Hello fellow NOW members, I trust that your collecting and study of numismatics is going well! There are a few things that have been impacting our hobby that I would like to briefly touch upon. In short, the rising costs of precious metals. Gold and silver in particular.

With gold bouncing around at $5,000 per troy ounce and silver trying to stay at or above $100.00 per troy ounce. I fear that it may hurt the hobby. With the bullion value (read melt value) in many cases well above the collector value, where does that leave us?

I know that almost everybody wants their stuff to be worth more than what was paid for it. Some collectors have waited decades to prove that point. But will this mean that more and more common gold and silver coins will be going into the melting pot? Will this mean that young and old collectors alike will find basic collectables out of their price range?

I’m old enough to remember finding Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, Standing Liberty and Washington quarters, Walking Liberty, Franklin and Kennedy (both 90% and 40%), and the occasional Morgan or Peace dollar in circulation. It was easy to start a collection, and a lot of people who weren’t collectors would sock a few pieces away as curiosities.

Those days are long gone, I know it. Collector coins have risen in value based on demand, condition, rarity, etc. That’s fine and to be expected. For many, many years, common silver has sold at multiples of face. No problem with that.

However, with the melt value surpassing the numismatic value in more and more cases, what will that do for collectors not able or willing to pay the prices necessary to start or complete circulated collections? If more coins are sacrificed to the melting pot, will the unknown remainder be affordable?

Enough said about silver. What about gold? Will it become only available to the wealthy?

What happens if the bottom falls out of the market? The experts call any downturn an adjustment. That’s a nice euphemism for “Holy cow, I just lost my shirt!” What about ‘investors’ that have money in ‘gold accounts’ that really don’t have any gold in them? Yes, that is true, I’ve been in financial services for 19 years, and it’s amazing what people will do with a ‘sure thing’.

Okay, I’m done complaining. On the bright side, there are many coins in circulation now that are interesting and collectible. They can be searched for, and sets can be collected and completed.

For years now, the mint has created numerous varieties in all denominations that, in many cases, prove to be much more beautiful than before. I encourage all collectors, young and old, to take advantage of these opportunities that are literally at our fingertips. Happy collecting!

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