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Saturday, June 8, 2013

The Eternal Value Of Collectible Coins

By Michelle Howe


Collectible coins are a smart investment area, especially when the economy still doesn't appear very certain in the long term. They have the advantage of resisting inflation when that affliction strikes other, more purely financial instruments. For this reason, those err who think of them as only a past-time, rather than as a sound part of an effectively diverse portfolio.

An ounce of gold has a market value of its own, and it too is a smart choice in these years just after such a steep recession. But if a thousand years ago it happened to end up being minted and with Charlemagne's face on it, it now has the added values of being beautiful and being rare. It has become an art object, with an enchantment quite distinct from the value set by the market, however high it might be.

This enduring appeal translates into a constant pool of potential customers, many one of them absolutely no intention to sell it later. With such owners, a coin is more likely destined for a display, perhaps as a museum piece. This would be little surprise, even after hundreds or thousands of years of exposure, a great many coins remain masterpieces, to be regarded in the same manner as a fine woodcut or a lithograph.

The activity of these buyers typically works as a counterweight to inflation, which many economists see as a chief concern resulting from the load of debt the world is carrying. Many savvy investors, while perhaps less enthusiastic about the pieces' cultural significance, can still have some gratitude for the real enthusiasts' stabilizing effect upon their value. The enthusiast further assists value by periodically taking them off market entirely.

To one sort of enthusiast, what draws them to these coins is not their considerable aesthetic appeal so much as their witness to the exotic, legendary historical periods in which they were minted. History is made more real by these images of emperors and kings, heroes and queens minted in precious metals. It is also easy to fancy that these faces, contemporary to the figures whose images they bear, might also bear some physical resemblance to these figures, at least in comparison to later images that might in fact be better known.

One might aspire to a gold Cleopatra, with a decorative image of Isis in back of it, which was once exchanged in markets in Alexandria, Egypt. One comes into contact with moments that took place over two thousand years ago. One comes into contact with people most know only from movies or schoolbooks.

On the other hand, no investing instrument is infallible, or there would no portfolios as such at all. While they do show good profitability even in rough financial weather, the down side is that rare coins can be quite difficult to sell at good price in a timely manner. Investors for whom liquidity is an important factor would probably be happier with the gold or silver disc before coinage.

For these reasons, there is at least one good choice for those looking to augment profitability against headwinds. Though inflation cannot help but eat through anything made of money, a common copper penny will forever have those who see its value in terms beyond its value as a financial investment. They make collectibles such a sound investment, in turn, for those who are so interested, and they make collectible coins such a great part of anyone's diversified portfolio.




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