Pro learns new investing technique

I wrote a few earlier stories mostly to preserve numismatic history that was known only to me. Approaching my 89th birthday, I did not wish this history to be lost should I depart this realm.

The responses to stories were favorable so I am writing more that I hope the reader will find of interest. These stories have little real significance as far as numismatics go. Just read and enjoy.

So you want to invest in coins. I am going to share with you a new technique. You will be astounded at just how simple it is, but before I let you in on that secret, I will point out some general considerations.

Gold Rush is your guide to collecting and investing in gold coins.

There have been many books published dealing with the subject. I don’t understand all this fuss. Coin investing is as simple as it can be. It takes little skill. All one has to do is buy low and sell high and you can make all kinds of money.

Let me illustrate. Let’s say you wish to make a killing in silver. All you had to do was buy in the late 1990s when silver was $5 an ounce, hold it until now and sell for $40 an ounce. Surely no one would sneeze at a 700 percent profit in a few years. It’s just that easy and simple. Again, what’s the big deal?

What did you say? You didn’t get it at $5. Well, don’t blame me for your lack of foresight. The figures were all there.

Of course some investors take a different route. The first thing they do is buy a crystal ball. Some people have great success with this. I bought such a ball a few years ago. It is beautiful. It now sits on a shelf in my living room. I was not successful with it. Some people use tea leaves and find that very satisfying. I don’t drink tea so I lost out on that altogether.

Lots of people take a more serious approach. They buy the American Numismatic Association book on grading coins. This is imperative. One must know how to grade coins since one grade can make a great difference in value. These people also believe it is important to know the background and performance of certain coins so they buy books to help them.

There are those who have even promoted the cliché, “Buy the book before the coin.” This is, of course, a sneaky way to sell books, but the investor falls for it. These people also go to coin shows and auctions. They spend around two years studying the books and the coins and how coins perform at the bourse table and the auction. After a couple of years, they are ready to buy. Of course coin prices have doubled in that two years and they fooled around and lost out on 100 percent profit. Now they can’t buy low and so they may then plunge in and buy frantically, forgetting all they learned. Or, they just abandon the whole effort.

But, you don’t have to bother with any of that. No books, no crystal ball, no tea leaves, no delay, no study. I have discovered a new technique. Well, I should not say I discovered it. A lady revealed it to me and I now make bold to let you in on this secret formula for successful coin investing.

I was calling an auction. I believe it was in Boston. I often knew the people who were bidding in my auctions. I did not know a lady who was sitting in the back of the room. She was buying fairly heavily. I wondered if she knew what she was doing. When she came to pick up her coins and make payment, I happened to be the one helping her. I asked, “Have you been in coins long? I don’t recognize you.”

She said, “No, this is my first experience. I just thought I ought to invest in some coins.”

Puzzled, I said, “But how did you know what to buy?”

Her response was, “Perhaps you noticed I was sitting in the back. If several hands went up when a coin was offered, I felt it must be a desirable coin so I would buy it.”

Sounds like a foolproof system to me. Simplicity pure and simple.

A lot of what I have written was nothing more than pure tomfoolery, but the latter story is absolutely true and did happen. Unfortunately, I will never know how her investment turned out.