Coins

Going in for gold
Most people, with the exception of coin collectors, would invest in gold coins based on the ‘safety’ factor that gold has. Gold is, after all, less influenced by market trends than other instruments of investment. The added advantage with investing in gold coins is that if you pick up coins that have a chance of becoming a rarity, they could appreciate far more than ordinary bullion gold. Depending on your investment style you could opt to seek the advice of a gold coin dealer or an ancient coin dealer. Ancient gold coins, depending on how rare they are, could command a substantial premium.

Safe with silver
You could also opt to invest in silver coins. There is a whole array of valuable coins that you could buy from silver coin dealers that would make interesting acquisitions. A 1936, half-rupee, silver coin, bearing the name of King George V is a collectors’ item that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and if nothing else, the value of a silver coin must be at least as much as its actual bullion silver content. Though silver coins are very popular in India, one must remember that an old silver coin’s value, like the value of any ancient coin, depends on other factors such as grade, rarity and demand. Silver dollars, the American Silver Eagle and the Canadian maple Leaf Silver Coins are easy to come by.
Know how
You can refer to a published coin price guide, available at local bookstores to check the price of the coin you want to buy. Such publications contain valuable information about the prevailing prices for various different coins. Ancient coin dealers can also provide valuable tips on how to start and maintain a coin collection. Most coin dealers would recommend opting for an ancient coins collection as such coins are easy to come by. The Internet is also a great source of information about coin collecting and online price guides can in fact, be even more accurate than published versions as they are updated frequently.