Community Voice Responses (05/01/2012)

From the April 6th Numismatic News E-Newsletter: Will 2012 be the year of the collector coin and not bullion? Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers to Editor, Dave Harper.

What a funny topic. I have a lot of silver coins and bullion, but with limited space in safe deposit boxes I decided to start buying high grade silver dollars. If it is a key date I will buy it graded or not. I started this last December. For now I prefer quality over quantity.
Michael Herndon
Gulfport, Miss.

I’ll refer to Yogi Berra, “Predicting things is hard especially when it’s about the future.”
Lionel Ducote
Address withheld

Unfortunately, I think the bullion mania is here to stay for a while. It’s the new breed of coin collectors. Much like reel-to-reel became eight tracks which became cassette tapes and then CDs which in turn became iPods, etc. We better get used to it. We’re a dying breed. There’s a new kid in town.
Mercury R. Williams
Seattle, Wash.

Here’s why I feel that 2012 be the year of the collector coin and not bullion. I think the coming year may prove to be a strong one for numismatic coins, especially if the economy continues to recover.
Bullion has dominated the coin market to such an extent in the past year that it has been crowding out the collectible coin market apart from the very high end sector of extremely rare coins. Many coin buyers had to curtail their purchases because of financial problems during the three years since the 2008 financial crisis. That has resulted in some good buying opportunities to acquire coins that others were forced to liquidate.
I suspect that trend will abate in the coming year, depending on overall economic conditions. I think many dealers and collectors are ready for a break from the almost constant focus on precious metals. They want to get back to numismatic coins like classic commemoratives and type coins, and this shift, if it occurs, should help drive prices higher.
All in all, 2012 promises to be an interesting year for numismatists and coin investors. If bullion resumes its bull run, collectors will have tough decisions to make about which coins they can afford to acquire, and they will worry about losing money if bullion crashes.
Chuck Schroeder
St. Petersburg, Fla.

At this point in time, I cannot afford buying the “investor rounds” (noncirculated, legal-tender bullion coins).
I can hardly afford the collector coins, but if one or two show up in circulation, which the non-circulating legal tender rounds don’t do, I will cull it out of circulation and add it to my collection. I feel the average collector with a medium income will be looking more at the more affordable collector coin than the investment round this year.
Bill Tuttle
Cleveland, Ohio

For some reason I’ve put down collecting bullion and have aggressively started to expand my collection into a post modern MS or Proof-69 or better slab coins. The collecting bug to have every coin from 1955 to date is my quest. I plan on using this collection to pay for my 6-year-old’s college education. Wish me luck.
John Agnello
Hawthorne, N.J.

Affordability! This the key word for collecting.
For beginners, walk the bourse floor first making notes. Leave the floor for a view of your notes, then proceed back to the floor to acquire your main interest area. Remember to stay within your budget. Rome wasn’t built in a day, your collection should follow in like manner.
Gary Kess
Escalon, Calif.

Every year is the Year of the Collector for me. Bullion is a side show. However, I do collect bullion coins,and enjoy it very much. I thought it was the year of the Mayan Calender. Ha. Where’s that Commemorative? Check out the Mexico 20 peso gold coin. It’s a neat coin,at close to bullion prices!
Donald Cantrell
Address withheld

I’ll refer to Yogi Berra, “Predicting things is hard especially when it’s about the future.”
Lionel Ducote
Address withheld

To me every year is the year of the collector coin I am a coin collector first and foremost.Yes it’s true I buy a few Silver Eagles every year and try to buy a gold piece here and there but 90% of my numismatic budget is spent trying to complete my sets with the key date coins I’m missing.I can't state my opinion on this enough buying slabbed early release silver eagles is a waste of time and money!These are bullion coins and except for the few reverse proofs or special “S” mint collector coins, your 2012 early release silver eagles are worth whatever silver is worth at the time and the dealers buying them aren’t going to care if they came out of a monster box from San Francisco or West Point.Find a reputable local coin dealer and buy yourself some real collector coins with some real history that when you hold them you can dream back to days gone past and wonder where has this coin been who’s collections has it adorned previously.I’ve never seen a 1911-S Lincoln or a 1921 Mercury dime lose money their Red Book prices go up every year.I predicted last year at this time when others were predicting $2,000 gold and $60 silver prices,that gold and silver would hover right around where they are for a while and they have. Now I’m not saying don’t stash away some silver and gold for the next big upswing which I’m sure will happen again someday but don’t get too caught up in these Silver Eagles and other bullion coins buy some nice low mintage or high grade collector coins a 1945 Mercury dime slabbed MS66 FSB will not cost a lot to put in your collection today but may very well be worth quite a bit more 30 years from now and even more if you leave it to a grandchild or niece or nephew or put together a whole war years set like that from 1942 to 1945 P,D&S slabbed MS66 FSB and you may leave behind a legacy well those are just a few of my opinions on the subject good luck in your collecting endeavors wherever they take you.
David Tortorice
Buffalo N.Y