Are coins a good Investment?

For thousands of years, there has been evidence that our ancestors collected coins. It is an ancient hobby which has survived and been constantly expanding. A lot may wonder why collect coins? In this section, I will discuss the main reasons for coin collecting.

This question has several answers. Just like each person has their own character, each person has their own reason to collect them, a lot of times reflecting their feelings towards a civilization, ideals and interests. A lot of psychologists use coins to evaluate the inner character of people by allowing them to identify which coins express their feelings. Dark pages in World History have been aided by coins, expressing the intentions and feelings of emperors of the time but also the technology, culture and beliefs of the people which were expressed on them. Proof of cultural movements, the rise of fall of empires have been recorded on these pieces of invaluable metal.

A lot of the collectors wish to explore the roots of hisotry by acquiring a piece of it. It allows you to sense, imagine, learn and discover further of how the world was like and developed.

Ancient coins, which once formed the economy of nations, still play a major role in our society. As we all know, current economies can easily fluctuate and there are great risks involved by locking large amounts of money in a certain currency or in the stock exchange. There can be sudden influxes especially after major world crisis. Therefore, a lot of people have chosen to invest in coins. How is that helpful? The best way to explain this is by using an example which is in no case true or implies anything but just used to illustrate the point;

A wealthy business man, has savings of 1,000,000 Swiss Francs. He decides to invest it in coins, antiquities and paintings. Suddenly, a crisis in Switzerland occurs and the currency is worth nothing. This person has nothing to worry about as by taking his investments to another country, he will receive the money and maybe more than what he invested. If though, he had his savings invested in the stock exchange, the money would not be worth nothing. Coins, just like other antiques, antiquities, paintings and works of art do not lose their value and are not affected by the external economic environment of the country. They usually rise in value if there is a positive economic environment but you will very rarely lose from them. The major advantage of coins to other forms of investment is they can be easily transported, sold and stored.

In my opinion though, the most important factor when deciding whether you are intending to approach the world of numismatics as an investor is to make wise choices when choosing the coin you are willing to invest, the most important decision being the condition. Like a lot of people say, its the quality that matters.

Please feel free to email me your opinions on this subject matter and I will post it on this webpage.

Thanks for reading