lesser grade of that year to help finance the nicer coin.

I prefer Australian half sovs as the hunt is more interesting.
 
Belvedere said:
Collecting sovs, beer mats or silver spoons is just so personal and subjective. Having said that, I aim for a straight run of dates or types irrespective of their condition although I buy the best I can afford at the time. Once I have the dates, types I want I then sit back and enjoy the achievement for a while. Boredom then sets in and I upgrade the quality of specific years as they become available/affordable. That way you have your collection and it won't deteriorate and upgrading specific coins is cheaper because you sell the lesser grade of that year to help finance the nicer coin.

I prefer Australian half sovs as the hunt is more interesting.
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That's definitely true, but I could probably aquire a set of almost any quality but it's a matter of how long it is between drinks and whether I pass up the marginal examples. I know there's no right answer, just curious where others draw the line.

I've thought about half sovs, I keep seeing lots of Sydney halves on ebay but that premium! :). You'd think collecting type 2's I'd get used to it but even for my most expensive stuff it's not been more than 100% premium over the underlying spot price (which as a percentage is lower than plenty of modern silver pm lunars), the halves just challenge my sense of stacking...He said moments after talking about his plans to buy a type 1.
 
Phrenzy - As a financial planner I have invested many of clients super into our Australian Sovereigns over the past 20 years. The research that I have done indicated to me that just about any pre 1900 sovereigns at a.U or above continued to performed and protected you the best during :-
1) Any recession or oversupply like we are experiencing now..

OR

2) A massive 20 year fall in the underlying gold price like we had back in 1980 -2000... And again 2011 to now...
"Intrinsic value of the coin protects you if the bullion value falls and prices still increased almost every year during these times"..

E.F'S AND LOWER GRADES GET SMASHED DOWNWARDS in price as masses buy these grades for affordability or bullion plays.. They panic and sell out of these type of grades during these times....

Am I wrong by advising my clients to stick to buying only the best quality sov's at the lowest possible premiums above spot???????? I don't think so......
Once you have 10% of your portfolio dedicated to this type of sovereign, then it may be time to buy one or two high premium and extremely rarer Full or 1/2 sovereigns....

So I sit in the aU or higher club for these reasons.....
 
Oh and if you can pick up a A.U or better sovereign coin for under $500 in value, the ATO taxation guide states for personal use, it is then capital gains tax exempt later on when you sell it for $600 or $10,000..... Handy to know hey, This info is found under the collectables act... Most accountants aren't even aware of this...
 
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