Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

Hi,
Another newbie (is that another way of saying "next victim" around here?) saying hello . . . I just got into the notion of putting money into metal instead of watching it disappear by putting it into the stock market. The tech bubble bust nailed me a few years ago, and the current market conditions aren't making me feel any more kindly towards that type of investing.

So far, I have about 9 oz in fractional AGEs, 50 ASEs, a few of the "pretties" like Kooks and Pandas, am waiting for 50 of those relatively "cheap" Maples to arrive from Teletrade, and I inherited some old Morgan and Peace dollars.

In other words, I think I jumped in with both feet, although I'm sure to some people this is still small scale buying. I'm buying bullion for the reasons people buy bullion, but it's also occurred to me that if I buy gold, especially the fractional AGEs, with lower mintage quantities, there's a chance of hitting more than one bird with each rock thrown - I think the relatively rare coins will stand a better chance of appreciation, so I've been looking at mintage figures and such.

One thing I've seen that's made me curious is the four coin AGE proof sets put out by the US Mint with the oz, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/10th pieces. Mintage seems to run 35,000 annually - total weight for the four is 1.85 oz.

Is this something that would tend to appreciate due to low mint numbers, or is it just a "pretty" that would end up being worth what the weight is worth, and little more?

Any advice cheerfully appreciated - and just so y'all know, I'm in my mid-50s with my priorities fairly well established in that we're lucky enough to be debt free, no mortgage, no car payment, not enough money in the bank but some, and a good stockpile of groceries and other essentials already stashed away.

It seemed like the right time to turn to gold and silver - I'm at about 75% gold/25% silver, value-wise. I'm hoping that's a reasonable ratio.

I'm "Cassandra" over at the Kitco forum (name already taken here, as was the proper spelling of my real name). I'll try not to put my claws out too often, but I have noticed the internet tends to make 'em twitchy . . .

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

Sounds like Claw-dia may be the perfect name :15_1_70v: glad your here

No advice from me, it's a personal thing I guess.

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

I'm glad she's here too, so long as it's Clawdia in the "Nice, Kind Hearted" sense and not "Evil eye." :bear_tongue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

Buy physical bullion for the cheapest premiums you can find if metal prices explode nuismatic values won't count (maybe for some of the Asian coins but, not US coins.) My humble opinion but, I have been holding since $319 Gold and $4.40 Silver

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

Hello, welcome.
There are some fractional gold eagles that command good $
Like these:
In 1999, the Mint at West Point, New York accidentally produced what may become one of the most important rarities of the 20th Century by striking a limited quantity of Uncirculated 1/10 ounce American Eagle gold coins with the "W" mintmark below the date. Normally, the mintmark appears only on Proof versions. However, in this case, the dies never received the special polishing that gives Proof coins their deep, mirror-like qualities. No one knows exactly how many were struck, but experts estimate that only 500-1000 examples have been found since the mistake was first discovered in 2000.

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

What he said.........

Welcome, welcome.


T

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

Glad to see a new lady here..:15_1_70v: I"m a novice myself, I try to read and leard as much as I can...I tend to buy coins I like.....instead of the most bang for the buck. Anyway......Welcome:coolbeer:MissKitty

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

Hello Clawdia. I was wondering who had registered "my" nick over at Kitco. Just kidding, of course. Welcome to GIM. :smile:

As for mintage numbers, I generally don't pay a premium on bullion coins based on dates, but I have taken the time to learn which dates on some coins are more rare so that I can snag them if the opportunity arises. Like the time my coin guy had a bunch of 1996 SAEs in his "wounded eagles" bin. A few scratches, but just slightly above spot (those were the days!), and I've seen Apmex selling even "problem coin" '96's for like double the price of a new BU SAE. Any advantage should be taken, especially if your only investment is in the time it takes to learn the key dates and diligence.

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

Hi folks - thanks for the warm welcome(s)!

I don't really have any intention at all of paying a premium for rare dates . . . but I've noticed many times the lower mintage numbers don't carry a premium, so I'm thinking I may as well have something that fewer were made of than more, for the same amount of money, just in case.

I know in some cases I've paid a bit of a premium because of wanting some of the 1/10th and 1/4 gold fractionals, but my thinking was that some smaller ones might be easier to convert into whatever I needed in the event of hard times . . .

I'm also waiting for a house to sell that I've had on the market for a few months now - that's when I'll be able to pick up more nice one oz pieces.

I've made the most out of the ebay/Live program, too, and some of the first pieces I bought using that just happened to be lots of 1/10th AGEs already slabbed and graded ("lots" as in several listed together not as in a whole bunch of 'em). I figured since I ended up paying just below spot, they weren't a bad deal, even tho I haven't been looking for graded stuff - it cost less than the non-graded at the time, so that's what I bought.

I really am interested in whether those four coin proof sets I mentioned might have more likelihood of appreciation - I've seen some that were close to spot, so again - I'm not planning on paying a premium. I just want the most bang for the buck.

Cassandra - sorry I snagged your handle at Kitco. When "Claudia" wouldn't work there, I fell back on mythology. I do try to be the nice Claudia but having "claws" isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've wandered into some peculiar forums over the years, and sometimes that name has come in handy!

I've been lurking here a while - you folks here and at Kitco seem helpful and intelligent, so the claws will most likely stay sheathed. :wink:

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

Welcome to the forum Clawdia. I am also on the Kitco forum boards under the same handle. I got lucky to be able to use the same handle here at the GIM forum and the Kitco forum. I am new to both forums. I also like the fractional gold and I plan to buy more of those as well as buying more silver.
:15_1_70v:

Re: Newbie saying "Hi" - and a question . . .
 

What he said


Also :15_1_70v:Welcome to the forum! Read learn and enjoy