I have started to collect a few of the limited edition collector coins issued by the Central Bank. Most have a silver or gold content and are limited editions (albeit, you can still buy many of them online here, so they are not extremely rare). It got me thinking, what are these coins likely to be worth now, or in the future ?
At present, I doubt they are worth any more than was paid for them, given they are all relatively new. To a coin collector, I guess they may have a value depending on how rare they are, but as an investment is there any real potential for upside based on their gold and silver content ?
I don't consider them to ever be on par with the likes of Krugerrand or American Eagle etc. which tend to have a very high percentage of gold in them, but I would like to think they might have some potential to increase in value over time.
In a word... 'no'
These are generally really nice things to have, particularly as keep sake gifts for children born in those particular years.
As an investment I'd rate them with my Irish Pound note, stamp, and phone card collection (yes, I have a worthless phone card collection!)
If you want to invest in Silver, buy silver. You pay a 30% plus premium on silver coins.
Most Irish Shillings, Florins and Half Crowns prior to 1946 are .75% silver. These coins also have a low mintage. They are increasing in value all the time both for their silver content and their scarcity. Many were melted down.
Most of the Limited Edition items will be kept but the actual day to day coins are disappearing in to collections.
I was hoping that they might rank a little higher than ordinary coin or stamp collecting (excluding the couple of penny blacks, that I have knocking around somewhere ), but I didn't ever see them on par with acquiring gold bullion etc.