Is It Really Best to Buy Key Dates?

On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 22:15:32 GMT, MikeO wrote:

Thank all of you for your excellent replies. I'm going to look for
the graphs at greysheet.com. I'm working on a "type" collection. I
have a lot of difficulty getting away from the investment aspect
because I'm an investment advisor, but I agree that I can't forget
that it is foremost a hobby.


On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 15:21:50 GMT, MikeO wrote:

I'm fairly new to collecting and I'm interested in making the right
purchases for long-term increases in value. I guess I'd be called an
investor/collector. I've read several articles & books saying that
you should buy key dates first because they usually increase in value
faster than non-key dates. The collector in me says that if I have
a choice of spending $xx for a key date graded F-12 or could spend the
same amount of money on a non-key MS64, I'd rather have the MS64
because I'd get more pleasure out of looking at it. Have any of you
actually done a study of this to confirm that it is true (or not true)
or seen any information actually giving specific details of
calculations proving this?

Two thoughts. First, it is generally agreed here that "investment"
and "collect" should not be used together. The majority view (if such
a thing exists) seems to be that people who invest in coins seldom get
rich doing so, but collectors sometimes do very well in the long run
as long as their motivation is not "investing."
The second thought has to do with the old saw, "get the best you can
afford." One of our members, maybe seven years ago or so, posited
that a more useful approach is to "get the best you can understand."
This approach heavily relies on knowledge about price break points-
those grades just below the huge jumps in the market and the whys and
wherefores. And rarity/demand dynamics.
Aram.

"Aram H. Haroutunian" wrote in message
...
Two thoughts. First, it is generally agreed here that "investment"
and "collect" should not be used together. The majority view (if such
a thing exists) seems to be that people who invest in coins seldom get
rich doing so, but collectors sometimes do very well in the long run
as long as their motivation is not "investing."
The second thought has to do with the old saw, "get the best you can
afford." One of our members, maybe seven years ago or so, posited
that a more useful approach is to "get the best you can understand."
This approach heavily relies on knowledge about price break points-
those grades just below the huge jumps in the market and the whys and
wherefores. And rarity/demand dynamics.
Aram.

I started a thread in May, 1994 (don't know how to link to it) and got quite
a few responses.
The direction of the thread was coins that cost less in 1999 than in 1984.at
least according to the Redbook.
It wasn't an exhaustive list by any means but the numbers of (US) coins that
cost less now was more than I
imagined.

I have collected coins a long time. The concept of investment in coins
gives me
a strong negative feeling and has for over 30 years. I think an investor has
a hard time of it.
I think a shrewd and patient collector may do well with some holdings over
the long haul but
for average collectors most keys are often out of reach anyway. All great
rarities probably are
for sure.

If I was interested in investment, IMO I would need to sell my entire
collection and gamble
that money and all I could put with it on ONE best
popular, key I could afford. Ain't no fun in that.

Dale

Dale

Originally Posted by ronrpk

On Thu, 2 Mar 2006 10:57:58 -0500, "Mike Hairfield"
wrote:

Have as much fun as you can afford!!

I put together a complete circulated set of W.L. Halves and now I'm working
on slabbed MS64 ones have 1934 to 1947 complete except for 1938-D. Hvae a
circulated set of Franklins and put together a MS64 FBL set except for the
1953-S in FBL.

Ahhh yes,,,, that's awesome. I'm working on the exact same Franklin
set and of course that's the one coin that will give me the most
trouble.

Right now am looking to build up some money and buy some keys, but
with all the other sets I'm working on not sure if that is the one
coin I should be trying for. Would really like to complete a
"complete" set one of these days.

-- Ron K

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