Valuable coins

A valuable coin can be many different things to different people. There are many examples of circulating currency carried around in our pockets that become known as a valuable coin. Despite their regular use in a person’s daily life, coins can be incredibly valuable; a rare coin, or an error in the minting process can make them worth far more than their originally intended value.

For other people, a valuable coin could be one they have bought specifically as an investment or a collectable piece. When looking at coins as an investment it is important to consider what type of coin you are going to buy as this will have an effect on its value. This can also have an impact when selling your coins, the type of coin you own will have a different value to different people.

As mentioned above, there are two main types of coin that are valuable when considering precious metals; bullion coins, and numismatic coins.

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Bullion coins

Bullion coins are valuable due to them being made of precious metal during the minting process. Prior to the First World War, gold and silver were regularly used in circulating currency. Carrying around gold coins, while not commonplace, was still probable for the wealthy. Silver coins were much more widely circulated, and the average man on the street would likely be found to have silver in his pocket.

In modern days however gold and silver coins are reserved for the highest quality bullion coins. Gold bullion coins were first produced in South Africa, and today the Krugerrand is still the most popular bullion coin on the global market.

Although bullion coins are produced in multiple denominations, the most popular form is for one troy ounce of gold, such as the Britannia series produced by The Royal Mint. The pure, precious metal content of these coins makes them extremely valuable, with gold especially strengthening in the past few years. Purchasing a bullion coin at the right time can be very valuable, as both the pure metal price, and gold’s other advantages as a hedge against weaknesses in alternative assets.

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Collectible coins

The second way for a coin to be valuable is whether it’s collectable - collecting valuable coins is known as numismatics. This collectability can push the price of a coin far beyond its face value, or even the value of its metal content. What makes a coin collectible?

This is where human opinion and sentiment begin to play a larger role. The coin’s country of origin could hold a particular place in a person’s heart, or there might be a period of history that is of interest to them. If you have something that someone wants for particular reason, then the value of the coin will be whatever they are willing to pay.

One objective guide for a coin’s value is its rarity. Some coins, because of limited mintage numbers, or the rigours of time, are extremely rare. If only a few of the coins exist, then the demand to own and preserve them makes their prices rise steeply. Numismatic coins regularly fetch the highest of prices.

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Semi-numismatic coins

Sometimes a coin will overlap into both categories. Antique coins were regularly made of gold or silver and as such have an intrinsic value based on the metal. They also have an additional numismatic value though because of their age, rarity, and historical interest and regularly sell for premiums far beyond their original metal weight. Even modern bullion coins such as the Queen’s Beast series can still command an additional premium for being part of a limited coin set. The Proof coin is also semi-numismatic thanks to it’s high content of metal, high standard of build quality, and in limited numbers.