Investing your funds in some form or fashion is always advantageous if you know the proper resources to invest in. The value of the United States dollar is constantly fluctuating, so, therefore, some investors choose to invest in rare coins. The rare gold and silver coin market is one of the most popular investment markets and for good reason. There are a variety of advantages to be gained by investing in rare coins.
Portfolio Diversification
Buying rare coins is an ideal way for investors to diversify their portfolios. Numerous financial advisors advise their clients to invest anywhere between 10 and 20 percent of their investment funds in tangible assets such as rare coins. This can help give them a sense of security and peace of mind since tangible assets tend to retain their value better than intangible ones. Throughout history, rare U.S. coins have proven themselves to provide security against inflation. They are particularly renowned for their value in periods of high inflation. However, they have been subject to long-term price gains in nearly every economic growth period for the last 30 years. Rare U.S. coins are also extremely useful in reducing a portfolio’s volatility. On average, rare coin investments tend to move in the opposite direction of paper investments.
Liquidity
Rare coins are the most liquid collectibles you can have, thanks to the following independent coin grading services: the Professional Coin Grading service (PCGS) and the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGS). Rare coins can be bought and sold, completely in private and unseen, on an electronic numismatic exchange. Additionally, thousands of coin dealers nationwide, can provide customers with buying or selling quotes for practically any rare U.S. coin. Rare coins offer outstanding liquidity, and this is due to the independent grading services of the PCGS and the NGS. In addition, rare coins can be sold directly to dealers and public auctions. Basically, rare coins offer far more liquidation options than other types of investments.
Privacy
Rare coins are favorable to investors who don’t necessarily want everyone to know what they own because rare coins are one of the few investments that can be accumulated privately. They can be accumulated privately for the following reasons: they are highly liquid and they are easy to transport. Additionally, investors can take physical possession of their coin holdings.
Intrinsic Value
Rare coins offer you intrinsic value that you can feel each time you touch the coins, unlike paper investments. They can offer you two ways to build your wealth. If you know how to carefully select your coins, you can obtain coins that offer the best of bullion and numismatics all in one investment transaction. They can offer investors the intrinsic security of bullion while still giving them profit potential no matter what the performance of precious metal spot prices is at the time.
Affordable Investment Options
Many investment options are too expensive for the private buyer. However, buying rare coins offers you an affordable investment option. Even though rare coins have a history of consistent price gains and stories of million dollar collections sold at auctions, the average buyer can still afford rare coin portfolios with good track records and promising futures. Rare coin investment options are available in a wide range of investment levels to meet all types of investment funds. Compared to many other types of collectibles like rare paintings and real estate, rare coins are quite affordable.
Historical Beauty
Rare U.S. coins symbolize America’s history. They are a direct part of America’s history and provide direct links to America’s rich heritage and are themselves just as valuable and timeless as that history that they link to. They are reflections of national pride as well as Americans’ dedication to their country. American U.S. coins feature American history’s greatest heroes, greatest achievements, and commemorated significant events and are regarded by many as historic works of art. They honor the sacrifices America has made for freedom. Each U.S. coin has traveled a different path throughout history and, therefore, investing in one allows you to own a piece of history, in a sense. This alone makes investing in rare coins a unique and rewarding investment.
High Investment Performance
Perhaps the best advantage to investing in rare coins is that they have the potential to produce substantial long-term profits. For instance, one investor, Harold Bareford purchased a gold U.S. coin collection for approximately $13,832 back in the 1950s, and he later resold it at an auction in 1978 for approximately $1.2 million. Moreover, another collector amassed a collection that cost him approximately $300,000 and later sold it for $12.4 million at an auction.
Rare coin investment performance has been well documented by a variety of trusted sources. Some of those sources include the Wall Street Journal and Consumer Reports as well as a plethora of industry periodicals and guide sheets. All of these reporting agencies have proven that carefully selected rare coin portfolios have tended to have a high rate of long-term appreciation that leads to substantial long-term profits.
However, past performance of rare coins is not a guarantee of future investments. Just like most investments, investments in rare coins do involve some risk. The performance results of different coins vary substantially and are based upon a variety of factors. Yet, numerous independent reports and surveys show that carefully selected rare coins can yield impressive returns for their investors.
Rare Coin Market Outlook
The rare coin market experiences its ups and downs just like any investment market does. However, during both good times and bad times, people are always looking to collect exceptional rare coins. Some people simply invest in rare gold and silver coins to build their tangible assets collection, and then, others sell their rare coins during tough financial times. This makes it so that the market for rare coins is constantly changing and that, contrary to what it may seem, a better market could actually cause some collectors to slow down their coin collecting.
There is no exact formula for predicting what the rare gold and silver coin market will be like a year in advance. However, there are certainly ways to speculate and predict what it might be like. There are a variety of factors that influence the rare gold and silver coin market. One of those factors is the value of gold and silver themselves, so one valuable clue as to what the rare gold and silver coin market will be like can be gleaned by following the gold and silver value markets. However, the current value of the precious metal that the coin is made of is only one factor that affects the value of a coin. For instance, if a coin represents a particular example in history that an investor needs to complete his or her rare coin collection series, then it will be far more valuable to that investor, meaning that he or she will be willing to pay far more for that coin than other investors might pay for it.
Some people believe that the way the rare gold and silver coin market begins during a new year foreshadows how the market will be throughout the remainder of the year. If investors follow this theory, then since in the end of 2012 the market was doing pretty well, especially for gold coins, then it should do well through 2013. However, the Global Precious Metals MMI was 100 at the end of 2012, according to Seeking Alpha; that was the same number it was in January of 2012, but it was an increase of 2 percent from November of 2012. Whether or not the upward trend will continue remains to be seen, but investors should definitely stay posted on the Global Precious Metals MMI to follow any fluctuations.
Some people are worried about how the U.S. debt will affect the rare gold and silver coin market. Because many people are unsure of how their tax situations will be through 2013, they might be skeptical about investing in more rare coins. Investor uncertainty could definitely lead to negative impacts on the rare gold and silver coin market.
However, the market could look up because a rebounding economy could actually help the rare gold and silver coin market. According to the last jobs report, more jobs were added in December, but the unemployment rate remained the same at 7.8 percent. Even if it’s not showing substantial improvement, the economy seems to be holding at a steady level. Although most analysts don’t predict it instantly going upwards, they also recognize that it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. This could help bolster investors’ confidence, which could positively impact the rare gold and silver coin market.
Also, sometimes a bad economy offers the perfect opportunity for beginning coin collectors to break into the market. Rare coins could be cheaper, which could prompt beginners to start rare coin collections. Beginners can purchase modern coins or rare coins and while they might not pay off immediately, in the long-term, they can provide them substantial rewards.
After considering all factors, the rare gold and silver coin market for 2013 should be fairly well. If the economy as well as rare gold and silver prices start to improve, then the rare gold and silver coin market should as well.
References:
http://coins.blanchardonline.com/investing/investing-overview.php
http://creditsandfinance.com/rare-coin-market-outlook-for-2013/