For the past 4 years, I’ve been buying Napoleon 1st Gold Coins. These coins were minted in France and are available in 20 and 40 Franc denominations.
These are by far my favorite gold coins. These iconic coins are of significant historical importance. The 20 franc napoleons were minted around 1805 and these 20 franc coins contain about 0.186 Oz of gold while the 40 francs contain twice that. At the time, the spot price of gold was $ 500 which worked out to ~$ 100 of gold in the 20 francs. I started buying these gold coins for about $ 125 online, so I only paid a measly $ 25 premium to own a 200 year old coin!
Over the past 4 years, I’ve bought dozens of them online without problem. They are very difficult to find in stores (both brick and mortar and online) and I totally expect them to go up in value. Part of the increase will come from the increase in the price of gold, and part of it will come from the premium that is associated with collectible coins.
As the price of gold has escalated from a low of $ 275 in 2000 to the current $ 1950, the demand in collectible coins has also increased.
This has resulted in a sharp demand for numismatic coins and a corresponding increase in their value.
The more obscure the coin, the more the price over the spot price of gold. Coins that have not been minted for 200 years are absolutely numismatic. In the past, these coins have been melted down for various reason, lost, or lie at the bottom of our world’s oceans. Since the mintage is dropping, the scarcity of these coins is increasing and thus they should make a good long term investment. And in the worst case,you can show them to your grandkids and teach them a little bit about history.
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