Picking Coins for Investment

When picking coins as an investment, there are many factors to consider before making a purchase. Buying hard assets, just like any other investment class, is a combination of being informed and buying at the right time. Each one of our coins is hand selected and we feel each will give you the best possible out come when making a purchase. There are no guarantees of future performance for any asset class, including collectible coins as an asset class.

There are several reasons why we believe the Russian 2008 190th Anniversary of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Goznak" 1818 Approval of Paper Currency as Legal Tender - 5oz Silver Proof has good investment potential.  First, to point out the obvious, the mintage is very limited, as only 1,500 coins of this issue were minted during its release in 2008.  Secondly, the Bank of Russia rarely produces coins with gold gilding, let alone 5oz silver coins with gold gilding.  In addition, the theme of Russian currency has always been and continues to be one of the most, if not the most popular, non-animal, themes in Russian coins.  Furthermore,  the coin sold out very quickly when it was issued in 2008.  Finally, the coin is beautiful and commemorates an important event in Russian financial history.  Remember, when buying collectible coins or any asset class, there are no guarantees and past performance of a coin’s return is Not indicative of future results.

Silver is lining its own future

As gold continues to get a lot of press, silver quietly widens its undervalued gap in relative value, lining its future with, yes, silver. As the precious metal market chatters a buying message, it is apparent silver's indifference to adjust to gold’s bull run is going to come to an end.

Unlike gold, silver is widely used as an industrial commodity. Its use in jewelry and electronics has declined in the recent recession and new applications as an anti-microbial and other new to market uses has silver slated for a heavy rebound.

An historic price adjustment will bring this statistical disparity to a close. The silver/gold differential will revert to the mean, to the benefit of owners of silver assets. The bottom line: silver’s price performance historically holds a close correlation to gold’s price performance.

In early 2008 gold's market value was averaging $1000 per ounce and silver peaked at approximately $21 per ounce at the same time. Gold today is at or near record levels and silver took a fall to approximately $10 per ounce at the beginning of 2009 and has precipitously rebounded to $17.50 per ounce today.
Silver is lining its own future.

Coin Mercantile’s silver coins are priced very competitively and we have a unique selection of modern world silver coins. It is our strong believe that silver on a per ounce basis is likely to double in the next few years with global population growth driving and accelerating the world’s demand for precious metal commodities. Silver, in our opinion, will be one of the greatest beneficiaries.

With the mind of an investor, try our collector picks like the heavily in demand and pictured here 2009 China Silver Proof Kilo 60th Anniversary of the Founding of The Peoples Republic of China. And through the eye of a collector, consider the 2006 Spain 50 Euro Christopher Columbus- 5oz Silver Proof. A silver lined future is a bright one for the foreseeable future.

Historical Performance of the CU 3000 Numismatic Coin Index

Coins are timeless in the sense they have been used and accepted as legal tender for the thousands of years. Coins can be valuable objects and depending upon one’s coin selection are often considered a solid investment in the future as well as a practical investment in history. Do Not assume that every coin will increase in value, or hold its value, or that one coin is as good an investment as another. Achieving an Investment return for your coin portfolio depends upon your coin selections and the degree to which your coin portfolio meets quantitative and qualitative criteria which have historically been and at the time of sale, continue to be indicative of monetary value creation and increase over time. Always Remember: There are no guarantees that your coin portfolio will increase in value or provide you with an acceptable rate of return over time. However, statistics and coin indices such as the CU 3000 Coin Index have demonstrated that a well diversified coin portfolio can produce compelling investment returns over time. According to the CU 3000 Index (a standard for measuring numismatic coin performance):

Since 1970, the average annual return was 10.9%, compared to 6.9% for the Dow 30 stock

From 1981 to 1989, the index gained a total of 660%, well above other, larger asset classes

Of the 15 recessions since 1919, numismatic rare coins have performed well compared to other investments

REMEMBER: Past Performance is No Guarantee of future results

Peak Gold Signals a Terminal Fall in Gold Supply

Similar to peak oil, peak gold is defined as the time when maximum gold extraction occurred from the height of worldwide gold production. The total amount of gold in the world is estimated to be 242,000 tonnes by the United States Geological Survey. A tonne is one metric ton. Based on this USGS 2006 survey about 152,000 tonnes of gold have been mined since the beginning of man’s prize for the yellow metal. The halfway point of gold extraction, the top of the curve for all gold reserves in the world that has been extracted, would be 121,000 tonnes believed to have been extracted by the year 1993. If these estimations are correct, less than 90,000 tonnes remain in the world. Gold experts have backtracked when peak gold would have taken place, measuring the amount of total gold, at the height of production. These estimates conclude peak gold occurred sometime in the years 2000-01.

Collectible Coins Asset Class Characteristics

• Precious metal numismatic coins are a hard asset that historically have shown to often be insulated from declining values of paper currencies (e.g. the deterioration of the U.S. Dollar)
• Numismatic coins have historically been an excellent store of value and hedge against inflation
• Numismatics tend to have much less volatility in their prices than bullion (high circulation) coins which in contrast have almost a one-to-one relationship (1.0 correlation coefficient) with the movement of underlying spot precious metal prices. Numismatics have historically shown to have much greater price stability compared to bullion coins during both increasing and decreasing precious metals markets
• If structured properly (a disciplined and methodical approach meeting appropriate quantitative and qualitative criteria) numismatic coins can be an excellent asset class in which to diversify one’s portfolio

Collectible Coins as an Asset Class

Treasured as a store of value for thousands of years, precious metal coins are an important and secure asset. Paper currencies may come and go, but gold and other precious metals endure. They have maintained long term value for thousands of years, and are not directly affected by the economic policies of individual countries and don't depend on a "promise to pay." Collector Coins have demonstrated extremely favorable characteristics as an investable asset class, including relatively low volatility and stable, consistent returns over extended periods. In fact, the long-term average returns have exceeded many, more widely used asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and commodities.