| Typically, these deals are not good. They overprice coins which are
old and attractive, but not necessarily rare. You lose when you
resell. However, I don't know anything about this firm. Being in
Florida, I suspect they prey on retirees.
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| Unless you are a true lover of a collectible like stamps, coins or
gems, you are unlikely to learn enough to make sensible investments
in the field. While some people will make money, remember these
points:
o Collectibles are illiquid compared to stocks so selling
can be a problem, and
o they have _much_ bigger bid-asked spreads so you need
a larger gain to make a profit, and
o very minor differences in physical form can mean huge
differences in value, and
o the big gains tend to come at the very top end of the range
of values, and
o the market is smaller, and
o past booms are not guaranteed to be continued (there's no
underlying "engine" like technological improvement), and
o the value rests ultimately on the desires of a relatively
small number of real collectors, who are using only their
disposable income to collect and thus the base demand for
all coins is only a few billion dollars for all the billions
of coins, etc., and
o fashions in collecting can change quickly.
If you happen to love Chinese ceramics or early-American furniture
and you put lots of time and money into finding top-quality pieces
and building a good collection, you might actually make a pretty
good return on your invested money (though it'll be taxed as a hobby:
no capital losses or business expenses allowed, I believe).
If you love whatever but have either money and no time or time and
no money, you'll probably have fun but aren't likely to make a
good return.
If you have neither money or time and just do something like buy
"certified" US coins at a hundred dollars or so apiece from a dealer
and hold them in a safe-deposit box, you may make some money or you
may lose it, but I suspect you'll be lucky if the investment basically
breaks even after inflation over long periods of time.
If you buy shares in a fund which invests in coins or other
collectibles, I think you have taken on a large risk (and probably
a high yearly charge for management) for very little expected return.
Good luck!
The above is my opinion, not a prediction of the future, etc.
-John Bishop
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