How to Build the Ideal Gold and Silver Coin Portfolio

One of the toughest questions investors ask when building a coin portfolio is, "What kind of gold and silver coins should I invest in?" The best answer to this question depends on your investment timeframe. For how long are you planning to invest? Here is a basic overview of short, medium, and long term coin portfolios.

Short Term (Under 1 Year) — Invest in bullion coins that closely follow gold and silver spot prices, with very small premiums. These coins have immediate liquidity and their prices are easy to track based on current precious metal spot prices. Returns are generally less than those of coins we recommend for the medium or long term, as expected from a short-term investment. Nevertheless, these coins offer protection against loss of purchasing power of the US dollar.

Medium Term (1-3 Years) — To maximize return over one to three years, invest in coins usually dated pre-1934.While they are no longer in production, adequate supplies of these coins are available. They trade for slightly higher premiums to gold and silver spot prices than those we recommend for short term investments. They offer additional privacy benefits not available with bullion coins. Due to high demand, they also offer excellent liquidity.

Long Term (3+ Years) — For maximum return on investment beyond three years, we recommend scarcer coins. These coins frequently have very low populations, are in high demand, and in limited supply. This combination makes them solid investments and recent auctions have shown them to offer maximum appreciation. Holding low-population coins for more than three years tends to increase their scarcity (as other collectors and investors hold them off the market). This increases their liquidity and value, which can dramatically increase your capital return.

The ideal coin portfolio will be diversified and contain a combination of the three categories. The percentage of each should be based on your individual goals, needs, and preferences. Short term coins are excellent for accessing quick cash. Medium to long term coins are suitable for goals such as savings, retirement, and inheritance.

Bullion Plus Coins Recommended for Short Term and Medium Term Investors

In order to classify a gold or silver coin as a Bullion Plus investment, we look for coins that are no longer produced but retain an adequate supply. These coins carry a low premium over the gold and silver value, and usually have additional privacy and reporting benefits over more modem, still-in-production bullion coins. Bullion Plus coins are primarily priced on their precious metal content and a small premium. During times of economic turmoil, demand for these coins tends to spike, resulting in multiplied premium increases. In many cases this gives these coins an additional 20-30% value over their normal return, making them ideal for the short and medium tems investor. Please contact us for more information about these benefits.

All of our Bullion Plus coins offer:

Low Premiums
Immediate Liquidity
Pre-1934 Privacy Benefits

AU-BU $20 LIBERTY		BRITISH SOVEREIGNS
	Minted 1849-1907 Narrow bid/ask dealer spread .900 fine gold containing .9675 pure gold Actively traded		Minted 1902-1925 King Edward VII and King George V Actively traded worldwide Excellent and immediate liquidity Contains 1/4oz of .917 gold (.2354 ounces of pure gold)
AU-BU $20 SAINTS		SWISS HELVETIAS
	Minted 1907-1933 Narrow bid/ask dealer spread .900 fine gold containing .9675 pure gold One of the most actively traded US coins One of the most attractive US coins ever minted		Available dates range from 1898 to 1930 Excellent and immediate liquidity Actively traded worldwide Contains over 1/5 oz of .900 gold (.1867 ounces of pure gold)
PCGS/NGC certified MS63 $20 SAINTS		FRENCH ROOSTERS
	Minted 1907-1933 Guaranteed authenticity and quality Higher grade and premium over bullion One of the most actively traded and popular of all Bullion Plus gold coins		Minted 1906-1914 Actively traded worldwide Excellent and immediate liquidity Contains over 1/5 ounce of .900 gold (.1867 ounces of pure gold)
BU MORGAN & PEACE DOLLARS		PCGS/NGC certified MS64-MS67 MORGAN and PEACE DOLLARS
	Minted 1878-1935 Normally purchased in rolls of 20 coins Contains .77 ounces of pure silver Actively traded by thousands of dealers US Silver Dollars are the most popular coins among collectors and investors		minted between 1878-1934 Guaranteed authenticity and quality Higher grade and premium over bullion Actively traded by thousands of dealers Excellent immediate liquidity

Investment Grade Coins
Recommended for Medium Term and Long Term Investors

Investment Grade coins start around $3,000 for Gold and $1,000 for Silver. Collector and investor demand for these fairly low-population coins gives them a value, commonly referred to as numismatic value, that far exceeds the value of their gold or silver content. As a result, changes in precious metal values have little to no effect on the prices of these coins. Investment coins can produce maximum returns for investors willing to hold on to them for a few years. This holding period enhances the limited availability of these coins and allows them to appreciate as their more expensive siblings, the Ultra Rarities, increase in value (explained below), thus making them even more desirable. The more desirable they become, the more their value increases. These Investment coins can typically show a 10-30% year-over-year return. To find the best of these Investment coins, Stuppler & Company created CoinStats. CoinStats is a quarterly statistical publication that identifies coins with the highest potential for price growth, based on detailed analyses of each coin’s population, value differential, and market capitalization. CoinStats recommendations are a valuable tool that enables numismatic collectors and investors to maximize their return when selecting investment coins. CoinStats is available free to our clients to help them find undervalued coins in a particular series within their price range. Please contact us for details and to receive a free issue of CoinStats in the series of your choice.

