Bullion Vs Numismatic as a long term investment?

[Ryan]

Ahoy ahoy,

This has probably has been discussed at length before but I had a look through previous topics and couldn't see any threads jump out at me. If there has been please fell free to drop a few links below.

I was wandering what peoples opinions are on the pro's and cons of holding bullion vs numismatic as a long term investment (retirement for example), say 30 years from now.

A couple of points I have been mulling over - 

If the spot price were to double or even triple what effect would that have on the premiums of numismatic/semi-numismatic when selling down the line?

Would it better to stick with bullion when spot is so low and lean more towards numismatic when spot is higher?

 

Thanks,

Ryan

 

[Scuzzle]

I split my stacking 70/30 bullion to numismatic and TBH I'm regretting not just going 100% bullion as it's a lot simpler to manage, you just hold until the price goes to where you want it.  With the numismatic there is the issue of buying something that others will find desirable and not holding too long so if you do choose the right stuff the appreciation comes and goes and you miss it.

[AuricGoldfinger]

I’d personally stick to bullion, or the likes of QB coins which are close enough in price to their standard bullion counter parts ie Brits. When your buying numismatic your no longer investing in PMs which are determined by a spot price. It’s determined by whats someone is willing to pay. Finding a buyer when you want to liquidate may be more difficult, demand may have changed etc.

Just my personal view, everyone is different, i like being able know how many Ozs i hold and easily work out how much it’s worth compared to how much i paid.

[Lr103]

My strategy has been mostly to buy what I like vs. attempt to determine what will do the the best in the future. However, in the five years I've been collecting both bullion and numismatics, the coins that have increased the most have all been bullion (Queen's Beasts 2oz silver, Queen's Beasts 1oz gold, and US Paladium Eagles). 

There's no way to tell how things will transpire in the future, but the coins that have done the best for me were good designs purchased as bullion near spot. In hindsight, this makes sense you because there is little downside other than the base price of the metal (which of course can still be sizable downside...), but you're getting a free call option on the upside should the market like the coin in the future and a premium developes.  

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

From what I've seen there is certainly long term money to be made from numismatics but it requires a lot more research, time and to some degree luck. I would also imagine the "safe" investment coins are towards the high end so your budget should get worked in here (when I refer to the high end I am thinking the older rare coins where there might only be a few known to exist - not modern gold proof coins). I tend to buy mostly bullion but I do have some coins that would fall under numismatic. They are coins that I really liked and managed to snap up several years after release for dramatically less than their release price. From what I've seen from spending years scouring the secondary market this tends to be how it goes for most common proof releases - you'll rarely get your money back so buy those because you like them.

If I had a higher budget I would certainly look at getting involved with the higher end older numismatic coins. You want something that stands the test of time because in the long term you lose money on what is trendy today. My budget limits me to bullion coins and the odd special limited release that comes up at a price I'd be willing to pay. Let your budget guide you but make sure you really put time in to researching what you get in to and why you are getting in to them either way.

[Murph]

Depends what you mean by numismatic.  If you mean modern issues then the chances are they might rise a bit in the buying frenzy that can occur when they are released but a few years down the road a lot of them sell for less than you paid when new.

If you mean older coins, sometimes hundreds or thousands of years old as long as you don't over pay for them in the first instance they usually constantly increase in price but perhaps not as quickly as the previously mentioned ones during the feeding frenzy.

[Groundup]

I started stacking and was doing well until recently (late 2017)... Numismatic coins then caught my eye, fair enough I have some lovely coins and art bars (cabinet pieces). Will I make a profit on this  type of silver... I doubt it... this is why I only buy pieces I like or have an affinity too.   I've spent a small on fortune on these luxury and high premium items and gald in a way I did because it has reinforced my desire to go back to weight stacking PM's. I feel I'm getting a bargain at a few percent over spot. Highest price so far was £150 per oz of Ag.. it is a nice coin though.