Coin News Magazine

[Foster88]

Hi all,

Has anyone else subscribed to Coin News magazine?

I’ve just subscribed and asked for back publications to March this year which they kindly sent to me. They arrived today and I’ve had a quick look through until I have more time but it looks like a great magazine.

 

[Shep]

I’m sure a great number are already aware but Token publishing offer a free printed issue of Coin News delivered to your door as a trial.

I had a punt when I bought Marsh from them a few months ago and from the issue I received it seems like a good quality magazine, filled with lots of interesting content.

If nothing else it’s well worth taking them up on the free trial. 

https://www.tokenpublishing.com/subscribe/coin

[Foster88]

1 hour ago, Shep said:

I’m sure a great number are already aware but Token publishing offer a free printed issue of Coin News delivered to your door as a trial.

I had a punt when I bought Marsh from them a few months ago and from the issue I received it seems like a good quality magazine, filled with lots of interesting content.

If nothing else it’s well worth taking them up on the free trial. 

https://www.tokenpublishing.com/subscribe/coin

Thanks @Shep I concur with what you’ve said above.

Great magazine and my subscription only started this month and they sent me the March, April and May issue FOC.

I’m looking forward to reading them.

[LawrenceChard]

18 hours ago, Foster88 said:

Hi all,

Has anyone else subscribed to Coin News magazine?

I’ve just subscribed and asked for back publications to March this year which they kindly sent to me. They arrived today and I’ve had a quick look through until I have more time but it looks like a great magazine.

 

It is a good coin magazine, mainly focussed on numismatics rather than investment. Owned, edited, and run by nice people, genuinely interested in and knowledgeable in coins; also banknotes and tokens.

A few days ago, I e-mailed the editor asking if you was aware of some of the recent discussions on TSF, and suggesting they take a look, and contribute.

[TeaTime]

I used to subscribe but found that some editions had little that interested me. I also hated the fact that the front editorial piece was a full page in tiny script which was very difficult to read.

Am definitely going to try the free issue offer and may well re-subscribe if it has enough content of interest.

[GoodAsGold]

I haven’t subscribed yet but I bought an issue a couple of months ago (twice). I was sending some old RM coin literature out to Westminstrel in Oz and decided to throw in the latest issue at the time, which I’d only bought that day and had a quick flick through. Next day I was back at the Post Office to send out the pack and I bought the mag again to keep for myself. 

[Foster88]

On 11/07/2021 at 17:33, LawrenceChard said:

It is a good coin magazine, mainly focussed on numismatics rather than investment. Owned, edited, and run by nice people, genuinely interested in and knowledgeable in coins; also banknotes and tokens.

A few days ago, I e-mailed the editor asking if you was aware of some of the recent discussions on TSF, and suggesting they take a look, and contribute.

This might be a good idea. It would certainly give them a better idea of what is being discussed.

As to numismatics and I am a novice in this, rather than investments, aren’t numismatics the same? With the hope of long term investment in numismatics.

I’m hoping as a younger ish collector that my numismatic sovereigns might be an investment for tomorrow. I started off as just a sovereign collector. Now I feel I’m moving more towards numismatics. I don't know why but I am. I've never involved myself in the 'hype' of the SOTD sovereigns as one example.

I’m thinking the Victoria sovereigns of today will be the equivalent of Elizabeth II (particularly the Gillick’s) will be at a premium by the time Charles or William become King. I also think as you’ve seen I’ve postsed about, George V Sovereigns are very much underrated. In 10 years + time I think George V Sovereigns, mostly the rare and hard to find Sovereigns will be the new ‘premium’ sovereigns. This is just my opinion. I may be wrong or I may be ahead of my time, I’m someone who’s main focus is on George V Sovereigns and secondly Elizabeth II Gillicks. The latter of which, to me at least, doesn't have the same appeal because they don't have the same branch mint and rarity appeal as the George V sovereigns. But appealing and collectible non the less.

As @Roy said, he has recently, taken another look at his George V sovereigns. I'm going to keep my mouth firmly shut from now on regarding George V sovereigns. Mostly the 1920's-1932.

Don’t now put your George V sovereign prices up @LawrenceChard 😆

Coin News definitely need to be involved in this great forum.

[TeaTime]

With gold prices so high it evens out the prices of sovereigns. The numismatic premium tends to get lost or is such a small percentage of the overall value as to make it negligible. That may change though as we start to lose more of the older coins to melters....

When i stopped buying gold it was possible to buy a new sovereign for around £65 and a numismatic one at around £75-£95. A huge percentage difference. 

A lot of the silver coins (mainly pre Victorian Crowns) i have owned for a while have seen large increases in resale values whereas gold has pretty much tracked the spot price. I think, historically, the larger silver coins have had more appeal to collectors.

[LawrenceChard]

7 hours ago, Foster88 said:

As to numismatics and I am a novice in this, rather than investments, aren’t numismatics the same? With the hope of long term investment in numismatics.

 

Perhaps I was being slightly lazy with my words.

