Investing In Gold and Silver Coins

Value You Can Count On

Many investors are always chasing “the next big thing” The next tech stock initial public offering that multiples several times the first day of trading or the next big earnings announcement that causes the stock to soar. Lately, however superior equity investments have proven to be very difficult to come by in today’s volatile equity markets.

However, there is an investment you can make that has been a genuine performer for over four centuries. We are talking about Gold and Silver in all of its forms: Coins, Bullion, Jewelry and even nuggets or gold dust. The precious metals markets have been on an upward trajectory particularly in the last several months with the flight to quality into metals and out of equity and currencies.

Think about the purchasing power of $1,000 in U.S.  Currency 100 years ago compared to its purchasing power today. What will $1,000 or even 1,000,000 be worth 100 years from today. Now take that same $1,000 applied to the value of gold or silver and see what inflation has done to the value. One of the reasons that the value of precious metals has not eroded with inflation is because they are used for a number of industrial uses and many of those uses are creating an ever increasing demand. Also, there are new precious metals exchange traded funds that are buying larger and larger quantities of precious metals further adding to the heated price appreciation.

Investing In Your Future

A good way to get started is to seek out what are commonly referred to as “junk silver coins”. Now the term junk sometimes gives the impression that no one is going to find value in junk coins. But don’t be misled. They can produce better than average appreciation in value for investors. Silver coins that were minted before 1964 are often considered junk coins by many collectors especially dollars, half dollars, quarters and dimes. However, because they are 90% pure silver they are more than worthwhile for investors as opposed to collectors. They don’t have a collector premium. What to look for would be Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters and Kennedy and Franklin half dollars. If you can find these in circulation or in your grandmothers’ coffee can they should be worth far more than their face value.

Why is gold and silver such a good investment? Well some would argue that even with the rapid appreciation of late that prices have not yet reached their inflation adjusted rates which for gold some calculate is well over $2,300 per ounce while others are warning of a precious metals bubble. However, investment pundits back in 2009 were saying that silver and gold were overvalued when you could have purchased ten pre 1965 silver coins containing over one ounce of refined silver worth then around $13 only to have them appreciate to $16.65 only a few months later. That’s not bad but what about a full bag of coins? A bag of silver coins should contain around 715 to 720 ounces of refined silver. So your approximate investment of $9,300 would have been worth almost $12,000 in a few months. What are they going to be worth if you hold on for years?

Start Now

It is pretty much a foregone conclusion that prices are going to continue to rise, unless you buy into the bubble theory. The real debate is how much are they going to rise? If precious metal markets continue to soar you may wish you would have accumulated an inventory of even junk silver coins. Start by watching auctions and prices on eBay, Lynn Coin, CC Gold and Silver, CMI, and even Monex to try and find cheap junk silver as a place to start. There are a number of ways to get your hands on these coins; the key to success is to just get started!