RM silver proof coins - retain their value?

[Aecoin]

Was browsing eBay recently and noticed a ton of silver proof crown sets from 1972 onwards going in the £20-30 range.

These seem incredibly cheap given new a proof crown from the Royal Mint will set you back close to £100:  https://www.royalmint.com/our-coins/events/the-queens-platinum-jubilee/the-platinum-jubilee-of-her-majesty-the-queen-2022-5-silver-proof-coin/

Do proof coins not hold their premium over time, or is there something I’m missing here?

I’m also surprised to find these proof coins as cheap/cheaper than 1oz silver bullion coins.

[RRH87]

From the ones I've looked at they all appear to be Sterling silver and less than an Troy ounce. Would be interesting to know the original price back in 1980s though.

Edited November 25, 2022 by RRH87

[Aecoin]

Ah good point I was mistaking an ounce (28ish grams) for a Troy ounce.

[Aecoin]

Correcting for their weight & .925 purity, the melt price would be around £15.

[TeaTime]

My experience ?

Royal themed proof silver crowns depreciate like a balloon - with very rare exceptions. The majority will be available on the second-hand market at bullion prices within 5-10 years.

Britannia proof coins will generally hold their value and will increase in line with inflation - exceptions being low mintage issues and those that are visually appealing (beauty is in the eye of the beholder). There are anomalies - i.e. the 1997 single 1oz coin generally selling for more than the 1997 4 coin set (which includes the 1oz). 🙄

Other silver proof coins generally rely on how 'hot' they are - examples being the Beatrix Potter cash-in. Even they can generally be picked up at about 1/2 - 2/3rds of issue price presently.

In summation; RM silver proof coins should only be purchased if you actually like them and are generally a sure-fire loss. Once in a while a low mintage issue which becomes popular will increase in value... sometimes only temporarily. It's a flippers market, not a long-term investment.

 

Unless, of course, you are in the market for some RM silver proofs. In that case they are the best thing since sliced bread and i can do you a smashing deal.

Edited November 25, 2022 by TeaTime

[Bruce06]

7 hours ago, TeaTime said:

My experience ?

Royal themed proof silver crowns depreciate like a balloon - with very rare exceptions. The majority will be available on the second-hand market at bullion prices within 5-10 years.

Britannia proof coins will generally hold their value and will increase in line with inflation - exceptions being low mintage issues and those that are visually appealing (beauty is in the eye of the beholder). There are anomalies - i.e. the 1997 single 1oz coin generally selling for more than the 1997 4 coin set (which includes the 1oz). 🙄

Other silver proof coins generally rely on how 'hot' they are - examples being the Beatrix Potter cash-in. Even they can generally be picked up at about 1/2 - 2/3rds of issue price presently.

In summation; RM silver proof coins should only be purchased if you actually like them and are generally a sure-fire loss. Once in a while a low mintage issue which becomes popular will increase in value... sometimes only temporarily. It's a flippers market, not a long-term investment.

 

Unless, of course, you are in the market for some RM silver proofs. In that case they are the best thing since sliced bread and i can do you a smashing deal.

Agree, only buy if you like the design, as all newly minted proof coins are with hefty premium.  If there is any gain after purchase, i will treat it as extra bonus.

[Solachesis]

Coins like the recent Edward et al of the British Monarchs series - likely to hold premium, very popular, I wouldn't splash out on coins like Tutankhamen though. I see lots of crowns very cheap, so I wouldn't buy them new 

[TeaTime]

Some modern silver proof coins will increase in value but rarely to the extent that there is a long-term profit to be had from them. An example are the proof Queens Beasts which i now see regularly being sold at RRP or less (and that includes slabbed coins which have cost the owner considerably more than RRP).

Speculators (or short-term owners if you prefer) will always buy a percentage of new releases creating an artificial demand for a coin (British Monarchs the current hot coins). Once the actual demand (from collectors) is met then any remaining extra coins out in the wild get sold to other flippers ad infinitum. Eventually the price will fall in line with collector demand.  Sometimes this process takes months, sometimes years. I believe most people greatly overestimate the number of long-term coin collectors in the UK.

Getting a bit off-track now so i will also add re Royal themed crowns - they are generally poorly designed and, quite frankly, a bit naff !

[StackemHigh]

Very little of the rm stuff holds any of its premium. I see many 80's and 90's proof coins at spot (sterling) + 1% or 2% n sometimes less.

[Silverlocks]

7 hours ago, TeaTime said:

Some modern silver proof coins will increase in value but rarely to the extent that there is a long-term profit to be had from them. An example are the proof Queens Beasts which i now see regularly being sold at RRP or less (and that includes slabbed coins which have cost the owner considerably more than RRP).

Speculators (or short-term owners if you prefer) will always buy a percentage of new releases creating an artificial demand for a coin (British Monarchs the current hot coins). Once the actual demand (from collectors) is met then any remaining extra coins out in the wild get sold to other flippers ad infinitum. Eventually the price will fall in line with collector demand.  Sometimes this process takes months, sometimes years. I believe most people greatly overestimate the number of long-term coin collectors in the UK.

Getting a bit off-track now so i will also add re Royal themed crowns - they are generally poorly designed and, quite frankly, a bit naff !

I see a lot of pretty naff coins aimed at collectors - from many different mints.  Sometimes I wonder who buys them.  Will Donald Trump coins really have collector value in 30 years' time?  

Edited November 26, 2022 by Silverlocks

[timsk]

On 25/11/2022 at 15:22, Aecoin said:

Do proof coins not hold their premium over time, or is there something I’m missing here? . . .

Hi Aecoin,

Good question and I think you've received some insightful replies from those with wisdom born of experience. I started a thread recently that asked a similar question with got some equally helpful replies:

Proof Coin at Bullion Price?

[Aecoin]

Thanks folks for your learned advice.

Will be sticking to bullion coins & bars for the time being!