But let's start with the Royal Numismatic Society's definition of numismatics - "the study of coins, medals and related currency items."

Add in two of my own definitions, from: https://24carat.co.uk/frame.php?url=numismaticterms.html

Numismatic	Relating to coins or the study of coins.
Numismatist	A person who collects, studies or deals in coins.

Also (as a numismatic term):

Bullion

Any coin used at or close to its intrinsic metal value. Relating to a coin used in such a way.

The Chards Definition of Bullion
Bullion is a term used to describe precious metals such as gold and silver which are bought and sold at or close to the value of its metal content (intrinsic value). Bullion can be bought and sold as both coins and bars.

Investment (Wikipedia)

To invest is to allocate money with the expectation of a positive benefit/return in the future. In other words, to invest means owning an asset or an item with the goal of generating income from the investment or the appreciation of your investment which is an increase in the value of the asset over a period of time.

I need to add a definition of "commodity"

What Is a Commodity?
A commodity is a basic good used in commerce that is interchangeable with other goods of the same type. Commodities are most often used as inputs in the production of other goods or services. The quality of a given commodity may differ slightly, but it is essentially uniform across producers.

Precious metals in their pure form are hard commodities. Interchangeability or standardisation is essential for commodity markets to function efficiently. By "efficiently", I mean that they can be bought and sold readily at small buy-sell spreads, in volume, and there must be liquidity. 

Although the hard core commodity markets for precious metals deal in large bars, such as 400 ounce or 100 ounce gold bars, 1000 ounce silver bars, etc., the "retail" investment market is largely underpinned by the commodity markets, so prices of smaller units such as one ounce gold bars closely follows and reflects prices in the international volume markets. 

"Investment Gold" is VAT exempt in the UK and EU. The USA and some other countries also do not have tax on gold.

This means that an efficient market can and does exist for gold coins and small bars. In turn, this makes it easy and attractive for people to invest in gold, and know that they can readily cash it in when required. 

Unfortunately, this tax exemption does not apply to other precious metals such as silver.

Following the definition, numismatics is primarily about the study of coins and money, rather than investment. Most coin collectors are numismatists, although it is possible to view coins as miniature works of art, and collect them for their aesthetic value.

While it is possible to invest in numismatic coins, they are the opposite of commodities, as much of the interest and attraction lies in their difference as opposed to their homogeneity. This in turn means that markets will not be as efficient, and that buy-sell spreads will tend to be greater.

I was looking on our sites for an existing page containing some age-old advice about collecting coins, but it looks like I need to write a new one. Basically, this boils down to collecting what you like, fancy, or what interests you most, and not to collect coins primarily as a financial investment. The knowledge you can gain by studying coins can be viewed as a non-financial investment. Reading a few numismatic coin books can enrich one's experience and education, so they can be a good investment.

While any and every coin contains some numismatic value, even including a humble penny in your pocket, we tend to differentiate between numismatic coins and bullion coins.

The main raison d'etre of precious metal bullion coins is investment because of their intrinsic precious metal content. Most coins of numismatic interest were originally made for use in circulation as money. Even the hardest core of bullion coins can and does have some numismatic value. Some people collect Krugerrands, even though there main purpose was to enable efficient availability of gold as an investment. 

Proof and special editions of bullion coins form another crossover area between bullion investment and numismatics. A "proof bullion" coin is almost an oxymoron.

Modern Issues

Modern issue coins form another market sector. This can encompass precious metal coins, or base metal coins as circulation money, or in mint packs of annual coin sets. Many modern issues exist because it provides a marketing opportunity for mints to literally cash in on their monopoly status, and also for coin marketing companies to cash in on spare money sloshing around in savings accounts of mainly older people, who often buy them for sentimental reasons or in the belief that they will appreciate in value, and can be passed on to their descendants as an inheritance. In my opinion, many modern issues are an anti-investment.

Collectable gold sovereigns also form another crossover area. When originally issued, most were both bullion coins and circulation coins. Here I am mainly thinking about modern sovereigns from 1817 to 1932 inclusive, as later sovereigns were never intended for circulation. In recent years, some people have come to believe that the only bullion gold coins are Krugerrands and other “similar” coins which are issued mainly for precious metal investment, and not intended for circulation. These people wrongly ignore sovereigns and other historic circulation coins which still constitute an important part of the gold bullion investment market.

Did you prefer my "lazy" version, or my long, boring version?
 

[LawrenceChard]

16 hours ago, TeaTime said:

I used to subscribe but found that some editions had little that interested me. I also hated the fact that the front editorial piece was a full page in tiny script which was very difficult to read.

Am definitely going to try the free issue offer and may well re-subscribe if it has enough content of interest.

Yes, I have suggested a few times that the main editorial page would be better split into two columns for the sake of readability, but I still find that many of the specialised articles are interesting and educational.

The free issue offer is excellent value of course, and as far as I am aware, does not expose you to a lifetime of marketing offers, unlike some "free" offers from coin marketiing companies.