Collectors can wait for higher prices

How many of us can honestly say we know for certain if we are a collector, an investor, or somewhere in between?

Collectors collect while investors buy for the sole purpose of reselling. With bullion prices trading within a relatively tight and unattractive range and the value of better-date coins flatlined, investors continue to be in short supply, while collectors are enjoying reasonable prices compared to where prices were several years earlier.

The search for fresh material can become challenging in a market such as what we are now experiencing. While collectors do have concerns about the value of what they own, they are not inclined to sell. Many of the coins they buy will be off the market for their lifetime.

Those individuals who are in the market either to make a living (we call them coin dealers), or as speculators, need this fresh material that is in short supply when much of it is in collector hands.

Right now there is little upward movement in the value of key date coins. While collections belonging to deceased hobbyists will continue to hit the market, among the living a buy-and-hold attitude persists. Why sell if you don’t have to? Why sell when buyers are scarce and prices might be much better in the future? Collectors essentially always take a long view to optimize both enjoyment and prices they receive when they sell. That’s not a bad position to be in with current trading conditions.

Many collectors will admit the chase is as exciting as is the pride of ownership. The frustration is on the investment end where, due to current moderate price levels, much of the more desirable material remains off the market.