Rare Bird Coins

I was introduced to coin as a child by my mother. She showed me some liberty dimes in an album more than forty years ago. I was not impressed. What are they worth? Some unimpressive number was quoted. So for the next forty or so years I went on about my business not giving it much thought. To the surprise of my brother and sister my mother (in stead of my smoking and hard drinking father) died suddenly one summer. I was in my late forties. I moved to New York and took a temporary job to help my father with the transition. It was at this time that I came across my mothers coins again. No one else was interested in them so I took them for safe keeping. Fast forward ten years. I was cleaning up and came across the coins again. This time I researched a few of the coins and discovered that her 1878 Carson City Silver Dollar was worth about 100 dollars. It is with this event that my coin journey began.

Why coins? If you’ve been bitten by the coin/precious metals collecting bug then its easy, coins are a passion. They are a source of relaxation and stress relief. They are a way of exploring the history of the country from which they originated. The next two benefits are unintended consequences. Collecting is a painless means of saving and wealth preservation.

Gold, silver platinum, palladium and rhodium are the touch stones of the hobby. They bring people to the hobby that might otherwise never give the hobby a first look. Precious metals may not stir the passion for history in everyone but a significant number will be hooked. They may gravitate toward the old, the new or both. There are many entrepreneurs, this includes foreign minting facilities and individuals, that are developing new and interesting products for (you) the new generation to enjoy.

Precious metals should be part of any investment portfolio. No I’m not an investment advisor or councilor. I bought my first stock at age 19 and read my fair share of every available self-help investment book I could get my hands on. I’m in my sixties now and have made enough mistakes to know how to proceed. The talk I’m giving you is the same one I would have given myself (my sixteen year old self).

Coins (and maybe crypto-currencies) serve as asset diversification options. Both may allow a stock portfolio to be immune from the bad behavior of economies and economic cycles. Economic cycles are accepted as necessary. This is acceptable intellectually in academia and among the young who have time to recover from an economic down turn. As our work lives wind down the economic cycle swings are intolerable for those without the resource of time. So I can rationalize the purchase of precious metals, rare coins and crypto-currencies for the preservation of wealth. Another secret? Metals are also used to stabilize a portfolio during the wealth or capital acquisition phase. That is a topic for another day.

Back to the topic of coins. New product? New coins minted by sovereign mints of Australia, Austria, China, Canada, South Africa… the list goes on and on. Private individual are minting fantasy coins and pouring silver bars. All can be collected and used to build a “stash” that has value. What’s it going to cost you? That will depend on how you want to approach it. Coin roll hunting, metal detecting, garage sales, flea markets all offer a means of collecting on the cheap. It will all require work. What else do you have to do between now and the time that they lower you into a hole in the ground. Work. Make it fun. The more you enjoy what you do the less “WORK” you will find yourself doing. Let the game begin.