Proof Eagle premiums move higher

Proof gold Eagles have edged up percentage-wise to bullion having gained nearly 2 percent in premium. Interestingly, proof silver Eagles are up a few dollars while their melt value is down $2. Gotta love those investment portfolio buyers. The 1995-W proof Eagle set with the scarce silver Eagle has become active after several months of somewhat weak wholesale activity.

Recently a collector/trader came up to me at a show and said, “You seem to be always bullish on coins. How can that be with the economy the way it is and some coins down in value?” This loaded question has a complex answer.

This easy-to-search pricing and identification download is solely focused on U.S bullion coins.

One has to realize that there are many facets to the coin market and many different types of participants. We have auctions, coin shows, numismatic publications, online offerings, TV programs, electronic media and retail/wholesale locations. The various types of participants include serious collectors, casual collectors, accumulators, investors, speculators, hoarders, telemarketers, dealers and traders. Within all of the above are many subcategories too numerous to mention.

I am bullish and the basis is my love of numismatics. More important is my love of real money. The fiat currency that the world is awash in has no lasting value and neither does some of the coinage associated with that same fiat currency. True value starts with pre-1950 coins, though the cut-off year could be 1965 or as recent as 1990. Why? In 1965 the Mint began to realize that it could milk collectors by promoting Special Mint Sets and by the new millennium it really got it down pat. Now these modern issues are easy and fun to collect but many are not good long-term value. Where my bullishness comes in is with extreme rarities and what many professional numismatists call real collector coins. The extreme rarities will remain in great demand because of well-heeled serious collectors and mostly because of large amounts of fiat money seeking small portable stores of wealth. The collector coins are in short supply and allow the little guy to emulate what the more affluent are doing while having a considerable amount of enjoyment. These collector coins range from $10/$20 to several thousand dollars. They include many where less than 1,000 coins exist, so they are rare and many are underpriced.