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London Coins
29th May 2012

Can you make a mint from Jubilee coins?

While for many such coins may really be a sentimental purchase, just how do they shape up as investments?

The Royal Mint has issued a range of coins, including special sets, to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year. The latest issue is a range of silver, gold and platinum versions of the official UK £5 Jubilee coin.

The Royal Mint offers a selection of coins for the Queen’s 2012, ranging from the Official Queen’s Diamond Jubilee UK £5 coin costing £12.99, the 2012 Collector Proof Set of 10 coins, of which 30,000 sets will be made and retailing at £55, topped by the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee UK Gold Proof coin which costs £2,400. Delivery within the EU costs £2.95.

While for many such coins may really be a sentimental purchase, just how do they shape up as investments?

You don’t have to be a numismatist (coin collector) to understand that, as with any collectible item the prime focus is on condition, provenance and rarity – as well as the prevailing market conditions. As such it is likely that any of the above will take many decades to appreciate substantially, if at all.

Coin expert Stephen Lockett, director at auctioneers London Coins (www.londoncoins.co.uk), said “For anyone thinking of coins as an investment the entry price is the point to consider most carefully.” A key factor is the margin paid over the prevailing trade price.

He cited the example of Royal mint Gold proof Sovereign Series in the 1990s, which sold at £149, with gold content worth around £50. He said “The secondary market where these coins could be sold with a few exceptions of the odd sought after date paid a bullion related price, i.e., £50.” Of course the price of gold has soared in recent times, but it was not until the end of the ‘noughties’ that ‘nineties investors got anything more than their money back.

An irony with Royal Mint sets, said Lockett is that “the older they are the cheaper they become”. This is because clusters of them tend to appear on the market at the same time as their owners die.

By Stephen Spurdon

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Can you make a mint from Jubilee coins?


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Money Market UK
While for many such coins may really be a sentimental purchase, just how do they shape up as investments? The Royal Mint has issued a range of coins, including special sets, to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this year. The latest issue is a range of silver, gold and platinum versions... Continue reading

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