Collector Coins

Collector Coins

Many factors determine the value of collector coins, such as its rarity, age, condition and the number originally minted.. Historically when gold goes up, rare coins follow, often with a significant lag. However, when the rare coin market does go up, it goes up much faster and farther than the market in gold bullion. Reliable, independent reports show that average annual returns on rare coins have historically been more than 400 percent greater than the returns on gold bullion.

A recent study, which was originally done for the Joint Committee on Taxation of the House and Senate, showed that U.S. rare coins were a better hedge than gold and produced far better investment returns. This study, updated through 2006, provides a comparison of the investment performance of gold and rare coins. Conducted by Raymond E. Lombra, Professor of Economics at Penn State , the study served as the investment basis for legislation that was passed by Congress and which provided for the inclusion of gold in Individual Retirement Accounts. The conclusions over the 28-year period covered by the Lombra Report show that

• The average annual return on rare coins was more than 400% greater than the return on
gold.
• The return on rare coins in their best year was approximately 100% greater than the return
on gold in its best year.
• The return on rare coins in their best three years was approximately 100% greater than the
return on gold in its best three years.