by our numismatics correspondent William "Bill" Hardy
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyday life and all its activities including coin collecting, numismatics. As the effects of the pandemic spread
around the world, collectors and dealers at first found the economic disruptions and restrictions on travel and public gatherings had a major effect. Coin
markets and fairs were called off, numismatic society meetings postponed or cancelled and many coin dealers with retail outlets closed up shop. It seemed
during the first part of 2020 that numismatic activities were in for grim times.
Online Boost
However, any collector and dealers with an online presence soon discovered that the virtual options for interacting with fellow collectors and dealers did not
just pose challenges for interacting with each other but also provided new and sometimes better options for staying in contact, trading and accessing new
stock. Those who have returned to numismatics after a long hiatus will have also discovered that the internet has made establishing values, varieties and so
on, so much easier than in the past when we had to rely upon bulky paper catalogs.
Rediscovered Collections
Lock downs and restrictions on employment and recreational activities left many people stuck at home with little to do. So the hobby has attracted new adherents
among people with time
on their hands, while increased activity has also come from those who have dusted off existing collections which have remained untouched
for a long time. A number of people have told me that
they revisited their coin collections after decades of neglect. One said that coin collecting was his passion
during high school but with university, career challenges and building a family life, he had
just about forgotten about his collection of Pacific Rim silver coins
until he was forced to take indefinite leave from his work. Rediscovering his collection during a lockdown home renovation project proved
to be an engaging and enjoyable way to take his mind off the concerns of everyday life.
Investing in Coins
While I don't recommend coin collecting as being for anything more than the personal enjoyment of collecting and arranging items of beauty or historical interest,
it is an inescapable fact that there is a new breed of collectors, investors really, who see accumulating coins as a store of value. With near-zero interest rates,
flat stock market returns and uncertain real estate, investors are on the lookout for asset classes with values on the upside. But, what goes up, must come down,
so putting hard earned savings into buying coins in the hope of rising values can be as fraught as chasing "certainties" on the stock market or the race track.
It is also true, though, that many people who bought gold and silver coins for their bullion value at the beginning of the pandemic
in early 2020 are now probably looking at a least paper profit, if not a real one, if they have cashed-out.
Australian $200 Gold Koala Coin
Gold and Silver
In 1980 the Royal Australian Mint released what was to be the first Australian $200 gold coin. Minted from 22 carat (91.67%) gold and weighing 10 grams,
each coin contained 0.2947 of an ounce of pure gold. The coin had a portrait of Queen Elizabeth on the obverse and the image of a koala sitting in a tree sculpted
by Stuart Devlin on the reverse. Collectors called them "koalas" and they joined the ranks of other favourites of gold bugs: the South African Rand, Gold Sovereigns,
Canadian Maple Leaf, and the American Eagle. A 'koala' would have set you back $240 for an uncirculated coin while the proof coin cost $295. Many were bought,
often as gifts for events such as baptisms, weddings, etc., and quietly forgotten about. Now being retrieved from the back of drawers, they are going for
about $1100 AUD at the moment.
Silver is the Cinderella of coin investing in comparison to gold, but with the price of silver jumping recently to $30 a troy ounce, there has also been opportunity
for profitable trading in silver coins. Plus, with the price of silver so much lower than gold, it places silver coin investing into the reach of the small investor.
Up until the mid-20th century many "silver" coin denominations which are now manufactured in inexpensive alloys such as cupro-nickel, were made from .925%
silver and can be worth considerably more as silver bullion than their face value. The silver-rich 1966 round 50 cent piece, for instance, has become a
favourite of collector investors and would cost about $20 today. Other pre-decimal coins such as the threepence, sixpence, shilling and two shillings (florin)
coins were also rich in silver and sought after by collectors. Many dealers offer at least 10 times the face value of any pre-decimal silver coins. Plus, if
a coin is in good condition, the numismatic value of the coin may be much more than that.
Silver rich Australian 1966 50 cent piece has become a favourite of collectors
The phenomenon of older silver-rich coins is not unique to Australia, and many other countries including the United States, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Fiji and other
Pacific nations, produced coins of varying silver content and are also very collectable investment vehicles. There are many online sites that detail which
coins contain silver and their purity and are worth checking.
Treasure in the Back of the Drawer
There was a time when decimal and pre-decimal coins circulated freely together and people who handled a lot of coins would routinely substitute any pre-decimal
silver coins with cupro-nickel coins but it has been a long time since I have heard any pre-decimal coins still circulating in Australia. I have heard from
American collectors that silver-rich "dimes" and "quarters" still circulate; their big beef is that some banking staff have taken to cornering the market by
unwrapping coins rolls in search of silver-rich coins, adding cupro-nickels in place of any they find, and rewrapping the rolls for sale the public; denying
the public collector the chance of a find.
Collectors and investors with time on their hands because of the pandemic, who have been engaged in the Marie Kondo decluttering exercise, are coming across long
forgotten piggy banks, glass jars and other coin accumulations full of pre-decimal coins. So there is treasure to be found in the back of an old set of drawers,
in the tool shed and in the attic. Even an old Australian penny has some value: I was regularly selling any ordinary penny for $2 at car boot sales - that is
240 times the face value!
I don't have any gold coins, but I always hold onto any of the humble copper Australian pennys I come across, even when others were throwing them into
the copper scrap bag. Two shown here are in reasonable condition. The 1922 George V should sell for around $10, the 1953 $2, or more to a collector who needs to
fill a missing item.
Do Not Clean Coins
Coin collectors and dealers absolutely hate it when attempts have been made to "clean" or "polish" coins. It destroys the patina of a piece and
can damage and scratch the coin. At best, you could wash away accumulated dirt from a coin with nothing more than clean water if, say, you found it in the ground
while metal detecting. Otherwise leave the coin as it is. If you feel the coin's condition is too unattractive, get some good advice from an experienced
collector or dealer.
It's the Collection, Stupid!
Whether you are collecting coins as a hobby or investment, having a bundle of coins sitting in a jar without any organisation is just an accumulation - it has
no real value. The value comes when you organise an accumulation into a collection in good order with a definite theme. A collection highlights the valuable items, and
makes sense of the everyday items. The real value comes from the sense of satisfaction and enjoyment the collector finds in organising coins and perhaps makes
a little sense of a disrupted world.
Disclaimer
Material on this site should be considered purely as opinion, historical interpretation or fiction. While every effort is made to ensure statements are based on fact,
where appropriate, conditions can change and you must not rely upon information on this site for any personal, professional, financial, legal or academic reason.
