‘Big Business’ in Coins

Neither the business nor the hobby of coins can survive without each other, although sometimes collectors wish this wasn’t true. In recent years, “big” business has been increasingly investing, not necessarily in collectible coins as the product, but in some of the major companies through which bullion and collectible coin sales are generated.

In 2021, entrepreneur and sports card collector Nat Turner, D1 Capital Partners LP, and Cohen Private Ventures LLC acquired Collectors Universe Inc. for $700 million dollars. Later the same year the private equity firm Blackstone paid nearly $500 million to acquire a majority stake in Certified Collectibles Group. Heritage Auctions in Dallas has become the largest collectibles auction house in the world.

The U.S. Mint – yes, that too has become increasingly commercialized, offering wholesale prices to bulk purchase retailers while marketing to collectors who are willing to pay a premium price for what should be merely bullion coins and issuing circulating commemorative quarters from which the Mint gains seigniorage profits. Recognize the U.S. Mint as being the product manufacturer.

The fact some coins are now selling individually for more than $1 million has not gone unnoticed by serious investors looking for alternative investments from equities. The hobby and the business of coins have gone mainstream, with coins being increasingly recognized as an asset class, arguably viewed by investors as a commodity worth considering.