Which would be a better investment?

[comicdonna]

I would like to see images of gold coins if anyone would care to share. Images of stocks are fine too.

[Walkerfan]

Invest in stocks if you're interested in investments.

But I would go with a graded Gold piece as they have numismatic value as well as bullion value.

 

 

Coins are a much better LT investment than stocks.

Not if you're a smart trader!

 

It's VERY tough these days with high speed computers making trades in a micro-second and the volatile fluxuation of the market.

 

You can have it.

 

I know quite a bit about finances and I would NEVER risk large sums in todays stock market. Not a chance.

[MarkFeld]

Invest in stocks if you're interested in investments.

But I would go with a graded Gold piece as they have numismatic value as well as bullion value.

 

 

Coins are a much better LT investment than stocks.

 

Based on what (facts)?

[Walkerfan]

Invest in stocks if you're interested in investments.

But I would go with a graded Gold piece as they have numismatic value as well as bullion value.

 

 

Coins are a much better LT investment than stocks.

 

Based on what (facts)?

 

Historical prices over the last 50-60 years.

 

Why do you advise against investing in coins, besides, buy/sell spreads. What are these 'other' factors that you mention on your site.

[physics-fan3.14]

Invest in stocks if you're interested in investments.

But I would go with a graded Gold piece as they have numismatic value as well as bullion value.

 

 

Coins are a much better LT investment than stocks.

 

Based on what (facts)?

 

The fact is, there are excellent opportunities in both areas. A well informed, educated, and knowledgeable person can buy properly graded, eye appealing, desirable coins which will appreciate over the long term. Similarly, a knowledgeable person can buy stocks with excellent value and growth potential. However, there are plenty of pitfalls in both areas - low grade, common, or problem coins will never appreciate very fast. And we all know the pitfalls of buying bad stock.

 

In short - no one can make a generalized statement about one type of investment over another. There are good buys and bad buys in both worlds.

[World Colonial]

You are corect.

 

Moreover, I doubt that the typical coin buyer has done substantially better than the typical stock buyer over any long period of time EXCEPT to the extent that stocks or coins have done better than the other over the arbitrary period selected for the comparison.

 

At this time, US stocks measured by the major averages such as the S&P 500 have provided basically a zero return since the peak of the stock mania in 2000. However, if this were January or March of 2000 instead, I can guarantee you that the sentiments expressed here would differ. Both are lagging indicators and do not tell anyone a thing about the future.

[jom]

There is no way in hell rare coins are going to be better investments that equities. Stocks can bring dividends whereas gold and rare coins cannot. Then if you add in these 20% fees to sell coins I don't think it's even close.

 

I'd much rather buy an investment that PAYS me to hold it...and this is not only stocks but cash-flow real estate.

 

As to "trading": That's not what I do....I subscribe to the Buffet way of doing things. Trading is more akin to "gambling" then it is investing. And, if you think about it, holding onto coins a long time can work to your benefit as well.

 

On the other hand COINS are much more FUN!

 

jom

[Oldtrader3]

I have owned many gold coins during my life and not a lot of bullion. Bullion to me is strictly a hedge against monetary collapse or devaluation of the dollar. I have personally had much better success in buying better date gold coins (not Saints in this market) and finding a scarcer gold coin for not much premium over melt. I have done much better financially with this tactic than with bullion plays.

 

Because of high melt prices, many gold coin values have lanquished for the past 3+ years and have not kept up with the market, only with advancing bullion prices. I am a selective gold buyer on some dates and MM's of gold now, despite high melt. These coins which I have an interest in have been nearly the same prices that they were when gold was $500 per ounce.

 

Just my $.02 worth in a hard to second guess market.

[World Colonial]

Which one is better is a function of how much knowledge the "investor" has and how much they paid for their "investment". But neither is intrinsically better than the other though I agree that it probably appears to be harder to make money in coins than in equities.

 

I have made most of my money in coins in one segment, South Africa. But the opportunities to do so are not what they were before because the information advantage I had in the past over other collectors and "investors" no longer exists.

 

Most wjho post here buy and own US coins. The market is much bigger and much more liquid. But in my opinion, it is in some ways more difficult to make money in them (absent an increase in prices generally) because there are a lot of knowledgeable people in every or practically every area.

 

The transaction costs for coins are also a drawback, but they are not necessarily 20%. Sometimes they are more and other times less. It depends upon how desirable the material is beng sold, the market conditions at the time of the sale and even in some instances, the numismatic network of the seller. I have sold coins through private sales to others I know for only the Paypal fee and others here probably sold them without even that.

 

The point I am trying to make (which I believe you know) is that a lot of it depends upon "luck" and secondly, how much effort the collector or "investor" is willing to make. I was lucky to pick South Africa to collect. But I also was able to buy the coins I did cheaply and in many instances sell them for much more right away because I apparently was one of the few who could be bothered to make the effort to know what the coins were actually worth before I bought them. The reason I say this is because many of my acquisitions were at public auction (eBay or otherwise) and anyone else could have outbid me had they chosen to do so.

