PM collecting = Baseball card collecting???

[tbone]

I was visiting the NGC site and they had an ad for a special autographed label for the baseball hall of fame domed silver coin.  And it bothered me for a bit, couldn't figure out why.  Until it hit me...is my collecting in slabbed gold and silver the same as collecting baseball cards?  Except for intrinsic value of the underlying metal, if I am buying numismatics, is it really much different than collecting rare baseball cards?

From NGC:

 

From PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator):

 

Note the similar terms too (grading, Set registry, etc)

[Kman]

36 minutes ago, tbone said:

Except for intrinsic value of the underlying metal, if I am buying numismatics, is it really much different than collecting rare baseball cards?

Pretty much the same thing id say yes. 

[tbone]

2 hours ago, Kman said:

Pretty much the same thing id say yes. 

I was hoping you'd convince me otherwise!

[noblestack]

I would imagine there is a high correlation between numismatics and comic and sports card collecting 

[Agpanda]

It triggs the same part within you as collecting most time is not about the money

 

[CarlosSilver]

Interesting points. 

I built up a fairly substantial football programme collection over about 20 years. I sold it 7 years ago and seem to have replaced it with coins. 

[tbone]

5 hours ago, Agpanda said:

It triggs the same part within you as collecting most time is not about the money

 

I think you're partly right, but maybe I'm fooling myself.  In my head, I'm both collecting AND investing (thinking about the money, and my future ROI).  Is that naive thinking?   I'm I just collecting stuff I like as part of a hobby, no more than a kid collecting baseball cards? 

My gut still tells me I'm doing the right thing as long as I have a long-term outlook and I'm careful about what I buy.  But I've been noodling on this issue...

[tbone]

3 hours ago, CarlosSilver said:

Interesting points. 

I built up a fairly substantial football programme collection over about 20 years. I sold it 7 years ago and seem to have replaced it with coins. 

Thanks for your reply CarlosSilver.  I'd love to hear more about your thoughts, especially because of your history of collecting.  Am I just collecting (expensive) baseball cards?  Seems a silly question but I do see many parallels.

[tbone]

6 hours ago, noblestack said:

I would imagine there is a high correlation between numismatics and comic and sports card collecting 

Thanks noblestack, I agree, there seems to be a high correlation.  But am I wrong to even worry about that? 

[noblestack]

40 minutes ago, tbone said:

Thanks noblestack, I agree, there seems to be a high correlation.  But am I wrong to even worry about that? 

I think there must be some discipline when it comes to the collector coins. Unless you just like the feeling of completing a set, collector coins are only worth what another collectors is willing to pay for them. What makes this a health hobby  at the end of the day is,, I can take all my coins to my nearest scrap yard and get spot value for my collection. Most of my cards and Comics aren't worth the paper and cardboard they are printed on. At some point the intrinsic value of the metal maybe worth more  than what you paid to buy the coin. That's what makes it a superior item to collect, it has intrinsic value they may erase collecting mistakes.

 

[Pampfan]

@tboneThis is a very good question you raise. I myself was heavily into trading cards and comics in the 80's. At first it was because I was a natural born collector - a hobbyist who passed his time doing so - but in the back of my head I was very in touch with the monetary Side of the business.  I would wheel and deal and sometimes I got lucky ( buying a few boxes of garbage pail kids series 1 at 25 cents a pack and sometimes I missed the boat - had 10 boxes of 1986 fleer basketball cards staring me in the face for $20 a box).  The majority of my huge card collection lays in 5000 count boxes in my dad's house - all worthless today - had I been buying coins or precious metals I would have at least the metal value at this point. 

At the time that was my life and that is how I decided to do it, right or wrong doesn't matter as the experience brought me to be pamp fan today.  As @noblestacksays - something is only worth what someone is willing to give you for it. 

(Damn I wish I would have bought those 10 boxes of 1986 Fleer - oh well - guess I'll buy the 2017 gold Brittania today ?)

[Xander]

I would say no.

Baseball cards are mostly  American.

Collecting coins is Universal, and much more interesting.

