Investors Flock to Coins Amid Rising Metal Prices -- A $400,000 Penny

Wall Street Journal ^ | December 1, 2004 | JEFF D. OPDYKE

[OESY]

...The interest in coins comes as sophisticated investors are increasingly looking for assets outside of the U.S. stock market, which many market observers expect to post only modest gains during the coming year. In buying rare coins, individuals not only acquire a collectible asset, but they are also getting exposure to precious metals. The prices of gold and silver, from which many popular U.S. coins are made, are both rising smartly.

The Internet and coin-grading services are playing a part in drawing a new breed of coin investors. The Internet allows collectors to buy and sell rare coins at locations other than their local coin shops. The grading services authenticate coins and grade them based upon how closely they resemble a freshly minted coin, making it easier to certify that the coins being traded are investment grade. And electronic registry services that have sprung up on the Internet during the past few years let investors register their collections online and compete against others in building the highest graded, most valuable sets.

All this has helped make investment-grade coins nearly as liquid as the stock market. The coin market even has its own index -- the CU3000 Rare Coin Index. During the past year, that index of the 3000 most-actively traded coins, has gained about 7.5%....

The coin market presents risks. Novice collectors often get burned, despite the Internet and grading services. Moreover, many smaller shops are popular but can undercut sellers and overcharge buyers, some dealers and collectors say. And the precious-metals market is notoriously volatile.

Also, coin prices have moved substantially, meaning investors aren't buying at bargain levels any more. Still, coin experts say, coins are about two years into a bull-market that, if it mimics history, will last four or five years....

[OESY]

SEEKING COINS

Below are key resources, including two well-regarded coin graders, to help investors interested in rare coins .

Web Sites What They Offer

www.pcgs.com Home of the CU3000 coin index. Provides an online price guide and an overview of each coin series. Also has a coin look-up service.

www.ngccoin.com A population report for coins graded by NGC, which gives a sense of how rare a particular coin is in its mint state.

www.money.org Web site for the American Numismatic Association. Provides educational materials and classes on grading coins and counterfeit detection.

www.coinmag.com Offers a beginner's guide to collecting, along with a 12-point checklist for rare-coin bidding on eBay.

[Jaysun]

A $400,000 Penny

That's absurd.

[NautiNurse]

Been dabbling in coin collecting for several years. Checked the selling prices for some of the coins last week--WOWSER!

[dennisw]

bttttttttt

[NonValueAdded]

So tell us about the penny ... no fair putting that in the title and then failing to excerpt the corresponding paragraph from a pay-for-view article! I want my penny back.

[Mariposaman]

It's all relative. I imagine $400 grand would barely cover Teresa Heinz's monthly clothing "budget" or Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch maintance fees.

[NautiNurse]

$400K 1792 penny--only nine of them known to exist.

$112K+ 1943 for a copper penny. About 40 of them known to exist. There was a CU shortage during WWII.

[Jaysun]

It's all relative. I imagine $400 grand would barely cover Teresa Heinz's monthly clothing "budget" or Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch maintance fees.

Or the monthly landscaping bill over at the main office of my bat guano empire. I guess it is all relative. No, I take that back. It's a penny. It's just a damned penny.

[OESY]

You're right. Here's the quote: "And in August, at the American Numismatic Association's annual World's Fair of Money, a rare, 1792 copper cent -- found in an old tobacco tin -- was valued at $400,000 and is expected to fetch more at auction."

[DoctorMichael]

I don't know if this is fad or 'bubble', but...............

I had a paper-route as a kid (1960's) and had quite a collection at one time. I've still got my Morgan Silver Dollar collection (MS-63 or above, only) that I continued to collect into my 30's. I had thoughts at one time of trying to get a complete set of all of these (*LOL*). I bought a few MS-63 Gold Double Eagles from the early 1900's 5 years back for ~$450-500 when gold was $275/ounce from some of the on-line auctions. They've appreciated nicely.

You can still get a nice common-date MS-63 Morgan dollar at gun shows for $30-35.

[Jaysun]

$400K 1792 penny--only nine of them known to exist. $112K+ 1943 for a copper penny. About 40 of them known to exist. There was a CU shortage during WWII.

Thanks for the info, but again, it's not George Washington sword, or Babe Ruth's bat, it's a penny. I just have a hard time getting my head around that. A one cent piece sold for $400,000. Nuts.

[meyer]

Add www.tulving.com to the list.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Thanks for the links. Have some silver halves (good ones) I was thinking about moving. Problem is, if you want to buy, the price is high. If you want to sell, the price is low. Not worth the hassle.

[Jaysun]

Hey guys,
My barber collects coins and sells them all the time. He goes to a few small towns, buys several rolls of coins from the local banks, checks for keepers, and trades them in for more rolls when he's done. He told me that he's landed a few coins that he later sold for a few hundred bucks. Pretty good hobby huh?

[NonValueAdded]

Thanks for the update!

[Dalite]

"Thanks for the info, but again, it's not George Washington sword, or Babe Ruth's bat, it's a penny. I just have a hard time getting my head around that. A one cent piece sold for $400,000. Nuts"

Think of it this way: If there are too many of an item, the price goes way down. If there are too few, the price goes way up.

Coins are values on amount minted and condition of the specific coin.

Just like the current dollar situation, there is so much excess cash in the money system that the value has been forced artificially low by inflation.

However, if there were only 9 dollars in the money supply, each one would command an unrealistically high premium, as each would have to represent 1/9th of the cash market share of consumer spending.

Coin collectors would like to have a complete collection in the area of their focus. Only 9 will be able to add this to their self-actualization goals if their area of focus covers this era penny.

In this particular case, the bidding starts at $400,000.00 to determine which collector gets to complete their collection.

[NautiNurse]

I bought a few MS-63 Gold Double Eagles from the early 1900's 5 years back for ~$450-500 when gold was $275/ounce

Have some of those in MS64, and some 1oz. Austrian Philharmonics (beautiful!) pre-Euro, and a fair amount of platinum when it was $355-374/oz.

Lucked out by picking up the 1999 silver proof sets and 2001 Buffalo Silver Dollar coin sets before they sold out at the mint.

[martin_fierro]

[XRdsRev]

I have invested in early American bottles and pre 1872 American militaria for years. I also have investments in the stock market.

While I don't have millions of dollars stashed away in any of them, it is an amount that is significant to me and my lifestyle.

Given the choice now, I put my investment money into glass, militaria and decent antiques. The return on my $$$ in those fields have far surpassed than my returns from the stock market. The key is to learn your field, shop around, buy smart, purchase the best quality you can and stick with moderately priced items for investment (they draw a greater pool of potential buyers and are much easier to liquidate quickly).

One personal benefit of investing in these tangible items is that I actually have something to look at and enjoy. Of course there are drawbacks to owning them but every investment has pros and cons.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Wife and have have lived in a half dozen states because of transfers, new jobs, etc. We've made nice money on the homes we bought and sold, especially the two homes in Minnesota. Now that we're close to retirement, we're thinking about picking up some rental houses and seeing if they will appreciate like our homes did.