NSI Points to an Attractive Investment

It is always challenging to estimate how well coin dealers are doing. Most dealers are small enterprises, many of them composed of ‘Mom and Pop,’ but unlikely to have many employees. Even many of the larger companies such as Heritage, Goldberg, Kagins, SilverTowne and the like are privately held companies whose performance can only be evaluated if auction hammer prices are available.

Retail sales are not disclosed. There are a handful of companies who issue publicly traded stock. The performance of their stock gives us a narrow window into the world of the business of coins. The Numismatic Stock Index follows the price of the stock of these companies, comparing this price to their 52-week high. Since December 2018 the US portion of the NSI has been rising from 55.8 to 67.1 percent as of April 10, making these stocks an attractive investment. (This is an increase of 11.3 percent in four months.)

Collectors Universe, parent company of Professional Coin Grading Service, has risen dramatically from 41.4 percent in December to 99.9 percent during this period. Only the value of the stock of A-Mark Precious metals declined, this being a modest 2.5 percent decrease. Incidentally, A-Mark offered a forward dividend yield of 2.48 percent as of April 10. What these statistics tell us is that the business of coins is healthy and growing. Perhaps the price of individual coins could perform better, but the business of coins appears to be doing fine.