 

As for Buffet, in another post, I have already explained the difference between someone like him and the typical stock buyer. Buffet is buying a share of a business. Most everyone else is buying a piece of paper, frequently of dubious merit, which may or may not sell for more in the future. Just like the coin "investor", the purpose of their acquisition is to profit from the price change. The current mostly pitiful dividend yield is generally secondary to that. So in actuality, there is no real practical difference between the two.

[Oldtrader3]

You are corect.

 

Moreover, I doubt that the typical coin buyer has done substantially better than the typical stock buyer over any long period of time EXCEPT to the extent that stocks or coins have done better than the other over the arbitrary period selected for the comparison.

 

This sounds like gibberish from the -script of Alice In Wonderland at the Mad Hatter Tea Party!

[Crohnos01]

Personally, I invest in the stock market through IRAs, 401ks, etc. However, my coins are what I consider my "backup" plan. Not all that many years ago, the conventional wisdom was to "not put any money in the stock market you can't afford to lose" I think its interesting that nearly all retirement plans are in stocks and bonds these days... So, I look at coins as being a nice, safe place to store some money. They may not increase in value the same as stock in a company, but they won't decrease either.... I can show you my ownership stock in several here today gone tomorrow companies. So if I buy a small percentage of my retirement funds in coins and not stocks, I may not make a ton of money, but I know that a 1901 quarter eagle will never be worthless either....and the fact that I get far more enjoyment from looking at coins than I do stocks doesn't hurt either...

[coinman_23885]

So, I look at coins as being a nice, safe place to store some money. They may not increase in value the same as stock in a company, but they won't decrease either....

 

Not true. Coins can and do lose value.

[Crohnos01]

Ok, point taken....there were some pretty upset people when the GSA stumbled across all those Morgans in an audit, so yes they can decrease... What I meant to say is they will never be worthless....and I can guarantee you stocks can and do become worthless.... If you don't believe me, I have some I will trade you straight across for any Morgans you have....

[wheat'swheats]

Ok, point taken....there were some pretty upset people when the GSA stumbled across all those Morgans in an audit, so yes they can decrease... What I meant to say is they will never be worthless....and I can guarantee you stocks can and do become worthless.... If you don't believe me, I have some I will trade you straight across for any Morgans you have....

Me too, I lost $10000 last year in just one bank stock. Watched it go up to 18K and fall to 0 over night.

wheat

[Oldtrader3]

I lost a good deal of money on one large bank stock as well. This was after my ML broker recommended it. I think that I got this stock unloaded on me from larger customers by this broker but can't prove wrong-doing. This brokerage house has a long record and history of doing so to small customers and has paid fines and damages for "dumping" on small customers in the past.

[BillJones]

Ok, point taken....there were some pretty upset people when the GSA stumbled across all those Morgans in an audit, so yes they can decrease... What I meant to say is they will never be worthless....and I can guarantee you stocks can and do become worthless.... If you don't believe me, I have some I will trade you straight across for any Morgans you have....

Me too, I lost $10000 last year in just one bank stock. Watched it go up to 18K and fall to 0 over night.

wheat

 

Yep, I lost money on a bank stock too. Wilmington Trust, a bank founded by the DuPonts of Delaware, went belly up as a result of the usual – bad mortgage loans. It was viewed as a good, strong community bank until the other shoe dropped without warning. I didn’t lose everything because another bank took it over and gave out their stock to Wilmington Trust stockholders, but I still took a beating.

 

My dad and grandmother invested in Wilmington Trust years ago when it was the leading bank in Delaware and looked “safe” – just like General Motors. Thank goodness I saw what was coming and dumped that one before it went down the tube. My mother had a hairly fit when I sold the GM stock. "Your're selling off you father's legacy!"

 

In 1965 General Motors was selling for over $100 a share when $100 was “real money.” To put it in context, if you were making $100 a week, that was a “pretty good” job.

 

[wheat'swheats]

Ok, point taken....there were some pretty upset people when the GSA stumbled across all those Morgans in an audit, so yes they can decrease... What I meant to say is they will never be worthless....and I can guarantee you stocks can and do become worthless.... If you don't believe me, I have some I will trade you straight across for any Morgans you have....

Me too, I lost $10000 last year in just one bank stock. Watched it go up to 18K and fall to 0 over night.

wheat

This was the Peidmont Bank. A community bank. The VP told me the week before that they were alright.

[Crohnos01]

Interesting...we all took baths in bank stocks....of course I actually held shares in several others that went south too...and I too had them all recommended by my "expert" adviser...the fact that he had kittens over me pulling back some of my investment $ to purchase coins actually gives me a warm feeling about doing so.....