Eric Sepanek
SBC Founder
Eric Sepanek is the founder of Scottsdale Bullion & Coin, established in 2011. With extensive experience in the precious metals industry, he is dedicated to educating Americans on the wealth preservation power of gold and silver.
Since the 1960s, commemorative coins have been issued by various companies advertising themselves as “mints” while indirectly representing their coins as viable investments. Although commemorative coins are beautifully designed and themed after admirable individuals (U.S. Presidential commemorative coins, for example), momentous events in history, or landmarks to make them even more attractive to collectors, they may not be considered good investments. In fact, the old adage that looks can be deceiving applies especially to commemorative coins.
Little, if any, gold or silver used
Something touted as being commemorative gold coins sounds like an investment-worthy product, but don’t buy into this, don’t let the word “gold” fool you. It is a powerful and persuasive word used by companies selling commemorative coins to influence consumer behavior. Be aware that items said to be gold are typically “gold-plated” and have such a thin, nearly imperceptible layer of gold covering them that it costs more to refine the items than the item is actually worth. This also goes for “plated” and “layered” commemorative silver coins as well.
Uncontrolled market
Radio, print media and television remain largely uncontrolled in this market, meaning that companies pitching a product or service can make just about any type of claim by cleverly skirting the truth about real commemorative coin values. In addition, businesses selling US commemorative coins, Presidential commemorative coins and other popular commemorative sets can keep their lawyers on call just in case anybody tries to sue them for fraud.
Far from rare coins
Advertisements that claim “only 1000 of these valuable commemorative Reagan dollars are left for purchase by the public” neglect to tell you that over a million Ronald Reagan silver dollars have already been sold. Not only does the fact that millions of people owning the same coins force the value of commemorative coins to drop exponentially, but it may also cause economic hardships for consumers who innocently thought they had made a viable and financially worthy investment.
Meaningless authenticity certificates
Think those “Certificates of Authenticity” included in gold or silver commemorative coins are authentic? This supposed authenticity is likely worth little more than the stock paper it is printed on. Since these so-called certificates are not officially affixed to these gold and silver coins, unscrupulous sellers will simply move general certificates among different commemorative coin sets.
👉 Suggested Reading: Are Commemorative Coins Worth Anything? Don’t Buy Before Reading This!
An Alternative to Investing in Commemorative Coins
Investing in numismatic coins, or genuine gold, silver and rare coins, means that you are investing in property that might appreciate in value. People living through economically distressed times have historically remained viable and relatively less affected by financial catastrophe, perhaps because they had the foresight to invest in currency that had often shown to maintain and increase in value.0 Meanwhile, the value of paper money drops with remarkable speed.
Unlike commemorative coins that are typically pieces of a base metal thinly plated with gold or silver, rare coins are intrinsically valuable because they are made from pure precious metals and few have been left in circulation. In addition, silver and gold values have often increased during times of financial distress. Consequently, investing in numismatic coins represents a solid investment option that protects you against stock market failures, wars, the impending disaster caused by our out-of-control national debt and severe inflation.
Purchasing commemorative coins may give you personal enjoyment and act as attractive display items for your den or computer room but as an investment, they’re akin more to baseball cards than profitable coins. Start protecting yourself and your family from the very real possibility of an economic meltdown caused by economic instability and rapid devaluing of the U.S. dollar by getting a free guide to investing in numismatic coins.
👉 Suggested Reading: Collectible and Rare Coins: What’s The Difference?