CoinStats Series of Investment Grade Coins

SAINTS LIBS MORGANS PEACE WALKERS

AUCTION HISTORIES OF PREVIOUSLY RECOMMENDED COINSTATS COINS

1921-D Morgan PCGS MS67	1909-S Saint Gaudens NGC MS66
May 2000 $5,290 Heritage Lot#5449 April 2013 $44,062 Heritage Lot#4382 732% in 13 years =17.9% annual return	Feb 2005 $9,775 Heritage Lot#9500 Jan 2010 $21,850 Heritage Lot#2296 123% in 5 years = 17.5% annual return

Ultra Rare Coins
Recommended for Long Term Investors

Ultra Rare coins are usually valued at $25,000 and above. Due to their higher values and extremely low populations (in many cases only 1-5 coins available), Ultra Rarities are the epitome of excellence to savvy investors and collectors. Investors and collectors looking to build the fullest collections are always on the hunt for these rare pieces. To clarify, let’s say only 3 coins exist in a particular series in a high grade and 1 of the 3 becomes available at auction for the first time in several years. Even if only two people need this Ultra Rarity for their collections it will almost certainly bring in a record breaking price at auction due to the incredible scarcity. Similarly, when a Monet or Picasso painting becomes available, it almost always tops its prior multi-million dollar sales price. Due to the extremely low availability of Ultra Rarities, they can yield maximum returns in weak and strong economies.

AUCTION HISTORIES OF PREVIOUSLY RECOMMENDED ULTRA RARE COINS

1890-CC Morgan Silver Dollar	1901-0 Morgan Dollar PCGS MS67
June 2000 $6,352 Heritage Lot#8011 Feb 2013 $45,531 Heritage Lot#3884 617% in 13 years =16.8% annual return	April 2007 $14,950 Heritage Lot#105 Jan 2011 $37,375 Heritage Lot#5684 150% in 4 years = 27.7% annual return

Modern Gold and Silver Bullion Coins
Recommended for Short Term Investors

Gold and silver bullion coins are ideal for investors who need instant liquidity. Modem Bullion coins are produced in large quantities; their value depends primarily upon their precious metal content. As a result they carry a very small premium over precious metal spot prices and offer excellent immediate liquidity.

Here are the 5 most popular
Gold and Silver Bullion Coins
in order of popularity

1) US 1oz Gold Eagle		1) US 1oz Silver Eagle
	Minted since 1986 by the US Mint Comes in tubes of 20 coins or boxes of 500 .9167 fine (22kt) and contains 1oz of gold 2nd highest selling Gold Bullion coin worldwide Actively traded Very narrow buy/sell dealer margins Largest trading volume of any US Gold Bullion coin		Minted since 1986 by the US Mint .999% fine with 1 full ounce of silver Actively traded Very narrow buy/sell dealer margins Tubes of 20 coins or sealed Green Monster boxes of 500 Largest volume traded Silver Bullion coin worldwde (over 42 million in 2013)
2) Canadian 1oz Gold Maple Leaf		2) .999 Silver Trade Units
	Minted since 1979 by Royal Canadian Mint Comes in tubes of 10 coins or boxes of 500 .9999 fine (24kt), contains 1 oz of pure gold Lowest premium of popular bullion products Actively traded Narrow buy/sell dealer margins Largest volume traded of any Gold Bullion coin in the world		Minted by private mints for over 50 years Contains 1oz of pure .999 silver Offers very narrow buy/sell dealer margins Comes in tubes of 20 or boxes of 500 Lowest premium over spot of any actibvely traded .999 silver investment product
3) US 1oz Gold Buffalos		3) U.S. Peace and Morgan Circulated Silver Dollars
	Minted since 2006 by the US Mint Only US gold coins minted in .9999 gold Actively traded within the US Comes in sealed sheets of 20 coins		Minted between 1878 and 1935 Contains .77 ounces of pure silver Very popular with collectors and investors Offers pre-1934 privacy benefits Actively traded by thousands of dealers Has excellent and immediate liquidity
4) 1oz South African Krugerrands		4) 90% Pre-1965 US Silver Dimes, Quarters, and Half Dollars
	Minted since 1967 by South African Mint #3 traded Gold Bullion coin in the world 91.67% fine, containing 1 oz of gold Come in tubes of 10, 15, and 25 coins		Minted by the US Mint prior to 1965 Come in bags of $100 to $1,000 face value Each $1 worth of face value contains .72oz of silver
5) 1oz Chinese Pandas		5) Canadian 1oz .999 Silver Maple Leafs
	Minted since 1982 by the Chinese Mint .9999 fine, containing 1 oz of pure gold Comes in sealed sheets of 10 Design is changed every year to increase collector demand		Minted by Canadian government since 1979 Contains 1 oz of pure .999 silver Lower premium than US Silver Eagles Higher premium than Silver Trade Units Actively traded worldwide Comes in tubes of 25 or sealed boxes of 500