This common, mid-grade Morgan is valued basically by the price of the silver in it. You could expect to buy it for around $30, you could expect to sell it to a dealer for over $20.
FIRST OF ALL – and I want to be perfectly clear – I AM NOT AN INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL. So if you’re looking for investment advice, DON’T LISTEN TO ME!
On the other hand, as a numismatist, I want you to have a better understanding about “investing” in coins. Some dealers will try to sell you on coins being a great investment. MOST coins are NOT! Some are. Very few have proven to be fantastic investments. Most of those few coins are now in the 6-figure range for cost.
In other words, if you buy a $14 coin now, the chances that it will be a $100,000 coin in ten years are pretty slim. It could happen, I suppose. It’s hard to imagine. But don’t count on it.
If you disagree with any of the above, that is both your right and your privilege. You should probably stop reading what I have to say because you’ll feel it’s boloney. And, you might be right!
In the world of Investments, “investment grade” investment begin at a return of about 7% per year over the long haul. Some years things are better, some years things are worse, but that’s the overall average.
Inflation seems to be somewhere around 1-3% per year over the long haul. So a coin that keeps up with the price of inflation is NOT investment grade. It’s just not losing a significant amount of value compared to other things.
This PCGS MS-66 DMPL 1885 CC Morgan, on the other hand, has met with all the hallmarks of an "Investment Grade" coin, now valued at $2500 or more.
Most coins are NOT what we call investment grade coins. In order for an item to be “investment grade” it should show an long track record of an annual return of, as I said about 7% per year or more – which means the value roughly doubles about every ten years.
If a coin was $5 in 1967 and is $30 now, that is not an investment grade coin. Were it investment grade at that purchase price and time, it should be worth over $150 right now. Generally speaking, investment grade coins usually start at around $500 – though as with all rules, there are exceptions! That doesn’t mean that any coin worth $500 is investment grade – but that is (about) the starting point for investment grade coins. Do your homework, study your coins and books and see which coins have appreciated… er… appreciably before “investing” in coins.
Investing in bullion is different that numismatic investment. Study the long term (and I mean 10 and 20 year) charts of the metal markets to see how they have done through the years. You may be surprised at what you find. Try to find charts that adjust for inflation.
And ALWAYS speak to a qualified investment professional before investing your hard-earned money in anything!