[Kman]

What interested me about PMs originally was diversifying savings and the investment side 

I don't generally buy coins just because I like them, I have to believe they will at least hold their value or end up making a profit; that's why I couldn't bring myself to buy the 1/4 proof gold QB Lion. 

When I look at baseball cards, if I was interested in them I would take the same approach, I wouldn't want to complete a set, id just want to get rare cards on their individual merits that I thought would hold or gain value

If you start buying things just to have them, or buying things to complete sets when you don't like the design, that's when it will maybe have turned into a bad habit financially 

 

 

[CarlosSilver]

5 hours ago, tbone said:

Thanks for your reply CarlosSilver.  I'd love to hear more about your thoughts, especially because of your history of collecting.  Am I just collecting (expensive) baseball cards?  Seems a silly question but I do see many parallels.

I collected football programmes because I liked the history of them and found them interesting to read. The fact that I picked up some bargains was a bonus but the collection was never about the value really. As I gradually started to dislike football I found the collection was just taking up space (I had thousands going back nearly 100 years) and the enjoyment of owning and reading them diminished.

My coin "collection" is slightly different I think / hope. I'm mainly in it to diversify my investments and hope that I make a profit when I finally come to cash it in. It will always be worth the value of the metal content I suppose. In saying that, my collection is mainly bullion and older circulated coins so I'm not paying much over spot price anyway. 

 

[Goldmick]

Look what I found in my shop today there packs look old each pack has about 9 cards in each 

[vand]

pretty much, yes.

I think that numismatic collectors are more similar the jewelry buying community than the stacking community.

[KDave]

Agree that collecting numismatic coins is akin to collecting baseball cards far more than it is to stacking silver and gold. The only difference is that the spot price of the material is the floor to the investment, which depending upon how much the coin cost, could indicate a healthy speculation or a massive gamble.

 I have always been uncomfortable with numismatics as an investment due to how fickle collecting markets are in every other human interest. The fact the medium is gold or silver appears to confuse people, myself included, as to what they are actually investing their money into and what long and short term risk they are exposing themselves to. I keep such exposure to a minimum. 

Good thread 

 

[tbone]

10 hours ago, Pampfan said:

The majority of my huge card collection lays in 5000 count boxes in my dad's house - all worthless today - had I been buying coins or precious metals I would have at least the metal value at this point.

Thanks for your reply Pampfan.  This is the one big difference between baseball cards and numismatics that I can see.  Even if down the road you have a coin that nobody wants, or the market for numismatics dries up, you still have the underlying metal value.  Unfortunately (for silver especially), that price is very low. 

[tbone]

9 hours ago, Kman said:

What interested me about PMs originally was diversifying savings and the investment side

Yes, me too.  I find myself moving from a stacker to a collector, from bullion to numismatics.  I guess I'm trying to find a balance between the two (which may be wrong too).  Maybe this is an evolution that all coin collectors eventually go through

[tbone]

4 hours ago, vand said:

I think that numismatic collectors are more similar the jewelry buying community than the stacking community.

Maybe you're right.  I do think that numismatic collectors are typically more careful and more educated in what they buy.  Those that I know that have been at it a while (I know a few) can plan out purchases for a long time, searching for a specific coin and paying a lot once they find it.  I'm not at that point, but I don't buy the first thing I see that I like either.

[tbone]

5 hours ago, KDave said:

 I have always been uncomfortable with numismatics as an investment due to how fickle collecting markets are in every other human interest. The fact the medium is gold or silver appears to confuse people, myself included, as to what they are actually investing their money into and what long and short term risk they are exposing themselves to. I keep such exposure to a minimum. 

I think this is probably why I've been moving more into gold than silver.  I'm not sure if I can really justify spending a 500% premium on a silver coin, even if its "only" $100.  I have purchased many of these silver numismatics, but the more I think about it the more I think I should stick to gold.  On the other hand, no risk no reward, and buying a safe play like gold eagle proof will probably not appreciate much over time...

[Pampfan]

Searching  in the attic today and came across this beauty in an old shoebox- 

[sovereignsteve]

47 minutes ago, Pampfan said:

Searching  in the attic today and came across this beauty in an old shoebox- 

Ah, Big Ben

Well I think he's only played NFL for the Steelers so I assume that's from his college days?