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Major Miscalculation?

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jackson64

1,134 views

coins are not easily liquid

I am foremost a collector....

Having said that, I also try and buy with a respect to the idea that coins, unlike my other major hobbies of fishing, boating and vegetable gardening, have a definite monetary return potential. Well I don't have to tell most of you that we as a country are going through some tough economic times.

I have seen many mentions here in the journals and also on the chat boards of people who have hit rough times and have had to sell some or even most of their collections. I have been blessed because my wife and I are both in the medical field and are mostly recession proof in our jobs ( unless, of course the government takes that over and screws it up like they do everything else). I won't get started on that..but I did want to mention a major error in my thinking.

I've always thought that my coins would be easy to liquidate...this may be true to a degree, but only if you are willing to lose a great deal of money. I have seen several collectors needing a quick cash infusion and losing their shirts on sales recently--especially on modern issues. What have I learned?

I have learned that older coins retain value and slowly increase over time.

I have learned that moderns, unless you are committed to getting a #1 ranked registry set, are best purchase in MS&PF 69.

I have learned that to truly "profit" from coins you really need to hold them for at least 10 years and ideally 20+ years.

I have learned that buying coins, then re-selling those to buy other coins and then changing your taste and selling those and starting a different set only profits the auction companies( who charge both to buy and sell), the post office and possibly grading services as some people crack out coins or re-submit for a shot at higher grades.

I recently saw a board member mention he was selling a complete set of state quarters--silver and clad--in PF70UCAM for $21,000...that may be the "list value" for the entire set, however I did some research and hunting and found that I could assemble the entire proof 70 set, all 100 coins, for between $4,000-5,000 !!

I recently tried to sell a few coins quickly ( doubles and random coins not in sets) because I wanted to put a downpayment and reserve a $2000 coin that I didn't have the full amount for at this time....the result? Nobody is really buying--even at half the list price !!

So I've determined, that unless I want to practically give coins away, the best bet is to send my coins to a major auction house when I'm ready to sell some. It may take a lot longer to get the money in my account..but coins are not the potential source of "quick cash" that I thought they were ( if needed), especially when luxury items like a coin collection get pushed to the back-burner during recessive periods.

Just some thoughts and I hope I didn't bum some of you readers out...on the bright side? I have been able to purchase some beautiful coins, like this Dolly Madison, already slabbed and graded, for less than the cost that the mint was selling them for raw...

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