Investing in Collectible Tangible Assets

by Cori Sedwick Downing 

 You’ve saved and saved all your life, or you just started a savings program, and all of a sudden, your investments in stocks and bonds don’t seem such a wonderful idea.  Did you forget one of the cardinal rules of investing, diversification?  For many, diversification means holding a portfolio of stocks, bonds, CDs, and cash.  For the savvy investor, a diverse portfolio includes tangible assets such as coins and artifacts.

 Why treasure coins and artifacts?

The field of treasure salvaging is relatively new.  The first wrecks were discovered less than fifty years ago.  It’s an expensive, time-consuming, and many times dangerous business and new salvage operations are few and far between.  Treasure coins and artifacts are limited, and that helps create more demand than in other fields of collecting, say U.S. coins for example.

The lore of shipwrecks, pirates, and booty is enticing.  Think Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean!  The idea of coins and artifacts buried under the sea has spawned not only many movies, but books and stores.  Through the collecting of pirate treasure, you can learn a vast amount about the history of the New and Old World and the geography of the world’s navigable waters.  There are vast resources which can help you enrich your collection.

As with many other collectible coins and artifacts, prices aren’t affected as much by fluctuations of gold and silver in the marketplace.  That’s because a coin has a numismatic value that transcends what it’s made of.  Hence, buy the best you can buy so your purchase will be judged by its beauty, its level of detail, and its rarity.  And remember that no two cobs are alike, and if they are, one or both is a fake!

Treasure coins and artifacts have a universal appeal, unlike U.S. coins or coins from a single other country.  Therefore, as your collection grows and appreciates over the years, it will become of value to people all over the world, not just in your country. 

 What are the pitfalls of collecting treasure coins and artifacts?

As with any highly specialized field, there is a good deal to learn before investing.  There are disreputable or uneducated dealers who will be happy to sell you a pig in a poke.  Armed with knowledge, you can make educated decisions apart from what someone is telling you. 

Always look for a provenance or chain of history to your collectibles.  Anyone who has watched the Antiques Roadshow knows that appraisers always ask about how long an object has been in the possession of the owner, where the owner got the object, and whether the owner has any documentation about the origin of the object.  In the world of treasure coin and artifact collecting, ask whether an item you want to purchase has a certificate with it.  That certificate should tell you on which wreck the object was found and by whom.

While owning hard assets helps diversify your portfolio, for the most part, those assets won’t appreciate overnight.  Plan to hold on to your investment for at least five years.  This is a long-term approach to your savings program, and it will produce sound results when you finally decide to sell.

Anything else I need to know?

Using Sedwick’s Rules of Collecting below, you’re on your way to becoming a collector of treasure coins and artifacts!

• Buy what you love and you’ll love what you buy

• Buy the book before the coin or buy the coin from the person who wrote the book!

• An educated collector is a satisfied collector

• Always buy from a reputable dealer

• If you like what you buy, you’ll be more apt to keep it until it appreciates

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