“Profitable Performers” is a segment at USACoins.com designed for those that want to do more than just admire the sheer beauty and numismatic interest of a coin. For many of us, this is enough: we want to touch history, hold it in our hands and in the process own something that very few others possess – truly the hobby of kings.
For others, this is nice, but you want to buy low and sell high, making a nice profit along the way. You want to get your money in and out, and then do it again and again and again. If this is you, then “profitable performers” is your segment of this site. While no one can guarantee future performance results on coin investments (this is important to know), a numismatic investor has certain advantages over a stock market investor:
- you can become very good at knowing “the market” for a few coins;
- you can negotiate a lower price on a coin upon purchase so that your starting point is better and negotiate a higher selling price on the exit so that your ending price is also better – try doing that on a share of stock!
- Through online auction sites, such as eBay, you can buy and sell quickly and if done right, make a nice return over and over again as your “system” processes your inventory through it.
- Or you can hold your coins and let them appreciate over time and add them to your other investment portfolio.
“Profitable performers” takes a coin’s price history and examines it for several telling characteristics:
- The more volatile the price, the worse the investment – if a coin’s price regularly whipsaws then there is a good chance you will lose money;
- Steady price climbs – slow and steady wins the race; however if you negotiate a lower starting price then a quick gain is possible;
- Is the price movement based on the value of the underlying precious metal or the scarcity of the coin – you better find out before you buy the coin!
- ROI – or return on investment. We compare each coin’s price history (from the Red Book) with it’s current price and give you an indication of “if I had owned this coin 10-years ago, I would have made X% per year on the investment.” We then compare it to the stock market performance over the same period of time
Within the segment of profitable performers we analyze coins that you can actually own today – no ridiculously rare coins where there are only a few known to exist (after you make your fortune transacting “profitable performers,” you can then turn your sights on these!). Profitable performers will be scarce enough so that they can go up in value, but not so scarce that you cannot find them either online or at a coin show. i.e. not a $3.1 million dollar 1913 Liberty Head Nickel (with only five were known to be minted), but perhaps an MS-60 1912-D Liberty Head Nickel (where 8.4m were known to be minted).
Each coin highlighted in profitable performers will contain the following characteristics:
- Historically it generally and regularly increased in value;
- The increase was not based primarily on the precious metal content;
- The coin is usually graded (and encased) by a reputable coin grading service such as NCG or PCGS – this is important for quick resale later.
- There is enough inventory where you should be able to acquire the coin online and sell it the same way.
So sit back and wait for the profitable performers to start coming in. We’ll feature one or two a month from here on out! Make sure you sign up for our newsletter to get notified when we post the analysis!