It’s Back to the Past’s job to keep our finger on the pulse of the collectibles market so you don’t have to! We periodically update you on what’s hot RIGHT NOW and why its doing so well. This update is here to tell you about precious metals – including coins.
Precious Metals Are on An Upward Trend
Humanity has prized precious metals, chiefly gold and silver, since we discovered them.. That’s a few millennia worth of association between “precious metal” and “value”, across nearly every culture on the planet. Our language reflects that value, with “gold” generally being the top tier of….well, anything and everything.
We point that out to explain why folks gravitate toward precious metals in times of uncertainty. That gravitation is why gold and silver have been on an upward trend since March of 2020. The price of both gold and silver has appreciated around 60% in the last five years.
Collectibles To Watch
Back to the Past is not a financial advisor, and we are not YOUR financial advisor. With that out of the way, here are some collectibles we recommend keeping an eye on to get the best value out of this rise:
- Pre-1965 quarters, dimes, and half-dollars. Older coins were made with 90% silver, with a quarter containing 0.18 troy oz of the stuff.
- Silver Proof Sets. Proof sets are fresh-off-the-line sets of U.S. coins sold by the U.S. Mint. In 1992, the mint introduced the Silver Proof Set which brought back the use of silver in the quarter, dime, and half-dollar. They total up to just under 1.5 troy oz of silver per set.
- Nickels from 1942 to 1945. The U.S. five cent piece is usually composed of its namesake metal. World War II, however, saw the industrial need for nickel skyrocket. The U.S. Mint compensated for this by producing nickels made from 35% silver. That works out to only 0.05 troy oz. While their numismatic value is higher than their melt value, they’re pretty much the only type of nickel to have both.
Pre-1933 Gold Coins. Prior to the 1933, the U.S. Mint struck coins made of 91.67 pure gold. These included $1, $2.50, $5, $10, and $20 pieces. That practice with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 6102. The Treasury Department needed to increase the money supply to fight the Great Depression. At that time, new money could only be made when it had the gold to back it up. Roosevelt’s order put that gold in the Treasury’s hands by taking it out of circulation. The fact that most of these coins were turned over to the government means that the (relative) few that have survived have significant numismatic value in addition to their considerable melt value.
Conclusion
Coins made of precious metals are among the best “investment collectibles” around. Due to the specifics of numismatics, coins don’t have a sliding window of relevance like some comics and toys do. Likewise, coins made of precious metals have a value outside of their collectible value. Even if coin collecting dried up tomorrow, you’d still have a pile of gold or silver that someone would be interested in.
The current rise in precious metal prices means now is a good time to sell a coin collection that’s gathering dust. If you’ve got one, we highly recommend getting in touch with us here at Back to the Past! We can evaluate what you have and bring it to auction, getting you the best value for your collection without you having to lift a finger!
Questions? Comments? You can comment below or hit us up @b2pcollect on social media.